Memorial represents lasting legacy of D-Day veteran

Albert Figg was a gunner with the 43rd Wessex Division at Hill 112

The daughter of a D-Day veteran from Kent said her father wanted a new generation to learn from the lessons of the past.

Albert Figg, a gunner from Canterbury, fought in the Battle for Hill 112, an allied strategic point near Caen, Normandy, in June 1944.

The sergeant with the 43rd Wessex Division died in 2017, aged 97.

Speaking at the memorial in France her father campaigned for many years to build, Annette Oliver said he had "wanted the young to be told about what had gone on - that life can be vicious and fragile".

Hill 112 was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of World War Two.

Exactly 80 years ago allied troops headed from the Normandy beaches to capture the hill.

During his lifetime Albert Figg campaigned to set up a memorial on the hill - a place to remember the friends he had lost in the brutal 10-week battle.

A renovated tank was installed in 2000, followed by a statue of an infantryman and a field gun.

Albert Figg campaigned for many years to get a memorial at Hill 112 in Normandy

It was a key victory for the allies, but won at massive cost.

A total of 10,000 allied soldiers were killed there.

It became known as "death valley".

Ms Oliver said: "Most importantly, like all veterans, he wanted to educate the young.

"That's his story.

"That's all veterans - that's their story. They want it out there."

The statue of an infantryman was erected at Hill 112

A spokesperson for the Hill 112 Memorial Foundation said: "Thanks to the tireless work of Sgt Albert Figg, this once blood-soaked piece of ground is a place of peace and reconciliation."