A Fife Second World War veteran was officially presented with France’s highest military honour the Legion d’honneur on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Eric Tandy, 95, now of Glenrothes, was presented with the prestigious medal by the French Consulate at a ceremony in Edinburgh.
As previously reported by The Courier, Eric, who served with the 7th Battalion The Parachute Regiment, was a 20-year-old paratrooper when he was accidentally dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and tried to make his way back to his own regiment through a minefield only to be captured by the enemy and held half-starved in a prisoner of war camp before being force marched with fellow POWs to become human shields in Berlin.
He was the sergeant in charge of an aircraft carrying paratroopers from England to France as airborne forces of the British Army took part in the infamous Pegasus Bridge campaign during the early stages of the Normandy Landings.
On Thursday, Eric relived those events from the closing months of the war, and said: “That the French Government could give me this award is extremely gratifying.
“I am both touched and deeply honoured and would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them.”
