A KNUTSFORD veteran has been rewarded for his selfless acts of heroism during The First World War with France’s highest military decoration.

Anthony Colgan received the Legion D’Honneur from Tatton MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and John Phipps, of veterans’ charity D-Day Revisited, at his home in Mearheath Park in Knutsford.

Anthony, known to family and friends as Tony, is looking forward to wearing his medal when he attends one of the Queen’s prestigious garden parties at Buckingham Palace later this month.

The Legion D’Honneur is being awarded by the French Government to all surviving veterans of the Normandy Landings and of the wider campaigns to liberate France in 1944, in recognition of their selfless acts of heroism.

Tony was a member of Durham Light Infantry and landed on Gold Beach.

When he left Southampton, he said the Solent was so full of ships that you could walk from Southampton to the Isle of Wight without touching the water.

Part of a platoon of infantry, Tony was on Bren Carrier with a Bren Gun 3” Mortar and after landing they proceeded up to the Jerusalem Crossing for Bayeux and Tilly-sur-Seules.

D-Day Revisited is a registered charity established in 2008 aimed at funding a 65th anniversary trip to the Normandy landings sites for the British Armed Forces veterans and it has been instrumental in ensuring that most members of their group have received their awards.

George said: “It was a great honour to meet Tony – he’s a real hero.

“I am always so impressed by the modesty and good humour of the veterans that I meet in my constituency and he was no exception.

“We owe him and his comrades an enormous debt of gratitude and I know that the people of Cheshire will never forget their sacrifice.”

D-Day Revisited is hoping to hold similar pilgrimages each year leading up to the 75th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.

Pictures: Jonathan Farber