Heroic D-Day Veteran Honoured With Remembrance Award

As the nation marks 70 years since one of the most dramatic landings in military history, one D-Day veteran, the venerable 90 year-old Mr Roy Ticehurst, has received a prestigious award from the nation’s leading commemorative company, The Bradford Exchange, who work in exclusive partnership with national remembrance charity, ‘The Lest We Forget Association.’

Mr Roy Ticehurst, now 90 and living at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society maritime care home in Surrey, was awarded the exclusive ‘Lest We Forget Bradford Exchange Award’ to honour contributions and sacrifices made by him and his fellow servicemen on Tuesday, 6 June 1944, during the momentous D-Day Landings.

The exclusive award that Mr Ticehurst is pictured with, features the entire new Bradford Exchange Golden Crown D-Day Landing collection, specially released to commemorate D-Day’s 70th anniversary.

The spectacular series of D-Day Landing Golden Crowns shows an image of troops approaching the Normandy beaches in a landing craft and the engraved coastline bearing names of all five beaches below.

Struck to a high specification with only 19,999 are available, the very first one was awarded to Mr Ticehurst in recognition of his considerable D-Day contribution.

Mr Ticehurst joined the Royal Navy aged 18 in 1942 and was based at HMS Royal Arthur in Skegness where he undertook many diverse roles, including gunner and Morse code interpreter. Mr Ticehurst also spent time as a naval guard in Sri Lanka, protecting members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens).

During the D-Day landings, Mr Ticehurst was actively involved in laying ramps to help Allied tanks to cross the beaches while fighting was going on all around. He also remembers vividly clearing bodies of fallen comrades after the area was hit badly by mines.

On the anniversary of the battle, Mr Ticehurst commented: “This anniversary gives us the opportunity to pay our respects to fellow and fallen comrades. We celebrate the lives of those who are no longer with us, and come together to support those of us who are. I have both good and bad memories from the war, and being able to commemorate 70 years since D-Day is a very special thing.”

Since the war, Mr Ticehurst has continued his support of those in the armed forces and retired seafarers. To raise funds to help those in need, he sold poppies for more than 30 years and has attended a number of commemoration events in Trafalgar Square.

In 2003 Mr Ticehurst moved to the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society maritime care home in Surrey where he shares his war time memories with other residents and has lead a number of talks to raise awareness of the war with local school children.

The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society aims to provide a sanctuary for retired seafarers. With a dedicated dementia annexe, the charity provides specialist accommodation and services in the calming surroundings of the grounds of Belvedere House in Banstead.

‘D-Day’ was the largest amphibious assault in history, and the courage of all those who took part in the assault of the Normandy beaches will never be forgotten. The 6th of June 1944 was the day Allied forces began the major offensive against Germany that ultimately led to the liberation of Europe.

This week marks the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day landings. A series of events will be held all over the UK and along the Normandy coast at various locations with veterans commemorating the anniversary and sharing their memories of the assault.

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