D-Day veteran receives MBE from Princess Royal

A D-Day veteran who was the youngest RAF sergeant to take part in the Normandy landings has received his MBE medal.

Bernard Morgan, 102, was handed his award during a ceremony hosted by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

The former World War Two code breaker, who deciphered a telegram announcing the German surrender, was made an MBE in the New Year Honours in recognition of his services to volunteering and history.

Morgan, from Crewe, Cheshire, said when he spoke to Princess Anne, he reminded her of the time he found her without security at a showjumping competition when she was a child.

"I got to the entrance, there she was sat on the grass verge, no police there," he said. "So I had a word with her early and reminded her."

His grandson Paul Borrington said she did remember the encounter when they talked.

Morgan joined the war effort on his 18th birthday and landed on Gold Beach in Normandy, France, on the back of a Bedford truck, carrying a cypher machine as part of the assaults in 1944.

He was a 20-year-old RAF sergeant, the youngest to take part in the landings, and he was later based in Germany in May 1945, working for an intelligence unit.

He was previously awarded a number of military medals, including a Légion d'Honneur from the French government.

In recent years, Morgan gave talks at museums, schools and cadet groups, which which led to him receiving his MBE.

Speaking to the BBC in December, after his honour was announced, he said he felt "very fortunate" to have been selected.

He said he hoped his work had made a positive impact on future generations.

"I appreciate the way they've accepted all the things that I've taken to show them about the second world war," he said.

"I always tell them the heroes from the war are the men and women in the Navy, the Army and the Air Force who gave their lives for the freedom that we have today."

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