James Leisk, from the Shetland Isles, was serving as a sapper in the Royal Engineers when he took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1994. The 11 stamps released by Royal Mail in honour of the occasion includes pictures of troops from Britain, the USA and Canada, as they landed on the beaches of Normandy. The family had always been aware of their father’s presence in a famous photo of the invasion, which made it all the worse when they discovered he had been removed from Royal Mail’s stamp version. 

Mr Leisk’s daughter Jessamine Goudie said she was disappointed to see he had been airbrushed out. 

She told MailOnline: “It’s kind of vexing, because that is supposed to be the D-Day picture and I don’t understand why he has been removed.

“Our family always knew he had featured in the photograph and are proud that it has been regularly used during remembrance events over the years.

“I remember one of the daily papers, his photo was among the poppies. I think that was the 60th anniversary. 

“They said he was the face that told the story of the war. I’m always very proud of my dad.”

Mr Leisk was 33 on D-Day, and died at the age of 69 in 1980. 

A spokesman from Royal Mail said they cropped the image due to “limited space”. 

They said in a statement: “Unfortunately, due to the limited space available on a stamp it is sometimes necessary to crop an original image.

“We appreciate that this is a disappointment to the family of the soldier in the foreground of this original photograph but wish to assure them that no offence was intended.”

The stamps depict a number of famous scenes from D-Day, including one of paratroopers synchronising their watches prior to taking off, and another of troops taking over from an exploding enemy shell.

Upon their unveiling, Philip Parker of Royal Mail said the new stamps “pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of all those who took part.”

Richard Palusinki, Chair of the Spirit of Normandy Trust, said: “It is fitting that those who participated in securing the freedom we now enjoy should be remembered by the issue of these excellent Special Stamps.”

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