Normandy commemoration of Preston D-Day heroes after funeral in lockdown was the "saddest thing I've ever seen"

Gerard Rogerson and Philip Kenyon, both from Preston, were involved in the invasion of the beaches at Normandy by allied troops in June, 1944.

Mr Rogerson died during the height of the Covid pandemi in April 2020, with his funeral limited because of lockdown restrictions.

David Waters Colonel (retd) President of the Central Lancashire Armed Forces Veterans Association said: "His funeral was the saddest thing I've ever seen.

"His wife had to be on her own and all of our lads were told they couldn't attend. So they all lined up outside, six feet apart."

Major Kenyon, who has been described by Col Waters as "quite a character", died in 2022 aged 97.

These were the tributes given at Mayor Philip Kenyon’s funeral

Celebration

Now, to properly celebrate the men, 16 Royal Engineers will place two wreaths on the British Normandy Memorial in Normandy.

Col Waters said: "It's a very impressive memorial and we want to go and add our bit, remembering these two men.

"As individuals, their lives were turned upside down by war. They answered when the need was the greatest, and although war is a terrible thing, it made them into better men."

Gerard Rogerson

Gerard Rogerson, from Longridge, was 18 when he took part in the Normandy beach landings in June 1944, during which he regularly had to wade out into the sea to bring supplies ashore – even though he couldn’t swim.

His service and bravery were recognised when he was presented with the Legion D’Honneur – France’s highest military commendation – at a special ceremony in 2016.

He had never left Lancashire before being embarking on his military duties, which ultimately saw him dispatched to the frontline in France as a member of the Royal Engineers. It was there that he took part in Operation Overlord, during which Allied forces stormed five beaches, including one named Juno, where Mr Rogerson landed in support of Canadian troops and spent more than a month under near-constant attack.

After his homecoming, Mr. Rogerson went to work at Whittingham Hospital, where he spent almost half a century tending the grounds.

Homebuilder Barratt Homes has decided to name their new development on the former Whittingham Hospital site Rogerson Gardens after him in 2021.

Philip Kenyon

Major Kenyon joined up as an 18-year-old Sapper and within a year found himself driving a 15cwt Bedford truck on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day landings.

He was one of only four Royal Engineers attached to the First US Army as they tried to open up the port of Cherbourg.

After the end of the war he married French woman Jeannine Brisse and the couple finally made it back to England in 1948. He decided to stay in the Army and, with his wife and two daughters, he travelled the world, serving in places like Malaya, India, Hong Kong and what is now Ghana.

After retirement and a decade of extra duties at Fulwood Barracks he remained in Preston and was an active member of the Preston branch of the Royal Engineers Association.

He was also given the Legion d'Honneur.

Speaking at the funeral service Col Waters described Major Kenyon, who stood just over 5ft tall, as "one small soldier, one giant of a man."