Welsh D-Day veteran dies aged 98

D-Day veteran Ted Owens has died, aged 98

One of the last surviving D-day veterans from Wales has died at the age of 98.

Ted Owens, from Pembroke Dock, landed on Sword Beach, Normandy, in the initial wave of advances on 6 June 1944.

Aged 19 at the time, the Royal Marine Commando was hit by shrapnel during the invasion and badly wounded.

Former Pembroke Dock mayor Peter Kraus said Mr Owens, who died on Tuesday, was a "brilliant friend" who was "loved by everybody".

Mr Owens found himself unable to move after the injury he sustained in Normandy and was stretchered on to a landing craft.

He recovered for two-and-a-half months at a hospital in Caerphilly and, after five days' leave, was sent back to his unit.

He was wounded twice more in battles in the Netherlands before fighting in Dunkirk as part of a relief unit and during the Battle of the Bulge alongside the Americans.

Mr Kraus, who had been organising a party for Mr Owens' 99th birthday on 12 August, described him as "a pleasure to be with".

"He was fantastic, the stories he would tell about Pembroke Dock, Normandy, he'd remember just like it was yesterday," said Mr Kraus.

"He was invited to lots of schools and functions to talk about his life and he did a tremendous amount for the community.

"Ted lived life to the full, he was an absolute gentleman, loved by everybody.

"He will be greatly missed by people in Pembrokeshire."

Mr Owens visited Pont L’Eveque, Normandy, in 2019 where a sign described him as one of the town’s liberators