Ray Lord: One of last D-Day veterans dies aged 97

Ray Lord was a prominent member of the Normandy Veterans' Association

Tributes have been paid to one of the country's last D-Day veterans, who has died at the age of 97.

Ray Lord, from Hull, enlisted in the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1943 and was one of thousands who landed on the beaches of France on 6 June 1944.

Despite being injured by a mortar bomb, he made it to Germany and was in the city of Bremen when the war in Europe came to an end.

His son, Robert Lord, described him as a "very proud hero of Hull".

"It's very difficult to imagine what it was like for that generation," he said.

"He joined up - he was wanting to join up - and I think he wanted do his bit for the country.

"I think if he could have gone earlier, he would have done."

'Big adventure'

Mr Lord joined the Army as a boy soldier at the age of 14. He then worked repairing bomb damage in Hull until he was allowed to take up a combat role at the age of 18.

Speaking to the BBC a few years ago, he recalled landing on the Normandy beaches on D-Day in 1944.

"I was green as grass. It was a big adventure to me," he said.

"I was sick as a dog going across, of course, because the sea was rough. As soon as I landed, I was up to my thighs in water as we waded ashore."

Ray Lord was one of thousands of British troops who landed in France on 6 June 1944

Mr Lord was a prominent member of the Normandy Veterans' Association and took part in commemorations of the liberation of Europe in France and the Netherlands.

His son said it was only in later life that Mr Lord got involved with veterans' groups.

"Growing up as a kid, if you asked him, 'What did you do in the war, dad?' he was a bit reluctant to open up, to come forward," he said.

"I think it's the horrors of what they'd seen, and you hear it from a lot of that generation who went through it."