Final trip to D-day beach is veteran’s last wish

The 93-year-old from Bishopthorpe, North Yorkshire, was determined to take his place among the remembrance events in France to mark the 70th anniversary of the historic military operation earlier this month.

And tributes were being paid to the former soldier this week after his death in the early hours of Saturday, days after travelling to Normandy with his son Rob.

Rob said his father lived a full life and should be remembered as a “fighter to the very end” who always battled adversity.

“He was as fit as a fiddle until he was into his 90s, and lived a very full life,” Mr Rowbotham added. “He had been gearing up for the trip to Normandy all year - he really wanted to go one last time. He wasn’t in the best of health but he really wanted to make that one last effort, and it was a very emotional day.

“It was really good to see him make the whole day, and meet Camilla (Duchess of Cornwall). He’s met the Queen and Prince Charles in the past so he was chuffed about that.”

Born in 1921, Mr Rowbotham was first posted to the Imphal Barracks in York and became known as one of York’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ D-Day veterans. He recently spoke of his experiences on Sword Beach, ahead of the 70th anniversary.

“It was raining cats and dogs when our truck went down the ramp of a landing barge on Sword Beach,” he said just weeks before his death.

“There was chaos on the beach. Everything had been well organised beforehand, but then nothing went as planned.”

Kenneth Smith, from the Normandy Veterans Association, said: “Roy was a gentleman. He would do anything for anyone. He came to meetings once a month and came on various activities. He hadn’t been so very brilliant recently but he was determined to get to Normandy, whether he was well enough or not. He said he was going no matter what.

“It was wonderful to see him planting flags on the beaches and taking in the day. It meant so much for him to be there. We don’t yet know about his funeral arrangements but we will hold a guard of honour for him.”

Tributes were also paid to Mr Rowbotham on social networking sites. Twitter user @3468Marsh wrote: “Desperately sad news. So pleased he had one final, glorious weekend in the spotlight last week. RIP Roy.”

John Richards said: “Had the great honour and pleasure to meet him twice this week. Hoped he would recover.”

And the Brentwood Legion band paid tribute to Mr Rowbotham with the words: “Stand easy Roy, you have deserved it. Thank you for everything you did.”

As well as his actions on D-Day, Mr Rowbotham fought as a Desert Rat in North Africa. He served in North Korea, Japan, Singapore, Northern Ireland and Germany, where he met wife Christa.

The couple married in 1960 and had two children - Rob and Angela - and three grandchildren.

Rob added: “It’s very sad news for us all, and despite knowing he was in poor health, it still came as a shock to us.

“He started going downhill following the death of my mother three years ago, but we can now at least find some comfort in knowing they are back together. He died within a week of us coming back from Normandy so it really does feel like he was holding out for that and he died happy.”

Mr Rowbotham’s children thanked the Normandy Veterans’ Association for their help making the trip to Normandy possible.