D-Day 80th anniversary: Stourbridge pays tribute to heroes

Dignitaries, schoolchildren, politicians and members of the public gathered at the cenotaph in Mary Stevens Park to pay their respects to the armed forces heroes involved in the momentous military operation which marked the start of the campaign by Allied Forces to liberate north-west Europe from Nazi occupation.

Crowds around the cenotaph in Mary Stevens Park for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings (Image: Mark Binnersley)

Tens of thousands of troops landed simultaneously on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, in the biggest military naval, air and land operation ever attempted. More than 4,000 lost their lives.

Just a small number of veterans who took part in the deadly campaign for freedom are still alive today to remember the sacrifices made by their comrades.

One of them is retired Stourbridge carpenter Joseph Bullock, who was one of 12 men put aboard the LBE36 vessel - a Thames barge requisitioned by Winston Churchill – which travelled through rough seas to land on Sword beach.

Stourbridge D-Day veteran Joseph Bullock, front, with Bob Partridge - Associate of the Royal Naval Association (Image: Bev Holder/Newsquest)

Mr Bullock, who was 18 at the time, luckily escaped the landings unhurt and completed service with the navy in Cherbourg and Singapore before returning home safe at the end of the Second World War.

In 2016, he was awarded The Legion d'Honneur – one of France's highest honours – for his heroism.

Today, as the sun shone down on the cenotaph in the park, the 99-year-old Royal Naval veteran told of his pride and sadness as he recalled the campaign.

D-Day veteran Joseph Bullock, centre, with grandsons George and Charles Scriven at the cenotaph in Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge, on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings (Image: Bev Holder/Newsquest)

Accompanied by his family, he told the News: “After seeing all these on the TV and things like this brings all the memories back, some sad ones but a lot of them are happy ones. It balances out. I’ve had a good life. I hope all these young people realise they’re better off now.”

He added: “We did our job. We had a job to do. It’s sad that all those died. There’s not many of us veterans left now. Old age is the trouble now.”

Mr Bullock, who despite his advancing years still lives independently in Oldswinford, laid a wreath at the cenotaph, along with politicians Cat Eccles (Labour) and Suzanne Webb (Conservatives), following a service led by Rev Andrew Sillis from St Thomas’s Church. Pupils from Gig Mill Primary School in Norton also paid their respects at the poignant event.

The D-Day commemorations at the cenotaph in Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge (Image: Mark Binnersley)

The D-Day anniversary flag was also raised at Dudley Council House with the building set to be lit up in red, white and blue this evening to celebrate Britain’s role in D-Day, which began the liberation of France from the Nazis and laid the foundations for the eventual Allied victory in World War II.

Beacons will also be lit at Dudley Zoo and Kinver Edge at 9.15pm tonight as beacons across the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are lit to mark the anniversary.