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D-Day veteran to be given train honour


By PA News



D-Day veteran Harry Billinge with his MBE for charitable fundraising (Victoria Jones/PA)

A D-Day veteran who was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold Beach is to have a train named in his honour.

Former Royal Engineer Horace “Harry” Billinge was just 18 when he stormed the beaches in German-occupied Normandy during the landings on June 6, 1944.

The sapper from St Austell, Cornwall, was awarded an MBE last year for charitable fundraising after collecting more than £50,000 for veterans.

His name has been placed on a Great Western Railway Intercity Express train and an unveiling ceremony will be held at 9.10am on Wednesday.

The train operator has dedicated six trains to “remarkable individuals” involved in the Second World War this year, 75 years after its conclusion.

Others to be honoured include Sir Winston Churchill and Alan Turing.

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