D-Day hero, 94, dedicates his MBE to fallen friends
A D-DAY veteran who was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold Beach received his MBE from the Queen yesterday and dedicated it to his fallen comrades.
Former Royal Engineer Horace “Harry” Billinge was just 18 when he stormed the beaches of Normandy during the landings on June 6, 1944.
The horrifying scenes he witnessed stayed with him and inspired him to raise funds to commemorate those who died. Now aged 94, the sapper from St Austell, Cornwall, has been awarded the MBE for his services to charitable fundraising.
He was driven to Buckingham Palace in a Bentley to collect the honour. Harry said he wanted his MBE dedicated to the 22,442 service personnel killed on D-Day and during the Battle for Normandy. Describing the scenes he faced on
Gold Beach, Harry said: “It was hell on earth. Murder.The sea was red with blood, human blood. Some men were baptised in their own blood. It was a terrible, terrible time.
“I have been unable to forget D-Day. I could never forget.”
Harry, who holds France’s highest award the Legion d’honneur, has raised more than £50,000 for veterans.
As well as collecting for the
Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for 64 years, he has also raised funds for the British Normandy Memorial.
Speaking after the ceremony, Harry, who has been married to wife Sheila for 65 years, said it was wonderful to meet the Queen.
He said: “She said, ‘I hear you were on D-Day’, and I said, ‘I was’. She was very kind.There are no words to describe it.”
Meanwhile, star Wendy Craig said that at 85 she had no plans to stop working in entertainment.
She received a CBE for services to drama and charity from the Queen yesterday.
The great-grandmother is best known for her role as Ria Parkinson in the British sitcom Butterflies, which aired on BBC Two from 1978 to 1983.
She also starred in the drama series Nanny from 1981 to 83.
Speaking after the ceremony at Buckingham Palace, she said that while she is working less she wanted to “keep on working for as long as I can”.
Wendy said: “I am very good at playing grandmas lately.
“I’d like to play a nice cuddly grandma next.”