A D-DAY veteran from Basingstoke has been awarded France’s highest bravery medal, the Legion of Honour.

Seventy-one years after the Allied invasion of northern France, Stan Bowyer, 91, recently received his medal, sent by the French ambassador on behalf of the President of France.

Mr Bowyer, of Wayside Road, Basingstoke, said he was delighted to receive the Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, for his role in the major offensive against Nazi Germany, when he served with the 49th Infantry Division, known as the Polar Bears.

As a forward observer in the Royal Artillery he was part of the second wave landing on Gold Beach after D-Day in June, 1944.

As a brave 18-year-old he had a dangerous job at a time when there was fierce fighting as the Allies pushed through and liberated Nazi-controlled north-eastern Europe.

“I was part of the forward observation team for the gunners, who supported the infantry,” said Mr Bowyer.

“We sent fire orders back to the guns of whatever target we were going to fire on.

“There was a team on a Bren carrier, with one officer, one driver and two signallers and I was one of the signallers.”

Basingstoke Gazette:

Recalling his time in France, Belgium and Holland, Mr Bowyer said: “One day was much the same as the next – it was all Hell.

“If anyone said they weren’t frightened they would have been mad.”

Appreciative of the gesture from the French government, Mr Bowyer said receiving the medal was better late than never.

The great-grandfather said: “It was only on the 70th anniversary of the invasion last year that the French government decided to award the remaining Normandy veterans this medal.”

Basingstoke Gazette:

In a letter addressed to Mr Bowyer that accompanied the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, which means Knight of the Legion of Honour, the French ambassador, Sylvie Bermann said: “As we contemplate this Europe of peace, we must never forget the heroes like you, who came from Britain and the Commonwealth to begin the liberation of Europe by liberating France. 

“We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life.”

After the war Mr Bowyer became a Territorial Army instructor before he went on to work for the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, based in Aldermaston.