Normandy veteran Henry Rice dies aged 100

Normandy veteran Henry Rice has died at the age of 100. Rice, who lived in Cranleigh, Surrey, served as a signalman aboard HMS Eastway during the Normandy landings. He reached Juno Beach five days after D-Day and later received the Legion d’honneur from the French government. He had urged schools to teach more about the Normandy landings, saying the “world is unsafe at the moment.” A spokesperson for the Spirit of Normandy Trust described Rice as “a large character, with a cheeky grin that endeared him to everyone he met.” Rice told the BBC that returning to Normandy for a remembrance event in June this year meant “everything” to him. Reflecting on his life, he said, “I’ve had a ace lifetime.” When thinking about fellow veterans who had passed, he added, “I find it too casual to hitch a teardrop away, truthful I don’t fto myself deliberation too deeply. But erstwhile I’m connected my own, past I do.” Rice’s wartime service included delivering vehicles, troops and equipment to reinforce the Allied effort. The operation remains the largest amphibious naval, aerial and onshore assault ever attempted and marked the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi‑occupied north‑west Europe. After Normandy he was posted to Malta for twelve weeks, then travelled via the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, followed by postings in the Gulf, Sri Lanka, Burma and Singapore. One of his closest brushes with death came when a torpedo was fired at the ship he was on; the weapon passed harmlessly beneath the hull. In March this year his family held a special celebration for his 100th birthday. He noted that veterans of his generation tended to share their wartime experiences only quietly among themselves. “At location oregon with friends, you conscionable accidental ‘yeah, I was a matelot mate’,” he chuckled. The Spirit of Normandy Trust said he remained committed to remembering those who were sent to war and never returned. He attended numerous remembrance events across the United Kingdom, including the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and the Cenotaph Parade. During the planting of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London he handed Queen Camilla the final poppy to be placed for VE Day 80, according to the Trust. Earlier this year Rice met fellow D‑Day veteran Ronald Hendrey of Clacton‑on‑Sea, Essex, for the first time to exchange memories of the Normandy invasion—a gesture described as one of his last acts of remembrance. A Spirit of Normandy spokesperson said, “He volition be greatly missed by each and we connection his family our astir sincere condolences.” Read the full story at BBC News →