A D-Day veteran who was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold Beach has dedicated his MBE to his fallen comrades who ‘inspired’ him.
Former Royal Engineer Horace ‘Harry’ Billinge was just 18 when he stormed the beaches in German-occupied Normandy during the landings of June 6 1944.
The horrifying scenes he witnessed stayed with him long after the war ended and inspired him to raise thousands for a national memorial to those who died in the conflict.
The National Normandy Memorial was commissioned after Mr Billinge and the Daily Mail campaigned for one to be built overlooking Gold Beach.
Harry Billinge, 94, is pictured proudly posing with his MBE medal at Buckingham Palace today
Now aged 94, the sapper from St Austell in Cornwall, today received his MBE medal from the Queen for his services to charitable fundraising.
He was transported to Buckingham Palace in a Bentley to collect the honour on Tuesday.
Mr Billinge, who walks with a stick, said he wanted his MBE dedicated to the 22,442 service personnel killed on D-Day and during the Battle for Normandy.
He said the men who died ‘inspired him’ to raise money in their memory, to build The National Normandy Memorial.
Mr Billinge, who walks with a stick (pictured with the Queen), said he wanted his MBE dedicated to the 22,442 service personnel killed on D-Day and during the Battle for Normandy
Mr Billinge, who was 18 on D-Day, is pictured talking to the Queen at his investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday
The Daily Mail backed the campaign, with hundreds of generous readers sending in money to help towards the £20million construction cost of a large statue of advancing soldiers and a long wall inscribed with the names of the dead.
Now aged 94, the sapper from St Austell in Cornwall, today received his MBE medal (pictured) from the Queen for his services to charitable fundraising
Then Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron laid the foundation stone for the monument to British troops in the town of Ver-Sur-Mer, northern France, the site of the Gold Beach landing on the 75th anniversary of the June 6 landings last year.
Describing the scenes he faced at the Gold Beach landing area, Mr Billinge 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. And what for? Not much.
He added fighting back tears: ‘I have been unable to forget D-Day. I could never forget.’
Mr Billinge, who holds France’s highest award, the Legion d’Honneur, said he has raised more than £50,000 for veterans.
As well as collecting for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for 64 years, he also raised thousands for the British Normandy Memorial and was chairman of the Cornwall branch of the Normandy Veterans’ Association.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mr Billinge, who has been married to his wife Sheila for 65 years, said it was ‘wonderful’ to meet the Queen.
Mr Billinge is seen on BBC Breakfast while being shown footage of the foundation stones of the Normandy Memorial on Gold Beach
‘She said ‘I hear you was on D-Day’, and I said ‘I was’,’ he said.
‘She was very, very kind. There are no words to describe it.’
Unlike in previous ceremonies, the Queen wore long white gloves as she handed out the honours but Buckingham Palace declined to confirm whether the 93-year-old monarch was taking the precaution because of the coronavirus outbreak.
A royal source said the Queen would be following any advice from the government.
As well as collecting for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for 64 years, Harry Billinge (pictured in his home town of St Austell, Cornwall) also raised funds for the British Normandy Memorial and was chairman of the Cornwall branch of the Normandy Veterans’ Association