A NINETY-five-year-old D-Day veteran, who was disappointed to not be able to travel to Normandy for the 75th anniversary commemorations in June, has been surprised with a letter from the Queen.

Raymond, who was born in Prescot in 1923, joined the 1st Battalion of the South Lancashire regiment in September 1942 and was part of the first wave landing on Sword Beach, Normandy on June 6, 1944 and saw action in France, Holland and Belgium and finished up in Croatia.

He was demobbed in 1948 and returned to St Helens, where he set up as a pig farmer before going on to work at Greenalls brewery.

Raymond, who was awarded France's highest honour the Legion d'Honneur in June, was upset that he has had to miss his official trip to Normandy with the Royal British Legion as he has been ill in hospital with a leg infection.

St Helens Star:

His friends at St Helens Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club not only surprised him on the day with a celebration in Whiston Hospital to cheer him up but they also wrote a letter to the Queen explaining why their beloved friend couldn't make it on the official trip.

And weeks later they were elated when the Queen responded with a letter and a postcard addressed to Ray.

It said: "The Queen was sorry to learn that Mr Rush was taken ill, and therefore could not take part in the recent commemorations to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

However, Her Majesty was heartened to hear that his friends took such care to make sure he had an enjoyable day, nonetheless.

"The Queen sends her good wishes to Mr Rush, and to all his fellow members in the Breakfast Club, and I enclose a postcard of Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh which he may like to have.

"I am to thank you once again for your kind thought in writing as you do.

"Yours Sincerley Mary Morrison, Lady in Waiting."