Mr Hoida was born on 30 November 1918 in Ostrava. He fled Czechoslovakia after the occupation by the Nazi German army in 1939 and served in France and later with the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade in the United Kingdom. After D-Day he took part in the liberation of Europe and returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945. However, he returned to the UK a few months later due to the growing communist threat. Lest we forget.

Watch the interview with Mr Hoida for our project Children of Heroes: