Service held to celebrate life of D-Day veteran John Jenkins

• Watch Mary Stanley's report on the memorial service above

A memorial service has taken place today (10th Feb) in honour of Hampshire D-Day veteran John Jenkins, who passed away in December aged 100.

Members of the public were invited by his family to come and celebrate the former platoon sergeant and Portsmouth FC fan's life.

Family and friends attended a private funeral service in December, but this service was the chance for anyone to attend and look back on John's life, share memories and pay tribute.

The service was led by the Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane.

Members of John's family, including his daughter Diane and two granddaughters attended the service. His great granddaughter sang a solo to honour him.

Local MPs and councillors, members of Portsmouth Football Club, military personnel and the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth were also in attendance.

John died on 17th December 2019, weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday.

John served as a platoon sergeant during the Second World War and was awarded the Legion d’Honneur for his part in D-Day.

John served with the Pioneer Corps and landed on Gold Beach. He and his comrades fought their way through France and Belgium and ended up in Germany as the war ended.

In June 2019, John walked onto a stage in Portsmouth as a guest of honour to mark the 75th anniversary of the invasion of France.

He received a standing ovation not just from the crowd but from world leaders, including The Queen and President Trump.

He became the oldest man to abseil down Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower at the age of 95 in 2015, carried the Olympic torch in 2012 and was awarded Portsmouth Volunteer of the Year in 2016 and was also awarded National Museum and Heritage volunteer of the year 2019.