The hero of Pegasus (From Gazette & Herald)

The hero of Pegasus

VERA Humble's late husband Frank never talked much about the war. Like a lot of Normandy veterans, he kept his experiences close to his chest. Perhaps he judged them to have no place in the contented family life he later found in Pickering with his wife and four sons.

But one night, while watching a programme about D-Day, he revealed to Vera that he had been one of the crucial group of soldiers to take Pegasus bridge.

He was a member of the Seventh Airborne Division, one of 180 soldiers who were dropped from aircraft in the early hours of June 6, 1944, paving the way for the D-Day landings and, it is widely agreed, securing a turning point for the allied invasion of Europe.

The bridge, which is situated near Benouville, slightly inland, was crucial for the landings - so that there were men behind the Germans as the troops came in.

On the television programme, someone mentioned the legendary Bill Millin, a Lovat soldier who walked across the bridge playing the bagpipes and avoided enemy fire.

"I was there, I saw him do it," Frank told Vera. It was one of his clearest memories of the war.

Frank was injured in both legs when he volunteered to go behind enemy lines during battle, and was discharged in 1945 because of sustained health problems.

Having been born in Rillington, the son of a Norton butcher, he returned to Ryedale and helped out his sister and brother-in-law in their butcher's shop in Pickering, where he met and married Vera.

He later worked as a rep for Chadwick Hargreaves quarry, and was well known around the area for selling coal and tarmac.

A modest man, he didn't mention his long service, and never even picked up his medals before he died of cancer in 1995.

"Frank always said he wasn't bothered about medals," said Vera. "But when he died, I suddenly thought we should have them. I wrote off, and I was worried because we have four sons, and I didn't know who to give it to. But when they arrived, there were four!"

Frank had been awarded the 1939-1945 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, and the War medal 1939-45.

"I cried when I saw them," said Vera. "He was a wonderful man, and it was such a cruel twist of fate that he died of cancer after everything he had been through."

Updated: 16:16 Thursday, June 03, 2004