Veteran who lost legs after D-Day landings dies

A veteran tank crewman who lost both his legs after landing on Gold Beach on D-Day has died at the age of 99.

Roy Hayward went from basic training at Bovington Camp in Dorset to landing in Normandy in June 1944 aged 18.

He lost both his legs below the knee after his Sherman tank came under attack from a German Tiger tank.

Mr Hayward, who lived on the Isle of Wight at Seaview, received a standing ovation when he appeared at the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day on Southsea Common earlier this year.

During the 80th anniversary commemorations, Mr Hayward met members of the Royal Family and said afterwards: "I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them, I thought they were super actually, I was most impressed by the way they chatted to me and were so friendly.

"They asked me how I got on and how I had my legs blown off.

"I lost both of my legs but that's nothing in comparison with what happened to other people, and that's always the attitude I've had."

Mr Hayward, who received the Legion d'honneur for his part in the key World War Two battle, "died peacefully in hospital last weekend", according to Blesma, the limbless veterans charity that he belonged to.

A Blesma spokesman said Mr Hayward managed to push another member of the tank crew out but suffered severe injuries and had to have his legs amputated at a field hospital, before he was shipped back to Portsmouth for treatment and rehabilitation.

He then returned to working in a bank where he met his wife Barbara, who he married in 1948. She died before him and the couple had no children.

In September, Mr Hayward became the latest World War Two forces personnel to sign a history enthusiast's Lee-Enfield rifle.

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