He was one of the brave men who took part in a world-changing event.
And now a D-Day veteran from Almondbury has been honoured by the French government for his part in the liberation of France.
Geoff Crowther has also been thanked by the Mayor of Kirklees for his heroic efforts more than 70 years ago.
Mr Crowther, who served in the Royal Corps of Signals, was one of the British troops who landed on the Normandy beaches on D-day, June 6, 1944.
Last year the French government announced that it would be honouring all such veterans with the Legion d’Honneur in the class of Chevalier.
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Brian Rolfe, chairman of the Huddersfield Branch of the Royals Signals Association, said the decision took the Ministry of Defence by surprise and presented them with a logistical headache as they began trying to track down hundreds of veterans.
He said: “Apparently there were a couple of thousand of them and questions were raised in Parliament about why it was taking so long to find them.
“We hold our annual dinner in March and we thought it would be a good idea to invite the Mayor of Kirklees, Clr Paul Kane, along as guest of honour and for him to congratulate Geoff on his award.
“It was a very moving occasion and afterwards over coffee Geoff read out the letter he had received from the French ambassador in London informing him that he was to receive the honour.
“Geoff is a very private man who doesn’t like any fuss but he read it out and then told us he was dedicating his medal to all those brave men who fought for the liberation of France.”
The Government of France told the Ministry of Defence that it wished to recognise the selfless acts of heroism and determination displayed by all surviving veterans of the Normandy landings, and of the wider campaigns to liberate France in 1944, by awarding them with the Legion d’Honneur.
This recognition extends beyond the troops who actually landed on and fought their way up the beaches 70 years ago, and will include Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel who operated in support of the landings.
