A PAIR of Second World War veterans have been presented with France's top medal for bravery.

Edward Gaines, 92, from Poole, and Peter Oliver, 89, from Bournemouth, were made knights of the Légion d’honneur by Captain Francois Jean, the Honorary French Consul, at a reunion lunch in Christchurch held by the charity Blind Veterans UK.

They were the first D-Day veterans to receive the honour on behalf of France’s new president Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Gaines left school at 16 and took up an engineer’s apprenticeship. A bomb blast destroyed the firm where he was studying, ending his apprenticeship and he joined the Royal Navy in 1943.

After initially training on motor gunboats at Portland, he transferred to become a petrol stoker on landing craft.

He and the other four crew of his landing barge vehicle set off from Poole on June 4 in preparation for the Allied invasion of France. The vehicle was initially transporting 35 tonnes of TNT and a bulldozer and they landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

They continued to work on Omaha Beach, transporting ammunition, equipment and men, for several months and he served in Normandy until Christmas Eve 1944.

Mr Oliver grew up in Southampton and joined the Merchant Navy aged just 15. He was on the Admiralty salvage vessel ‘Help’ off Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day. It was their responsibility to maintain clearance to the approaches to the beaches.

Help was the first British vessel to enter a French port following the allied invasion. Peter, who had only recently turned 16 before D-Day, landed at Cherbourg and he and the rest of the crew were tasked with clearing the harbour of scuttled German vessels and mines.

On leaving the Merchant Navy, Peter was called up for his National Service and went on to serve as a Corporal Gunnery Instructor in the Royal Air Force RAF Regiment.

Mr Gaines said: “I am hugely honoured to be presented with this medal. I feel that we both are receiving it on behalf of all of those who didn’t make it back. I was off Omaha Beach on D-Day and 3,000 men died there before noon alone.”

Peter added: “When I found out I was to receive the Légion d’honneur I was surprised and elated. I want to thank Blind Veterans UK for helping to arrange this presentation and being there with another blind veteran did make it extra special.”

Contact Blind Veterans UK on 0800 389 7979.