"Tributes have been paid to a local hero war veteran who has sadly passed away. Joe Stiff, from Lingdale, died peacefully at home on December 6, aged 98. His cousin, David Miller, 68, said: "Joe was a very much respected man. "He would have been 99 next May. "He will be sadly missed by those in Lingdale, where most of the people knew him." It is believed that he was the oldest Green Howard in the world. In 2016, Joe was awarded France's highest military honour - the legion d'honneur for his role in the liberation of France during the Second World War. He served with the Green Howards and was in Dunkirk when he was blown up, but luckily escaped intact." www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/green-howard-who-left-dead-15571866?fbclid=IwAR1QOxAuAVG6_yjGvLJpgJsLjDOvw4O0KkO9Ki2LNT_G1qStuJ0DHXm-RNU
