A World War Two codebreaker, who was pictured sitting alone on his wheelchair giving a salute to his fallen comrades, has become a great-grandfather again while out in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. 

Bernard Morgan, 100, from Crewe in Cheshire, was seen yesterday saluting the graves at the Bayeux Cemetery in an image that touched the hearts of the nation. 

To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Mr Morgan, journeyed to Normandy this week with over 30 former serviceman – with it emerging he became a great-grandfather again as he crossed the English Channel. 

As the RAF war hero grieved for those who gave their lives, The Mirror quoted him as poignantly saying: ‘Seeing these graves reminds me how I’m so lucky to have escaped alive.’

The former codebreaker signed up to join the war effort on his 18th birthday in February 1942.

At just 20-years-old he was the youngest RAF Sergeant to land in Normandy and one of the first to discover the war had ended when he deciphered a secret telex which read: ‘The German war is now over… The surrender is effective some time tomorrow’.

British veteran Bernard Morgan, 100, salutes at Bayeux cemetery, on the day of commemorative events for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, in Bayeux, France

Mr Morgan bows his head as he sits alone among the graves in a moment of quiet to remember his fallen comrades in an image that has touched the hearts of the nation

Mr Morgan, pictured 1st May, 1944 whilst working as an RAF codebreaker

Today, royalty and world leaders will gather with veterans to mark the anniversary of the D-Day landings. 

The King and Queen will pay tribute to fallen soldiers at the UK’s national commemoration event at the British Normandy Memorial, in Ver-sur-Mer, along with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Read More

How D-Day unfolded, hour by hour: On the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, MailOnline’s scintillating visualisations recount the daring mission to liberate Nazi-occupied Europe in forensic detail

The site, which opened in 2021, pays tribute to 22,442 service personnel under British command who died on D-day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944.

This will be the first major anniversary event hosted at the memorial, and Charles and Camilla will officially open the Winston Churchill Centre for Education and Learning following the emotional commemorations today.

Their visit comes after an emotional ceremony in Portsmouth yesterday where the King appeared to wipe away a tear during an event where he paid tribute to the ‘courage, resilience and solidarity’ of veterans.

Meanwhile, William will attend the Canadian commemorative event at the Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer, before joining more than 25 heads of state and veterans for the official international ceremony on Omaha Beach, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

The day will begin early with a piper on the beach at Arromanches helping to mark the biggest seaborne invasion in military history, before commemorations continue in the French town including a veterans parade, air and firework display.

Bayeux War Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War in France, will host a service led by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Bernard Morgan, 100, was a codebreaker during WWII and found out the war in Europe was going to end two days before the rest of the world

Mr Morgan training at Oxford base, August 2, 1943

Mr Morgan has been to visit the graves in Normandy previously with his daughter.

The D-Day veteran previously told MailOnline: ‘I always think about the three wireless operators that I lost in Normandy. They were the lads bringing me the messages.

Read More

Lest we forget their sacrifice: Lone military piper pays tribute to fallen D-Day soldiers on Gold Beach to mark exact moment British troops stormed Normandy beaches 80 years ago today

‘One of them was 19 and two of them were 20, and whenever I go to Normandy, I always go to their graves.’

On D-Day, Mr Morgan landed in Normandy on Gold Beach, carrying a large cypher machine used to decode orders. 

Recalling his memories of that day, Mr Morgan told the BBC: ‘When we landed, it was sad to see all the dead soldiers lying on the beach. The first time I’d ever seen a dead person.

‘Sadly they jumped out of the landing craft, different type of landing craft to ours, where the front door came down. They dropped in the water, it was so deep, all the equipment they were carrying weighed them down and they drowned.’

It was the largest invasion ever assembled which saw 156,000 Allied troops land on Normandy beachheads by sea and by air and around 4,400 men were killed. 

During the journey across the Channel yesterday, a wreath was thrown into the sea by Harry Birdsall, 98, and Alec Penstone, 98, in memory of those who never made it ashore.

King Charles addresses the national commemorative event for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth yesterday

Military piper Major Trevor Macey-Lillie plays a lament as he is driven ashore on Gold Beach in an amphibious vehicle this morning

People gather together as the sun rises over Gold Beach this morning on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings

A military reenactor looks out to sea as the sun rises on Gold Beach this morning ahead of a day of events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day

Veteran Jack Mortimer becomes emotional while travelling to France from Britain on Tuesday, June 4, ahead of D-Day commemorations

In the moving display both stood saluting to the Last Post, while all the veterans sang Land Of Hope And Glory before they were cheered by the other passengers.

On Tuesday, Mr Morgan — alongside three other veterans — brought some of their most treasured wartime tributes to Buckingham Palace as they met the King and Queen. Mr Morgan brought a a still pristine pair of football boots.

When asked by the Queen what his recollections of D-Day were, Mr Morgan said: ‘When we came off our landing ship tank, down on the beach the army were there collecting the poor soldiers who drowned on the initial landing.’ 

After the War, Mr Morgan worked on the railways and at Crewe Alexandra where he was a turnstile operator for 57 years.