D-Day veteran receives new medals after old set stolen
Mr Bird is one of the only remaining veterans in Wales that took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, in 1944.After the war, Mr Bird was posted to Asia, before he left the Royal Navy in 1946 to enter the family agricultural engineering business.In an event held by Military Veterans Club Cymru in Glanaman, Carmarthenshire, on Monday, he was given new medals to honour his bravery."I didn't really miss them. But, nowadays with these marvellous volunteers commemorating the D-Days, VJ-Days, VE-Days, one needs to wear one's medals," he said."My children will be very pleased to have them. I've got three children so I'll have to divide them up."He was described as a "very modest" man by the club's chairman Owen Dobson, who said that Mr Bird did not want any fuss."We have managed to convince him today to come along and have his medals presented," Mr Dobson said."It's vitally important for Tony and his family, and of course the wider public, because the things they did for our freedom today should never be forgotten."As the veterans' club celebrated its first birthday during the event, entertainer Max Boyce attended as a special guest."These are remarkable people, and Tony with all his medals, he's an inspiration to us all," he said.
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Rhyl Journal
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
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‘The Japanese dropped a bomb right behind me – this is how I survived'
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Campaigners and relations of those who died aboard HMS Repulse have long called for parts of the warship to be recovered to serve as a memorial before scrap metal scavengers further desecrate the last resting place of her crew. The bronze propellers disappeared between September 2012 and May 2013, followed by components made of other ferrous metals and blocks of steel and aluminium. Campaign for return of artefects to UK In April 2023, the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (Mast) tracked a Chinese purpose-built salvage barge that had looted the Prince of Wales wreckage to a breakers' yard on the south coast of Malaysia. There, two of the ship's anchors, alongside other artefacts, are still being held. One of the anchors remains in good condition and the organisation is campaigning for it to be returned to the UK where it can be conserved and then installed at the national memorial. But Jessica Berry, founder and chief executive of Mast, said the Malaysians were keen to keep it for themselves, having built a new structure 'where they think it will look very nice.' She added: 'Our aim is the anchor to be conserved and installed at the National Memorial Arboretum as a fitting memorial to those who died, as per Jim Wren's wishes.' Mr Wren said: 'We would like the anchor to go to the memorial at the National Arboretum.' The war veteran became emotional as he spoke about the 80th anniversary of VJ Day commemorations. 'When we got back, the government didn't want to know and told us not to talk about it,' he said. On Friday, the King will deliver an audio address to the nation to mark the historic anniversary VJ Day before joining the Queen at a Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum.
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4 hours ago
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Duchess of Edinburgh's emotional outing as she chats with war veteran, 105, who survived three years in Japanese prisoner camp
The Duchess of Edinburgh spoke of her pride today when meeting with a 105-year-old war veteran who survived being torpedoed at sea and over three years in a Japanese prisoner camp. Sophie, 60, listened intently to ex Royal Marine James 'Jim' Wren's stories of sacrifice and heroics to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ (Victory in Japan) Day at his care home in Salisbury, Wiltshire. 'Very nice to meet you, thanks for having me. It's my honour to meet you,' the royal said. Over a cup of tea and cake, the war hero told the Duchess, who is patron of the Java Far East Prisoner of War Club 1942, how his ship was sunk by Japanese torpedoes before he was captured and held in brutal conditions in Sumatra. Jim's survival of the sinking of HMS Repulse in the South China Sea in December 1941, in which 513 perished, alone was nothing short of a miracle. He told Sophie: 'I was having a cup of tea and the alarm went off. The first bomb got right behind me. 'And fortunately it didn't explode. It got down through three decks. That saved my life in a sense.' 'From then onwards it was a case of actions, actions, and it was torpedo after torpedo and they eventually got nine hits.' He clung onto debris before being rescued by HMS Electra and taken to Singapore to defend it against the advancing Japanese. But as they fled Singapore his ship was captured by a Japanese destroyer in February 1942 and spent three and half years in a brutal prisoner of war camp in Sumatra. He told the Duchess: 'It was a possibility we could perish and all those people on board. 'We didn't know where our next meal or drink would be coming from and left to get on with it as best we can. 'They had no idea how to deal with prisoners of war, the Japanese.' Britain suffered more than 90,000 casualties in the war in the Far East of which 30,000 died. More than 12,400 of these perished as prisoners of war. The duchess and Jim then looked through a photo album including a picture of his wife Margaret - and he told the duchess how she spent three years not knowing if he was alive or dead. After a brief chat in front of the media Sophie and Jim then had a private conversation. The nation will pause in memory of the end of World War II in the Far East on Friday as the King and Queen lead the national commemorations for VJ Da Speaking afterwards Jim said: 'It's been a great honour to meet her.' The pair were joined by four generations of his family including daughter Denise Dables, 69, son-in-law Andy Dables, 72, granddaughter Kirsty Dables, 51, and great-granddaughters Freya, 18, and Ellie, 16. A Chinese-registered vessel has previously been detained suspected of looting scrap metal HMS Repulse. Jim has now joined calls for the ship's anchor to be installed at the permanent memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, at Staffordshire. The former marine also found himself getting emotional as he spoke about the 80th anniversary commemorations, coming after last year's D-Day anniversary and VE-Day earlier this year. Echoing the words of many surviving veterans, he said: 'When we got back the government didn't want to know and told us not to talk about it.' The nation will pause in memory of the end of World War II in the Far East on Friday as the King and Queen lead the national commemorations for VJ Day. On Friday, the King will release a recorded address and join the Queen at a Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. It comes after Sophie revealed it was 'emotional' taking on the Duchess of Edinburgh title as it was previously held by her beloved mother-in-law the late Queen Elizabeth II. Speaking during her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this year, the duchess said her change in title in 2023 'felt like quite a big moment'. Sophie was formerly the Countess of Wessex, but became the Duchess of Edinburgh after the King handed her husband Edward, Charles' youngest brother, their late father's title on his 59th birthday. This was in keeping with his parents' wishes and in recognition of Edward's commitment to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award youth scheme. Sophie said in an interview with The Mirror: 'First of all it was quite large shoes to fill because not as many of the population alive today will remember but the Queen was Duchess of Edinburgh for the first few years when she and my father-in-law first married. 'For me, it was quite an emotional thing to sort of step into her shoes [as being Duchess of Edinburgh], it felt like quite a big moment.' She explained, however, that in practical terms her and her husband's role is to support the King as it was to support the Queen. In her interview, Sophie also opened up on what it is like being seen as the Royal Family's 'secret weapon'.
