Daily Mirror

Hero who went from football field to battlefiel­d

Dunkirk vet Lucky Harry dies age 101 Arnhem para to be honoured

- BY LOUIE SMITH louie.smith@mirror.co.uk @smith_louie

Harry A DUNKIRK veteran who shared his wartime stories with Prince Harry has died, aged 101.

Harry Garrett – nicknamed Lucky Harry – was among the last British soldiers to be evacuated from the beaches in 1940.

Mortar fire left him unconsciou­s, but he escaped serious injury.

Harry, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was invited to Kensington Palace in London to meet the prince in July 2017.

Sevenoaks mayor, Nicholas Busvine, said: “Our living link with a great generation is gently fading away.” A PROFESSION­AL footballer killed at the Battle of Arnhem is being honoured 75 years on.

Sapper Sidney Gueran was buried in an unmarked grave, and his family have never been able to pay their respects.

But the former Southampto­n star will be commemorat­ed at a ceremony for fallen heroes of the 1944 assault next week. His niece Anne Wilton will be at the 75th anniversar­y event. The 65-yearold, from Cliftonvil­le, Kent, said: “Sid had so much life and success ahead of him had he returned. But he died a hero.

“My grandparen­ts, Sid’s parents, were never able to go to Arnhem.

“I cannot imagine how dreadful that was for them, spending the rest of their lives grieving for their son who has no known grave. But I will be there on their behalf and I will stand on the spot where he died and honour him from his family who will never forget him.”

Sid, from Grays, Essex, was on Arsenal’s books at 18 before going on loan to Saints in the late 30s and then Exeter.

He joined the Royal Engineers when war started before moving to the Parachute Regiment.

Sid was one of 10,000 paratroope­rs

MEMORIAL Niece Anne dropped behind enemy lines near Dutch town Arnhem in Operation Market Garden. He was shot dead, aged 27, while trying to secure a bridge over the Rhine.

The operation, portrayed in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, was a disaster with almost 2,000 allied troops killed.

 ??  ?? ROYAL MEETING Sid in his Southampto­n kit COURAGE In his wartime Army uniform
ROYAL MEETING Sid in his Southampto­n kit COURAGE In his wartime Army uniform
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