Harry Parsons, who has died aged 84, was popularly known in Oxford as 'Hot Dog Harry'.

He and his then wife, Rae, hit on the idea of starting one of the city's first hot dog businesses in the early 1950s.

Harry sat on a trike, on which he cooked and served the food, every evening.

His pitch was in Gloucester Green, where he had a captive audience of cinemagoers, bus passengers and motorists parking their cars.

Mr Parsons was born in Oxford, lived at 42 St Aldate's, where his father ran a newsagent's and barber's shop, and went to South Oxford School.

He was fishing when he heard Winston Churchill's call to war.

He joined the Coldstream Guards, where uniforms were made for soldiers between 5ft 10in and 6ft tall. Mr Parsons was 5ft 7in.

After several weeks with turned-up trousers and sleeves, he was transferred to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

He served in North Africa and Italy, where he was captured and taken as a prisoner of war to Poland, walking a large part of the way. He was later awarded the Italian Star.

After returning to Oxford, he worked at the Morris Radiators' factory in Woodstock Road, then at the Oxford gasworks in St Ebbe's, and finally at the Morris Motors' car factory at Cowley, where he stayed until he retired.

Mr Parsons, who lived at Tumbling Bay Court, Botley Road, Oxford, leaves a son Martin, daughter Loraine, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

The funeral takes place at Oxford Crematorium on Tuesday at 11.15am.