George Batts MBE, Leg d'Hon

The British Normandy War Memorial. Images courtesy of the Normandy Memorial Trust

It is sad but inevitable that the few who witnessed the events of D-Day first hand are becoming fewer. Monday 7 November 2022 marked the passing of George Batts aged 97, who ensured their voices weren't lost and the D-Day fallen remembered.

George was an 18-year-old sapper, landing on Gold Beach on the 6th of June, his unit tasked with clearing mines and booby traps. He then helped assemble the artificial Mulberry harbour allowing the efficient landing and resupply of the invading troops and equipment.

After the war in Europe ended, George was sent to the Far East for Operation Zipper, the planned invasion of Malaya, though thankfully the war with Japan ended before this took place. He was demobbed in 1947.

Throughout his life, George had been active in veterans' welfare, joining the Normandy Veterans Association in 1988 and was appointed national secretary and treasurer in 2009 until 2014. He was dedicated to remembering those who fell, organising official commemorations in France and Normandy Voices, an archive of veterans’ memories for the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, funded by the National Lottery.

He was awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 2009 and an MBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List for his dedication to veterans’ affairs. He also won the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2021 Soldiering On Awards.

George was dedicated to the creation of a memorial to the D-Day fallen in Normandy. In 2015 he made the point to the BBC journalist Nicholas Witchell that the UK had no formal memorial in Normandy, leading to the Normandy Memorial Trust being established. This dedication was realised with the unveiling of the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-Sur-Mer on the 6th June 2021.

As a patron of the Memorial, George visited it in October 2021, his first and sadly, last visit.

The British Normandy Memorial now stands as a fitting tribute to the fallen thanks to the dedication of George and the many fundraisers who made it happen and is now cared for by CWGC.

More information on the British Normandy War Memorial can be found on the following links:

New British Normandy War Memorial unveiled (cwgc.org)

CWGC to care for British Normandy Memorial | CWGC