Tributes paid to Kent D-Day veteran who has died aged 97
Tributes have been paid to a D-Day veteran from Kent who realised his dream of creating a permanent memorial in France to British Normandy heroes.
George Batts from Barming near Maidstone has died aged 97.
He was an MBE and a recipient of the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest order of merit.
As an 18-year-old sapper with the Royal Engineers Mr Batts landed on Gold Beach on the morning of 6 June 1944. The highly dangerous job he and his comrades were tasked with was clearing the beaches of mines and booby traps.
He visited France many times after the war along with fellow veterans, attending anniversary events and parades. He was the last General Secretary of the now-disbanded Normandy Veterans Association.
It had been his dream to create a memorial close to the Normandy beaches in memory of the British military personnel involved in the landings.
D-Day - codenamed Operation Overlord - was the Allied invasion of occupied Europe and the largest amphibious invasion in history. More than 150,000 troops landed on the beaches on that first day.
In 2021 the British Normandy Memorial was unveiled at Ver-sur-Mer although most of the very elderly surviving veterans have been unable to travel there because of Covid restrictions.
Mr Batts, who was a patron of the memorial, did get to see the memorial in person in October of last year.
An announcement of Mr Batts' death on the memorial website read: "George touched so many lives with his unwavering dedication to remembrance and efforts to ensure future generations would never forget the ultimate sacrifice his comrades made all those years ago.
"Rest in Peace, dearest George."
His daughter Linda said: "I couldn't be prouder of my Dad and his achievement in realising the Memorial which will keep alive the memory of all the veterans and their fallen comrades."
In an interview with ITV Meridian talking about his wartime experience Mr Batts said that after D-Day he went on to help in the huge endeavour of assembling an artificial harbour for the British to land troops, vehicles and supplies.
He said: "On that morning you might have thought I was thinking of my wife or girlfriend.
"But I was so young all I was thinking of was my Mum.
"You were scared, we all were, but you held your fear in. You knew you had to be strong and you just hoped you'd make it through.
"Thankfully some of us did. But we never forget the fallen comrades that we left behind."