New book honours soldiers who took part in D-Day landings

Relatives of D-Day veterans enjoyed a party to celebrate the launch of a new book which tells the individual stories of those who took part. 

D-Day Spearhead Brigade has been written by author Christopher Jary - who is also a Trustee at the Keep Museum in Dorchester - the museum of the Devonshire and Dorset regiments. 

At the book launch in Dorchester were several relatives of men who landed with the Dorsets or Devons on D-Day.  

Professor Hugh Loxdale is the nephew (and was named after) Major Hugh Duke MC and Bar, who commanded C Company of the 2nd Devons and was killed by a sniper in the late morning of D-Day.  

Ken Noble is the son of Corporal Fred Noble, who was in A Company of the 1st Dorsets and was one of the very first ashore at 0730 that morning.  

Both Hugh Duke and Fred Noble were veterans of Malta, where they served throughout the siege, and the campaign in Sicily and Italy.  Happily, Fred survived to return to his family and in this picture his son Ken is proudly wearing his father’s miniature medals.  

Author Christopher Jary said: "It was an honour to write the book and, in doing so, to get to know the relatives and surviving veterans of D-Day. It is an amazing story and one we must never forget." 

"As a result of D-Day Spearhead Brigade, Professor Loxdale found his Uncle Hugh’s fiancée, Jane.  She was only seventeen when she lost her 25-year-old fiancée in 1944.  Now 92, she greeted him touchingly: “You’d have been my nephew.” " he added.

D-Day Spearhead Brigade is available from Waterstones and the Keep Museum www.KeepMilitaryMuseum.org