Harry Billinge meets Field Marshal Montgomery's grandson in Par

D-Day veteran Harry Billinge has met the grandson of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who commanded Allied troops during the Normandy landings.

Henry Montgomery joined Mr Billinge at Par Market in Cornwall, where he regularly fundraises.

Earlier this year the British Normandy Memorial that Mr Billinge fundraised for was opened overlooking Gold Beach.

Mr Montgomery said: "Harry is a legend and was a crucial part of getting the memorial built."

In 2020, Mr Billinge was appointed MBE for raising more than £25,000 towards the cost of the memorial.

It was opened in June, to remember the 22,442 service people under British command who died during the Normandy campaign.

Mr Montgomery said: "Harry has been a crucial part of being able to get this memorial built and to continue to tell the story of D-Day, which I think is a story that everyone needs to know about.

"To tell people about the sacrifices that were made by those who died in the Normandy campaign.

"History would have been very different if the Normandy campaign hadn't been a success.

"It is a huge thing that he has done and a huge contribution that he has made."

D-Day, the start of Operation Overlord was the largest seaborne invasion in history, as about 160,000 troops from Britain, the US, Canada, France and other Allied nations landed in Normandy.

It marked the beginning of the liberation of France from the Nazis and paved the way for victory on the Western Front in World War Two.

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