The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Prince William (seated centre on the right) has Harold Payne on his right and Rita Blackman, of Weston, sitting opposite.
Harold Payne says meeting Prince William in Normandy was the perfect end to 21 years of Anglia Motel Veterans’ trips.
The prince sat and chatted to the Anglia Motel owner and several of the group who made the trip to France on the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Harold said: “He was a really lovely man, with just the same personality as his mother.
“He spent more than five minutes talking to us, which was really nice. In fact, one of his aides said it was probably time to move on!”
The Anglia Motel Veterans’ Pilgrimage Fund has raised more than £550,000 during its long existence and each year has taken veterans to battlefields and cemeteries.
Harold added: “He talked about to us about the charity and couldn’t believe how much money we’d raised.
“It was the perfect end to our trips there.”
It was decided that such a significant event this year was the right time to draw the trips to a conclusion, particularly as some of the remaining veterans are too frail to travel.
This weekend sees a special event on The Green in Hunstanton, with a display of military vehicles on Saturday and Sunday and a brass band and 1940s-themed singer on Sunday.
A flypast by a Dakota at 4.30pm on Sunday will be followed about an hour later by a drop of 50,000 poppies on the beach.
Each poppy head represents a life that was lost during the D-Day Landings campaign.
Tulip Radio’s Jan Whitbourn said: “Thanks are due to Harold for his efforts over the last 20 years, helping veterans to go back to this historic area and help them to relive the memories with their old comrades of that time.
“His commitment and enthusiasm to help remember our Armed Forces heroes is commendable.”
