Hove D-Day Veteran Honoured With Remembrance Charity Award
An heroic 90 year-old, Mr Roy Ticehurst, (Hove born and bred) received the prestigious ‘Lest We Forget Bradford Exchange Award’ to honour contributions and sacrifices made by him and fellow servicemen on Tuesday 6 June 1944, during the momentous D-Day landings.
Mr Ticehurst joined the Royal Navy at the age of 18, in 1942, and was based at HMS Royal Arthur in Skegness where he undertook many diverse roles, including Gunner and Morse Code Interpreter. Mr Ticehurst also spent time as a naval guard in Sri Lanka, protecting members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens). During the D-Day landings, Mr Ticehurst was actively involved in laying ramps to help Allied tanks to cross the beaches while fighting was going on all around. He also remembers, vividly, clearing the bodies of fallen comrades after the area was hit badly by mines.
On the anniversary of the battle, Mr Ticehurst commented: “This anniversary gives us the opportunity to pay our respects to fellow and fallen comrades. We celebrate the lives of those who are no longer with us, and come together to support those of us who are. I have both good and bad memories from the war, and being able to commemorate 70 years since D-Day is a very special thing.”
Since the war, Mr Ticehurst has continued his support of those in the armed forces, and retired seafarers. To raise funds to help those in need, he sold poppies for more than 30 years and has attended a number of commemoration events in Trafalgar Square. In 2003 Mr Ticehurst moved to the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society maritime care home in Surrey, where he shares his war time memories with other residents and has lead a number of talks to raise awareness of the war with local school children.
All photos were taken by Benjamin Mole outside The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, Banstead, Surrey, where Mr Ticehurst lives.
For information about the Bradford Exchange, please see: www.bradford.co.uk
For information about The Lest We Forget Association, please see: www.lestweforgetassociation.org.uk
