'Rest easy, shipmate': D-Day veteran dies aged 101

A Royal Marines veteran who escorted Allied troops landing on D-Day has died aged 101.

Francis "Jim" Grant, from Stowmarket, Suffolk, provided covering fire for the troops landing on Sword Beach in Normandy on 6 June, 1944.

The veteran, who celebrated his birthday on 20 December, attended the Remembrance Sunday service in central London in November and was also at the annual D-Day ceremony of remembrance in France in June.

The Stowmarket branch of the Royal Naval Association, where Grant was president, announced on Friday that he died after a short illness.

"It is with sadness that we have been informed that shipmate Jim Grant, our branch president, crossed the bar yesterday after a short illness at the age of 101," it said.

"Jim served with the Royal Marines during the Second World War, taking part in both the D-Day landings in 1944 and then the vital Battle of the Scheldt, which opened the port of Antwerp.

"A holder of France's highest National Order of Merit, the Legion d'honneur, we were honoured to have Jim as a shipmate.

"Rest easy, shipmate, your watch is complete."

Grant joined the Royal Marines aged 18 in 1943 and served until 1946, patrolling beaches and escorting Allied troops around Sword, Gold and Juno beaches on D-Day and taking part in the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944.

For his 100th birthday, the local community group Grant attended weekly at the United Reformed Church in Stowmarket organised a surprise party, attended by family and friends, representatives from the Royal Navy and a representative of the King.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.