D-Day veteran celebrates 100th birthday

D-Day veteran Douglas Parish was joined by several uniformed officers from the Royal Naval Association, of which he is a life member

A veteran of the D-Day landings has celebrated his 100th birthday – and been gifted a keepsake bottle of the traditional rum of the Royal Navy.

Commander Douglas Parish was a 19-year-old midshipman on 6 June 1944, during a huge military operation to free Europe from the Nazis.

He was serving on HMS Mauritius when the warship was exchanging fire with enemy gun positions off the coast of Normandy and he was later awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government.

His centenary was celebrated on Sunday at Braemar Lodge Care Home, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he was delighted to receive the bottle of Pussers Rum, despite being teetotal.

Mr Parish said he had wanted to be a naval engineering officer since he was 10 years old

D-Day was the largest military naval, air and land operation ever attempted.

The invasion force included about 7,000 ships and landing craft, crewed by nearly 200,000 soldiers from eight nations.

Speaking of that day, he said: "I've never seen anything like it in my life.

"You couldn't see the sea for ships. There were all sorts there.

"They were so close you felt you could almost step out and walk across them."

He said there were "bangs in all directions".

"It wasn't a scene of chaos but it was an incredible scene, you'll never see it ever again," he added.

Mr Parish celebrated his 100th birthday with military gifts and tributes

To mark his birthday the father-of-four was joined by 55 family guests and was presented with a framed birthday message from the First Sea Lord, General Sir Gwyn Jenkin and a personal birthday message from the Admiral of the Fleet Air Arm.

His daughter, Alison Larkham, said that at the age of 100 "he's not sitting back".

"He's getting on with writing his life story," she said.

"He keeps himself busy. He has an incredible brain, a very active mind."

After retiring from the navy in 1967, he retrained as a technical college lecturer and took a post at the Aircraft Engineering Training Wing in Middle Wallop, where he worked for 17 years.

Asked what the secret was to living to a great age, he said: "I really enjoy being the patriarch of such a large family.

"I love to see everyone together".