D-day veteran built sets for Bond

James George never forgot the snowy January day in 1942 when he left his northeast home and went to war. After enlisting at the age of 20, the Gordon Highlander would go on to survive the D-day landings and help wage successful campaigns in Africa as the Second World War raged.

When he was demobbed, Mr George found employment and started a family in England.

But when he returned to his home town of Keith in 2016, for the first time in more than a decade, he greeted his family with the words “I’m hame” as he stepped off the train.

Mr George, then 94, said he was returning north “one last time” to pay his final respects to the friends he lost in battle and whose names are etched on the memorial statue in the Moray town.

The Chelsea Pensioner was made guest of honour during the remembrance parade that weekend and took the salute from the hundreds that marched down Church Road.

Following his death at the age of 97 on Sunday, Mr George has been remembered as a “remarkable veteran Gordon Highlander”.

Regimental Secretary, Major

Grenville Irvine-Fortescue, said: “Jimmy was immensely proud of his service with 5th/7th Gordon Highlanders.

“Much of his life was spent in the south, but he loved returning to his hometown of Keith.

“For those of us who had the privilege of knowing him, he will be greatly missed.’’

Mr George won seven medals during his time as a Gordon Highlander, and was awarded France’s prestigious National Order of the Legion of Honour in his later years.

His life took an extraordinary turn after leaving the Army as he put his carpentry skills to use at the Pinewood Studios in London, creating movie sets.

He helped in the production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, James Bond and Star Wars films, and rubbed shoulders with star names like Sir Sean Connery.

Mr George settled in England with wife Molly, who died in 2015 after 71 years of marriage. Their son, Colin, also predeceased him that year.

He then moved to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, and became an In-Pensioner.

Last June, Mr George returned to France to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.

James George was a Chelsea Pensioner