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‘We will miss you’; Tributes to D-Day veterans who championed the sacrifices of their comrades
9 February 2026
A reminder that our links with the greatest generation and the ‘great crusade’ are increasingly fragile with the passing of two prominent Royal Navy D-Day veterans.
Former gunner Stan Ford – who became one of the faces of Normandy commemorations in recent years – and junior officer John Roberts were at the heart of events marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024.
Stan from Bath died at the weekend while John, who settled in north Kent, died shortly after Christmas.
Both vividly remembered the invasion – and were determined to tell their stories to all who would listen to ensure the sacrifices of youth were never forgotten by the generations which followed.
As a 19-year-old gunner Stan was one of 38 men rescued when HMS Fratton – an armed boarding vessel – was sunk by a German ‘human torpedo’ just a week before the liberation of Paris.
Stan has worn leg callipers ever since due to the injuries he sustained after being blown into the Seine Bay by the blast. Thirty-one of his shipmates were lost.
He became heavily involved in the new British Normandy Memorial, in particular raising funds for and awareness of the education centre on the site at Gold Beach.
That fundraising was part of wider ranging efforts by the veteran from Bath to champion the deeds and preserve the memory of the WW2 generation.
He attended a string of D-Day events and commemorations, visited schools, spoke at fundraising concerts,
A spokesperson for the Normandy Memorial Trust said: “Stan, we will miss you.
“We were so fortunate that he visited the memorial multiple times – he dedicated himself to keeping alive the memory of his fallen comrades and was a true friend of the memorial.”
Two years ago Stan was one of a handful of veterans who met in Portsmouth to help launch events planned to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings – and add their names to the memorial wall outside the memorial wall outside the D-Day Museum
He was joined by John Roberts, a 20-year-old sub lieutenant in 1944, who went on to become a fighter pilot in Korea, captained aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and headed the Fleet Air Arm, retiring after a 40-year career in the Service in 1978.
On 6 June 1944 he was serving in destroyer HMS Serapis which spent 11 days on the gunline hammering German positions, initially around Sword beach.
He died aged 101 – Britain’s oldest admiral at the time of his passing, just after Christmas – witnessed the loss of Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner on D-Day itself which “brought us home to us that this wasn’t a picnic”.
Serapis’ location in the line of battle gave her crew a front-row seat to the most spectacular – and devastating – combined air and naval bombardment ever unleashed.
“Aged 20 I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. And I am so glad I can talk about it,” he recounted 80 years later.
“What we did was a necessary evil. I hope that young people learn about the exploits and sacrifices made in 1944 and together we make sure that it doesn’t happen again. That is my wish.
“I will never forget D-Day, and I’m proud to know that the British people won’t forget either.”