One of Britain’s last D-Day veterans dies aged 100
Joe Cattini landed on the beaches of northern France in an invasion which would turn the tide of the World War 2.
One of Britain's last surviving D-Day veteran's has died aged 100. Joe Cattini landed on the beaches of northern France in the invasion force which turned the tide of World War 2 in June 1944.
Mr Cattini's granddaughter Sarah Burr announced in a statement that her "beloved grandad" passed away on Tuesday.
She wrote: "A life so well lived. One of the last D-Day veterans left. We are so proud of him and loved him so much.
"The past nine years since D-Day 70 were some of the happiest of his life."
Ms Burr added that, "like most of his generation", Mr Cattini never "really talked about his war experiences" but sharing them with others in recent years "was so important to him."
A former bombardier in the 86th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, Mr Cattini landed on Normandy’s Gold Beach on June 6, 1944.
Mr Cattini told the BBC in 2019 during the 70th anniversary of the invasion: "I landed here on D-Day at 10am and the beach was littered with dead, wounded, prisoners of war and also destroyed vehicles and craft.
"There were things floating in the water that you don't want to remember.
"Now it's so peaceful and tranquil that you feel more at ease."
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In January, Mr Cattini, commenting on his 100th birthday, said: "When you are young, you think war is a game. Something you can laugh about. War is very serious. It affects everybody."
He celebrated his 100th birthday with residents of the Dutch city he helped to liberate.
Mr Cattini marked the milestone with a party at his retirement complex at Fair Oak, Hampshire, where he was made an honorary citizen of Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
He was not supposed to land in France until days after the opening invasion.
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But he was grabbed in Southampton by a sergeant major and told he was required to drive an ammunition lorry for the 1st East Yorkshire Regiment.
He told The Times: "It was bloody rough. A lot of the boys were sick.
"Some of the younger ones were crying for their mums and NCOs and officers were going around and trying to sort them out."
A total of 22,442 people under British command never returned home from the Battle of Normandy.
There are believed to be half a dozen D-Day veterans still alive today.
The Normandy landings represent the biggest seaborne invasion in military history. Some 156,000 allied troops from Great Britain, the Commonwealth, France and the USA landed on the beaches of Normandy.
The troops arrvied at several points along the French coast, taking the Germans by surprise.
Their mission was to free France from German occupation and the Allied victory that day signalled the beginning of the end of World War 2.