Tragedy of the D-Day veterans who are dying before getting their medals

Last year, the French Government announced it would give the Legion d'Honneur to all surviving Normandy veterans.

But only a fraction of the 3,000 servicemen across the country who applied for medals have received them. Campaigners say the delay has meant veterans have died before they had chance to receive the medals due to them, while others have been left 'distressed and upset'.

The veterans have an average age of 95 and are dying at a rate of 10 a week. The medal recognises the acts of heroism displayed by surviving veterans of the Normandy landings and of the wider campaigns to liberate France in 1944. It cannot be awarded posthumously.

Servicemen campaigner Joy Widdowson said 11 veterans from Wolverhampton and Staffordshire had died since French President Francois Hollande announced the medals would be awarded on June 6 last year. Among those who have died without receiving the Legion d'Honneur are Len Whitehouse, from Woodsetton. He died in July last year on his 94th birthday.

"When this all came about we had 74 veterans in the city who applied for their medals," said Mrs Widdowson, from Oxley, Wolverhampton.

"I've been to 11 funerals since then. This has taken far too long. We know there are some veterans around the country who have received medals, but they are few and far between.

"The French Government made a promise, but a lot of veterans are questioning whether they will be around to receive the award.

"It is causing a great deal of distress and upset. This needs to be sorted out as a matter of urgency."

Another campaigner, Hilary Brown, holds a database of veterans from the Black Country who are eligible to receive the medal. "If I ring one of them and they don't answer the phone I always fear the worst," said Mrs Brown, 61, from Kingswinford.

"Ideally we want to hold an event where all of the veterans from the area can be presented with their medals at the same time. But I don't know a single person who has got their medal yet.

"We have already lost some of our veterans. It's tragic when you consider that some of these men who thoroughly deserve to have their heroism recognised won't live to receive the award."

Joe Davies, aged 92, from Compton, served with the 779 Company RASC and landed on Gold Beach on the night of June 9. He said he remained hopeful of receiving the medal despite the delay.

"I had a letter in December last year from the MoD which stated my UK application process had been successfully completed," he said.

"We're in the hands of the French now. I'm hopeful they will sort things out their end and we will be able to get our medals someday soon. These are medals that were promised to us. The delay is certainly not ideal."

West Bromwich West MP Adrian Bailey has rallied around the cause. He says he has written to the Ministry of Defence requesting they urge the French Government to 'act quickly' to ensure all surviving veterans are given the medal.

"This is the highest award the French Government can award any individual, recognising selfless acts of heroism and determination," he added.

"This was certainly true in this case of everyone of those D-Day veterans who played such a major role in helping liberate France from Nazi occupation during the D-Day landings 70 years ago."

Dr Julian Lewis, MP for New Forest East, raised the issue in Parliament last month.

The distribution of the medals has been blighted by red tape from day one. Initially the MoD said it was short of manpower to process the applications.

One the details were sent over to France they had to be translated, causing further delays.

The French Embassy in London says the applications are now being prioritised on age and health grounds, meaning the oldest and most infirm veterans will receive their medals first.