And Cyril, who served on a minesweeper in the Channel on June 6, 1944, wants the annual commemoration events to take place even when there are no veterans left to attend them. He said: “I hope to be able to come again next year, if I am in good health. “Lots of the veterans are passing away but there are still people who would like to visit the graves of their relatives. So the commemorations should go on in future years.

“We have just marked the centenary of the First World War, so I don’t see why we can’t keep remembering Day until its 100th anniversary. It is good to transmit the memories of what happened to children, to make the next generation aware.”

Cyril, of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1943, aged 18. He completed a gunnery course before joining HMS Ready, a minesweeper with 100 men on board.

Ready was tasked with clearing the Channel of mines in preparation for the D-Day landings.

This mission was not only dangerous due to the threat from German planes, it was emotionally punishing as the crew recovered many bodies.

Travelling to Normandy last week brought back vivid memories, with Cyril saying: “There were eight ships in our flotilla when we left Portsmouth and we had three sorts of mines to clear. It was done at night and I manned a 20mm gun. Altogether we exploded 21 mines.”

Cyril was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by France in 2012 and also saw service in Bombay, Borneo and Singapore, where he assisted Australian POWs.

Yet despite his brave service, in 2016 Cyril was targeted by conmen and lost his £9,000 life savings. Nine men, who stole £330,000 from elderly victims, were later jailed for a total of 27 years.

A public appeal raised £18,000 for Cyril and he gave the extra £9,000 to charities including the Not Forgotten Association, which helps improve the lives of serving and ex-service personnel.

To mark next year’s centenary of the NFA, a team including injured ex-servicemen will kayak down the Amazon for 60 days from August 2020. For details, visit amazoniankayak.com

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