Modest Harry brushes off D Day heroics praise

4th August 2019

A heroic D Day veteran who has been awarded the Legion d’Honneur medal says he had never spoken about his experiences in Normandy until he joined the Royal British Legion cruise to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the landings last month.

Harry Howorth, from Birkdale, has finally been recognised for his bravery, receiving the Legion d’Honneur medal – France’s highest honour.

The 98 year old former central heating engineer was presented with his medal by the French consul to Liverpool after the Royal British Legion submitted an application on his behalf.

He was a signaller with the 2nd battalion of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and landed on Sword Beach on June 6, 1944, with the aim of cap- turing the city of Caen.

The British troops were met by a German counter- attack from the 21st Panzer Division and Harry’s battalion lost 113 men on that day – roughly one in seven of his comrades.

There was fierce fighting for the next six weeks, known as the Battle for Caen, but Harry’s battalion helped to capture the devastated city.