D-Day veteran who helped liberate Bergen-Belsen dies at age 104

Donald “Don” Sheppard, a messenger driver with the Royal Engineers, landed in a landing tank on Juno beach on 6 June 1944.

In one of the most successful military operations in history, which celebrated its 80th anniversary this year, around 156,000 British, American and Canadian soldiers launched from the sea and air onto French soil.

On Sunday, the British Normandy Memorial account posted on X: “We are saddened to hear of the death of 104-year-old D-Day veteran Donald Sheppard.

“Donald attended the virtual opening of the memorial in 2021 and can be seen in the Winston Churchill Centre's @PoppyLegion exhibition.

“Thinking of Donald's wife Sandra and his family. Rest in peace, Don.”

Speaking to the PA news agency in 2019, Mr Sheppard, from Basildon, Essex, described D-Day as a “waste of human life” but acknowledged that the landing was “so important”.

He said: “I know we had to defend ourselves… but young people like me, 20, 21, who didn't last five minutes, some of them were killed before they could get off the boat.”

“Tragic, absolutely.”

Arriving at Juno Beach at around 4.30pm, Mr Sheppard said the Germans had “really gained distance and the shells were coming down like a shower of rain” and battleships were also firing over their heads.

“We lost quite a few people,” he said. “We (the survivors) were really lucky.”

After breaking through the Nazi lines in August, he traveled on to Belgium, Holland and finally Germany – including to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Speaking about his experience, Mr Sheppard said: “I will never forget this for the rest of my life. How one person can do something like that to another person.”

The only injury he suffered during the war was a cut on his leg while taking cover in a trench as German bombs were falling.

But some seven decades later, medical examinations and scans revealed that a shrapnel fragment was lodged in his lung.

Mr Sheppard said the piece of metal never caused any health problems.