North West war veterans to receive France's highest honour

World War II veterans from across the North West will receive one of France’s highest honours in a ceremony at Manchester Town Hall on Friday 19th February.

The Legion d’Honneur will be presented to 14 veterans in recognition of the selfless acts of heroism and determination they displayed during the Normandy landings and the campaign to liberate France.

The award was created in 1802 as a general military and civil order of merit. On the 70th anniversary of D-Day the French President François Hollande announced that the distinction would be awarded to all British veterans who fought for the liberation of France during the Second World War between 1944 and 1945.

Among the veterans honoured will be Norman Prior, 96, from Middleton. He served as a Fusilier with the 1st 5th battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers which he joined aged 20 in 1939.

Norman was evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk alongside tens of thousands of his comrades and went on to return to France to fight the Nazis after the D-Day Normandy Landings.