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Yesterday, Prince Charles met many
veterans while walking around Bayeux War Cemetery. However, one
veteran in particular, Ivor Thomas, made the Prince reveal a few
concerns of his own.
Mr Thomas’s son, Philip, who was accompanying his father to
Normandy, told Prince Charles that his father still insists on
driving his 1985 Ford Sierra. To this, the Prince replied: “So does
my Father, I’m always worried”, before gesturing to Mr Thomas.
Charles continued by saying: “But his eyesight’s alright”.
Ivor Thomas wasn’t the only veteran who the Prince of
Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall met at Bayeux; they met
dozens walking around the war cemetery and at a reception held
inside a marquee. Douglas Adams, who is 90 from Ryde, a former
trooper with the Royal Armoured Corps and East Riding Yeomanry
asked the Duchess: “How’s the old man”, before the Duchess kindly
ushered Mr Adams over to shake hands with the future King.
After speaking to Prince Charles, John Ainsworth, 93 from Hull, a
former Gunner Surveyor in the Royal Artillery who landed on Juno
Beach on D+7, vowed to continue returning every year to the
battlefields and graveyards despite the impending disbandment of
the Normandy Veterans Association later this year. Mr
Ainsworth said: “I come back because of the inextricable
connection with the lads that are lying here, as long as we are
alive we will keep coming back, until we join them”.
There was also a veteran who made the Duchess of Cornwall laugh;
Marc van Hasselt, 90, a Second Lieutenant with the Essex Yeomanry
who worked as a forward observation bombardment attached to Marine
Command when he landed on Gold Beach. When asked by the Duchess
which beach he landed on he replied: “It’s the seaside. It all
looks the same”. Camilla, chuckling, then asked: “But you did as
you were told?” He replied, stating:”Oh yes”, although his wife,
Tessa, interjected saying that he doesn’t these days.
Camilla in fab hat chats to veterans at Bayeux Cemetery #DDay70 pic.twitter.com/nAaeeslOgN
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) June 6, 2014
Prince Charles’s concerns come just a few days before the Duke
of Edinburgh celebrates his 93rd birthday. However, Prince Philip
shows no sign of slowing down. Just two days after his birthday
Philip will travel to Germany as Royal Colonel of The
Highlanders Fourth Battalion to present campaign medals before
returning to Buckingham Palace to chair the Household Division’s
Senior Colonel Conference.
Photo credit: Downing Street via photopin cc]]>
