London, July 17 (ANI): A Second World War veteran has become the oldest student to be awarded a PhD by Cambridge University.

Michael Cobb, 91, was evacuated in the last boat out of Dunkirk.

He began ‘The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas’ in 1978, and spent 18 years writing the book after travelling every train line in the UK.

It took another seven years to get into print.

"I was 62 when I started and never thought of a PhD,” the Mirror quoted him as saying.

Examiner Dr. Richard Smith said: "The atlas is a remarkable piece of scholarship. It charts the dates of every line and station."

Cobb will receive the doctorate on July 19 at a ceremony attended by his family. (ANI)