Hampshire: Last Royal Navy Dunkirk veteran dies aged 102

Lawrence Churcher died at his care home in Fareham days short of his 103rd birthday

A former sailor, believed to be the last Royal Navy veteran from Dunkirk, has died at the age of 102.

Lawrence Churcher, who was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, was posted to HMS Eagle at the start of the Second World War, landing in France in May 1940.

Announcing his death, charity Project 71, which supports WW2 veterans, said he was a "truly remarkable man".

In a Facebook post, it added: "Stand down Lawrence, your duty is done. It has been an honour to have known you."

Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Mr Churcher, who was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, passed away at a care home in nearby Fareham just days short of his 103rd birthday, according to Project 71.

Lawrence Churcher (centre) returned from France with his brothers, Edward and George

The charity said he was thought to be the last known naval veteran of the evacuation.

It said: "When he, together with thousands of others of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force), was ordered to pull back to the beaches, he began looking for the Hampshire Regiment in the hope of finding his two brothers, Edward and George.

"Amazingly they met each other and managed to sail back to the UK on the same ship."

Mr Churcher went on to serve in the Mediterranean, at D-Day and ended the war in the Far East

Mr Churcher is reported to have said: "When my brothers found me, I just felt relief.

"There were so many soldiers there and continuous aircraft dropping bombs and strafing us, I had so many things on my mind until I got on board of our ship.

"One fella leaned on my shoulder, gave a sigh of relief and said 'Thank God we've got a Navy' and that sort of churned it up inside of me. We knew we had to get those soldiers back from Dunkirk."

Mr Churcher went on to serve in the Mediterranean, at D-Day and ended the war in the Far East.

Since retiring from the Navy in 1960, he worked for a printers, sold ice creams in Portsmouth and became a football referee.

He was also Portsmouth FC's oldest fan, attending matches since 1928.