A TULLIBODY resident has been given the highest French military honour in recognition of his efforts during the infamous D-Day landings in Normandy.

William McLaughlin was awarded the Ordre National Legion d'Honneur on Sunday during a lavish ceremony hosted at the Orchard Care Home, where he lives.

The event also included a trip to the newly-renovated Lychgate War Memorial in the public park, with a small parade held in his honour.

Mr McLaughlin was given the distinction of Chevalier, or Knight, by Emmanuel Cocher, the consul général from France.

But despite such a recognition, the humble 92-year-old simply said he was honoured to received the award, before adding: "I don't know what all the fuss is about – I was just doing my job."

Originally from Plean, Mr McLaughlin was a Royal Navy signaller man during World War Two, having signed up at the age of 18.

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He was just 20 years old when in June of 1944 the Allied fleet landed in Nazi-occupied France.

As radio signals could have alerted the enemy, his role was to stand on the open deck in the line of fire and pass visual messages between crafts using flags, Morse code, and lights.

He was posted to LCT 709 – a Landing Craft Tank also know as the “Midnight Marauder” and one similar to those built on the River Forth at Alloa.

He helped transport Canadian tanks and troops onto Juno beach and was among the first wave of vessels to land in what was a bloody day of fighting.

In his memoirs, Mr McLaughlin recalled the events of the landings and the operations beforehand.

He said: “D-Day was planned for the June 5. On June 4 we loaded up with five self-propelled 25-pounder guns and their ammunition trucks belonging to the Canadian Army. The vessel was tied up to a buoy in the Solent to await a signal to move out. We didn't know that the operation was postponed for 24 hours, so we were expecting the signal anytime.

“The signal to move out came on the June 5. We proceeded to a rendezvous off the Isle of Wight where we got our orders about our destination, then sailed into the English Channel in convoy, heading to France.

"We sailed all night. Just before daylight we were about a mile off the French coast, when the signal came to open fire. Our field guns opened fire pounding the beach.

"On the second run in an enemy gun was giving us bother, so the captain said to me: 'Tell the destroyer about that gun'.

"I signalled the destroyer: 'Enemy gun, white house halfway up hill'. A couple of minutes later there was a flash from the destroyer, a puff of smoke at the white house and the gun was silenced."

He added: "About 200 yards from the shore we dropped anchor. Then we beached, dropped the door and the guns and trucks moved onto the beach.

"Our orders were to return to Southampton as soon as possible, load up and head back to France to land on an allocated beach. We travelled back and forth for two or three weeks, delivering various Army and RAF units to their allocated beaches."

Following the hostilities, he went on to marry shop assistant May Murdoch in 1949, and worked as a joiner.

The couple were married for 65 years, before her death last year, and lived in Bannockburn, Stirling.

They had three children and four grandchildren. Mr McLaughlin is now also a great-grandfather.

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On Sunday, Mr McLaughlin was accompanied by his friends, family and Wee County dignitaries as he was transported to the war memorial.

He also travelled in a vintage Armstrong Siddeley car loaned for the occasion by local man Keith Ward.

The presentation took place in The Orchard Care Home, Tullibody, where Mr McLaughlin is now a resident.

The Wee County was represented by Depute Lord Lieutenant William Jarvis, Provost Tina Murphy and John Barrett, the chairman of Legion Scotland for Clackmannanshire and District, along with representatives from the Royal Navy and Police Scotland.

Keith Brown MSP, who also attended on Sunday, said: "The Legion of Honour is a great recognition for the role that veterans like Mr McLaughlin played in the liberation of France in 1944.

“It was an enormous privilege for me to share in Mr McLaughlin’s celebration and to hear about his experiences at Juno Beach.”

Lynne Hiddleston, of the Orchard Care Home, added: "It all went very smoothly. We had the red carpet out and everyone really put in a lot of effort to make sure it all went well."

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