A heroic D-Day veteran honoured for helping to liberate French families in the Second World War has died.
Ray Mellors, who was a patient at Nottinghamshire Hospice in Mapperley, passed away at the age of 94 on Sunday (December 29).
He was awarded the Legion d’Honneur – France’s highest honour – for the role he played in liberating the country during the Second World War.
After landing on Normandy’s Sword beach back in 1944, Mr Mellors was heavily involved in the liberation of Caen before moving further into France and on to Belgium. He later joined Blackwatch regiment and took part in the Rhine crossing.
Mr Mellors was one of the last surviving D-Day veterans in Nottinghamshire.
Back in 2018, Nottinghamshire Hospice joined forces with the British Legion to organise a return visit to Normandy for Ray. It was the first time he had returned to the region since the end of the war.
He received a hero’s welcome upon his return from locals who had heard tales of his bravery.
During the visit, Mr Mellors told Gedling Eye that the trip had been ‘an emotional one’.
He said: “Looking at the beaches when the tide was out you realise how much beach we had to cross before we got onto the sand banks. It’s no wonder so many people were killed. I had tears in my eyes. It really tugged at the heart strings.”
“Even though I said when I got home after the war I’m was never going to cross that channel ever again, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
Mr Mellors, who was from Aspley, passed away on Sunday (December 29).
His family told Notts TV his passing will leave ‘a big hole in their hearts’.
