D-Day veteran given top French war honour
A D-DAY veteran from Croft has been awarded France’s highest military honour.
Ken Grain, 92, was presented with the Legion D’Honneur for his part in the 1944 campaign to drive the Nazis out of France.
French consul JeanClaude Lafontaine gave Ken his medal last month after being invited to make the presentation by Leicestershire and Rutland Family History Society.
The French government is honouring all British soldiers who fought on French soil and the society arranged for Ken, of Croft, to get the award.
Mr Lafontaine, himself a former soldier, caused laughter among the 70 people gathered for the ceremony in Wigston by warning Ken he would be getting a traditional French hug along with the medal.
The diplomat told Ken: “This is an amazing opportunity to say thank you on behalf of my generation in France and the whole of Europe.
“We have lived in peace in Europe for 72 years thanks to Ken and his colleagues.
“France and England have been a troubled family – sometimes friends and sometimes enemies – but we owe much to your generation.
“This is a thank you to the men who were willing to give their lives for us. France will never forget.
“Long live Britain, long live France and long live l’entente cordiale.”
Ken was born in Filbert Street, Leicester, and was 15 when the Second World War broke out. He lied about his age so he could join the Civil Defence Force.
He turned down a chance to work down the mines, deciding it would be too dangerous, and joined the Army instead.
He arrived with the Royal Signals on Juno Beach shortly after the D-Day landings to lay vital telephone lines – including at Chateau de Creully, which Field Marshal Montgomery had made his headquarters.
He returned to Leicester on leave in 1945, when he married Dora Graves, before being stationed in Germany until he was demobbed in 1947.
Ken, now president of the Croft branch of the Royal British Legion, said the award was a complete surprise.
He said: “I knew something was happening but I wasn’t allowed to read my incoming emails.
“I have been more apprehensive about this than when I arrived in Normandy. I feel humbled.
“I remember getting to France and the beach. The fighting had moved on when I arrived and I thought ‘this is just like Mablethorpe’.
“When we went, I never heard anyone there say we were heroes.
“That’s a general term people use now but we had a task, we were trained and we did it to the best of our ability.
“This has been a lovely day. I’ve never been so popular and had so many people wanting to take my picture.”
Peter Cousins, chairman of Leicestershire and Rutland Family History Society, said: “It’s great to be able to arrange this for Ken. He really deserves it and I am glad he has enjoyed it.”