One of Britain’s last surviving D-Day veterans, who took part in the allied invasion when he was just 19, has died at the age of 99.
Tributes have poured in for World War Two hero Walter Bigland, who saved a fellow soldier’s life before storming Pegasus Bridge and helping in the mission to liberate France on June 6 1944.
The father-of-four, from Liverpool, landed in Normandy at La Brèche with A Troop, 45 Commando, at 8.30am on one of the most famous days in British military history.
Mr Bigland, who joined the Marines in 1942 aged 18, died just three months before the 80th anniversary of D-Day this summer.
The grandfather was married to his late wife May for 55 years.
Walter Bigland (pictured), one of Britain’s last surviving D-Day veterans, who took part in the allied invasion when he was just 19, has died at the age of 99
Tributes have poured in for the World War Two hero, who saved a fellow soldier’s life before storming Pegasus Bridge and helping in the mission to liberate France on June 6 1944
The veteran followed in the footsteps of his father, also named Walter, who had been in the Machine Gun Corps in the First World War.
Mr Bigland has previously played down his heroic role in the largest seabourne invasion in history referring to it as ‘just another exercise’ and crediting his fellow soldiers instead.
He said: ‘All the men on those beaches were heroes, it was a fantastic sight to see.
‘I have been called a hero in the past but it’s water off a duck’s back to me.
‘We were quite calm on the approach to Normandy because it just felt like another exercise – most of us even managed to have a doze on the way, in the bottom of the landing craft.’
The war hero described the gruelling task that lay before him when he landed on the beach in northern France on the famous day.
‘I was wheeling a bike and carrying a rubber dinghy on my back, as well as 100 rounds of ammunition and four grenades, so I was carrying around 80lbs in my rucksack,’ he said.
‘I managed to get the bike down the ramp but I hardly rode it because the roads were just covered in debris.’
Mr Bigland (pictured, with fellow veteran Arthur Hampson), who joined the Marines in 1942 aged 18, died just three months before the 80th anniversary of D-Day this summer
Mr Bigland (pictured, with son Alan) has previously played down his heroic role in the largest seabourne invasion in history referring to it as ‘just another exercise’ and crediting his fellow soldiers instead
Mr Bigland was involved in the capture of Pegasus Bridge – the first main objective to be achieved on June 6 1944.
He said: ‘We all met up across the road and then fought our way towards the historic Pegasus Bridge in order to make contact with 6th Airborne Division.
‘We were half an hour late because we had a bit of trouble on the way up, just little skirmishes with the enemy – but we apologised.’
The significance of the mission did not weigh on Mr Bigland, who said that he and his comrades were ‘apprehensive but never afraid’.
The young marine’s time in Normandy came to an unfortunate end after seven weeks when he contracted blood poisoning from cutting his hand on an ammunition crate.
Mr Bigland added: ‘My left hand swelled up and I had to be sent to a field hospital in Normandy, from where they evacuated me back to England.
‘I was embarrassed because it didn’t seem like a proper injury to me.
‘I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to go back to the unit but because I’d had surgery they insisted.’
The main British ceremony this year will be held in the morning of D-Day itself at the Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, the first occasion when this has staged the UK’s principal ceremony for a major anniversary (Pictured: British soldiers landing at Ouistreham on D-Day)
That evening, the Royal Albert Hall in London will stage a televised D-Day concert featuring many major stars (Pictured: British soldiers arriving ashore at Normandy on D-Day)
Before the 80th anniversary, the Ministry of Defence, the Royal British Legion and charities such as the Spirit of Normandy Trust hope to enable as many veterans as possible to make the trip across to Normandy with their families (Pictured: British soldiers arriving ashore at Normandy on D-Day)
The teenager later met up with his unit again in Holland and then the Far East.
After leaving the Marines in 1946, Mr Bigland became a Sergeant in the Reserves before making a career change and embarking on 32 years in the civil service.
The veteran’s funeral service will take place at St Giles Church, Aintree Lane on March 7 at 1.15pm. This will be followed by committal at Thornton Crematorium on Lydiate Lane.
Just three months remain before the 80th anniversary celebrations of D-Day which will see Portsmouth host a major ceremony and concert on June 5, the eve of the anniversary, on live television in front of thousands of members of the public.
The following day, the focus will shift to the Normandy coast where world leaders will gather for a series of international events.
The main British ceremony will be held in the morning of D-Day itself at the Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, the first occasion when this has staged the UK’s principal ceremony for a major anniversary.
That evening, the Royal Albert Hall in London will stage a televised D-Day concert featuring many major stars.
Even the youngest veterans of the allied invasion are now in their nineties, so many will be aiming for the national event in Portsmouth.
There, thousands of members of the public will gather at a specially-constructed arena on Southsea Common, supported by serving personnel plus a fly past by the Royal Air Force.
It is generally accepted that this will be the last anniversary when veterans are able to attend in significant numbers (Pictured: Commemoration service for the 78th anniversary of D-Day in 2022)
Members of the Royal Family are expected to attend events across the anniversary, particularly the ceremony at the Normandy Memorial in France (Pictured: The memorial built with donations from Daily Mail readers)
Even the youngest veterans are now in their nineties, so many will be aiming for the national event in Portsmouth (Pictured: Service of remembrance for last year’s 79th anniversary)
The famous D-Day landings were a triumph for Allied forces and constitute one of the best remembered military operations of the conflict.
The project followed five years of war with Adolf Hitler’s Germany and the Axis powers, during which the majority of mainland western Europe had fallen under Nazi occupation.
D-Day signalled the beginning of a changing of the tide on the continent, which eventually ended with the Western Allies’ victory.
The landings, codenamed Operation Overlord, involved British, American, and other Allied forces crossed the English Channel to launch an offensive on the Nazi occupation in Normandy.
The operation involved boats and aircraft of all shapes and sizes, for a variety of purposes, whether it was to sweep the area ahead for mines, or deliver the respective armies to France.
In total the invasion involved 153,110 troops, supported by 10,440 aircraft and 6,330 ships, with paratroopers landing behind enemy lines in advance of the main assault.
The forces were roughly divided across five beaches: Gold and Sword were attacked by British troops, Juno by Canadian, and Omaha and Utah by the US.
After less than a week, all five beaches had been secured, with more troops, vehicles and equipment being delivered to the Allies.
Many historians describe D-Day as the ‘beginning of the end’ of the Second World War.
With victory declared in Europe 11 months later, on May 7, 1945, this represented the start of the Allied forces pushing back from what was the furthest Nazi occupation expanded during the war.
The move meant that Germany was at war on three fronts: in France, Italy, and Russia.
This task eventually proved too much for Hitler’s army, with Allied victory on the continent secured on May 8 1945.
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