D-Day veteran, 100, shares wartime memories at VE Day service
Peter Kent reflects on the horrors of Normandy as leaders and young people share tributes outside Westminster Abbey.
A 100-year-old D-Day veteran has shared his powerful memories of the war outside Westminster Abbey, as commemorations took place to mark VE Day.
Peter Kent, from Westminster, served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Adventurer and took part in the Normandy landings.
Now one of the last surviving veterans of D-Day, he told the PA news agency: “So many young boys got killed, so many dead bodies on the beach – it was just a big waste of life. It was terrible.”
The father of two, who worked in theatre after the war, said it “means a lot” to see people still honouring those who served.
“We wouldn’t have the freedom we have today if it wasn’t for those men,” he said.
Peter did not enter the abbey itself, but his son Stephen, 64, said people “haven’t stopped pulling him up asking for his autograph”.
Peter also brought along his wartime medals, including France’s prestigious Legion of Honour.
Inside, the VE Day service drew reflections from religious and military leaders.
Reverend Shaw Paterson, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: “Just the experience of all that’s gone before – it was very moving.
“We’ve got to remember those who gave so much and sacrificed so much all those years ago.
“We must always keep them in mind and keep working for peace.”
Lord Lyon King of Arms Joe Morrow, 70, a Royal Navy Reserves chaplain and honorary colonel, described the service as “absolutely magnificent”.
“What I loved about it was a true sense of unity that came across,” he said.
“Having the King there, the King’s Scouts, it was just so special.”
Former air marshal Stewart Atha, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, struck a more cautionary tone.
“This is not a safe world – if you want peace, you prepare for war,” he said.
“That’s the lesson from the 1930s, we failed to deter Hitler and we need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.”
Among the congregation was a group of young people determined to challenge assumptions about their generation.
Georgina Heron-Edmends, 19, Henry Hughes, 21, and Sophia Kaur Badhan, 24, from Youth Collaborators, said they were working on a report to influence government strategy.
Ms Badhan said: “There’s been some coverage in the media suggesting we aren’t interested in VE Day – we’re here to challenge that.
“We think it’s really important and it’s a privilege to be here.”