Sunderland’s WWII hero Ted Hold, 96, is set to receive France’s highest honour, the Legion d’Honneur.
The award has been presented to British WWII veterans who participated in the D-Day landings to commemorate the part they played in France’s liberation from Nazi control.
Ted served in the 6th Airborne Division as a signaller and was dispatched to the Pegasus Bridge in Bénouville, France. Arriving in an Airspeed Horsa glider towed by C-47s, he landed in France before forming up in the attack on the Pegasus Bridge, a key crossing of the Caen Canal.
Anthony Hold, Ted’s son said: “When we were in Normandy in 2014 for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, word got around that all of the D-Day veterans will be getting the Legion d’Honneur, but only a few people did and we never knew why.
“Recently, his friends in the Sunderland Parachute Regiment Association applied again on his behalf, and this time we got acknowledgement from the Ministry of Defence.
“They’ve said it’s been forwarded to the French government and we should hear in about six weeks or so.”
When told of the news of his medal being approved, Ted Hold said: “I don’t think I did anything necessarily exciting, I don’t think I did anything at all.
“I just got on with the job, did what had to be done, and that was it. I didn’t sort of say, here we are, lets have a good time around it. You just got on with your job.”