D-Day veteran honouring fallen friends while celebrating St. George’s Day - 'Proud to be English!'

Hundreds of Sea, Army, and Air cadets stood in honour as the Second World War hero laid a wreath at the foot of the nation’s most important war memorial.

The ceremony, on April 20 at the Cenotaph with the cadets, reminded Henry of his school days and made him feel “7 feet tall and proud”.

Henry said: “When I was at school, every day when we got there, we went into the main hall and you would sing the national anthem. The next day was Canada’s – we learnt right through the Empire, which doesn’t seem to apply today.”

Henry thinks children aren’t taught enough about both the Second World War and St. George’s Day. “We were taught all this,” he said. “We were so proud to be English.

“St. George, he’s a great guy with his lance having a go at the dragon. I’m proud.”

This year is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings commonly know as D-Day.

“I hope in education that it’s explained to young people so they appreciate that men gave their lives."

"If you go to France, the French children completely understand, they know more about it than I do, but here in this country I don't know if the children of today are taught enough to realise what we went through."

Henry will join other veterans in commemorating the invasion either in England or France on June 6.

“I thank him up there for letting me be here,” Henry said.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Eamonn Holmes: 'Why isn't St George's Day a public holiday in England?!'
  
• ‘Leftists HATE this country!’ Kelvin MacKenzie rages at poll exposing St George’s Flag attitudes: ‘Many would prefer the Palestine flag'
  
• One in eight Labour voters think the St George's Cross is 'RACIST and divisive and should not be displayed'
  

“I was one of those that got away with it whereas my companions and some of my friends paid the price of war.”

He says, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day: “I will have a quiet little cry privately and pretend that I wasn’t doing it.”

During the last Normandy anniversary in June 2023, Henry was presented with the Legion of Honour by President Emmanuel Macron, France's highest decoration.

Henry was born on the 27th of February 1926, volunteering as a Visual Signalman at the age of just 17 in Portsmouth. His job was to communicate with crew and other ships using flags and lights.

Following the main assault on D-Day, Henry and the crew of HMS Eastway were sent across the channel on D-Day +4 to deliver essential supplies of food and ammunition to Normandy.

“My experience was going there on a ship 50 per cent as an excited boy, but the other 50 per cent was thinking ‘where am I going and what's happening?’” he said.

There were around 10,000 allied casualties on D-Day and at least,1500 British.

His son, Stuart, who joined him for the St. George’s Day event, said: “When we go over to France, he’s confronted by school children asking, ‘Did you shoot any Germans?’ or ‘Was your boat sunk?’”

“When he’s amongst other veterans he takes a back step, but D-Day wouldn’t have happened without all the cogs in the right place,” Stuart added.

Richard Palusinski, Chairman, Spirit of Normandy Trust, said: “St George’s Day is very much about the battle between good and evil and it really resonates with the Normandy campaign that we as a charity are working hard to support the veterans with.”

He continued, “Normandy is so important. We must remember the cost of freedom and the sacrifice made so we can have a parade like this today and celebrate we are British.”

Henry spent the rest of the Second World War at sea in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, finishing in Singapore when the Japanese surrendered.

In the years following service, Henry worked on cruise ships travelling between Britain and Australia, but his soon to be wife, Gwen, said “it’s me or the sea” and he joined the fire brigade for 26 years.

“I love life, life has been kind to me. I desperately want, I’m now 98, and I want to make 100.”