The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Tanks paraded through South Holland last week as part of the send off for a 100-year-old World War Two veteran.
The coffin containing George Wing was on one of two armoured DUKW vehicles that were part of the procession to his funeral at South Lincolnshire Crematorium in Surfleet.
George, who lived in Bourne, was one of those evacuated from the beach in Dunkirk and fought in Arnham.
He became friends with Anglia Motel owner Harold Payne in his latter years and one of his DUKW’s took part in the procession alongside a 1945 Jeep and a vintage Land Rover.
“He was an incredible man,” Harold said. “He lost many of his colleagues at Dunkirk but he wouldn’t talk to me about that.
“He was a Desert Rat and helped build a Mulberry Harbour for D-Day.
“Providing the vehicles is the least I can do for the men.
“The weather was terrible but we had a great reaction wherever we went.
“It was the best funeral I’ve been to and there were so many mourners there they couldn’t all get in.
“I can honestly say we did him proud.”
Harold was boosted by donations from stores in Holbeach including Tescos where he took the DUKW to raise £3,000 for flowers for the funeral.
“Thank you to everyone who donated,” he said.
l Harold is set to host an open weekend for his memorabilia and others’ memorabilia to mark D-Day next weekend.
The Anglia Motel will be open from Friday, June 4 to Sunday, June 6, D-Day itself.
It’s a fundraiser for Harold’s latest campaign to take relatives of the 800 people who died in 1939 when the Royal Oak naval vessel sank at Scapa Flow in Scotland to the site.
The site will be open from 10am each day.
