D-Day veteran Henry Rice, who survived a torpedo attack at Juno Beach, dies aged 100
Henry Rice, who spent his final decades urging schools to teach children about D-Day, has died aged 100 after surviving a torpedo that passed beneath his vessel during the Normandy landings.
Henry Rice, a Royal Navy signalman who served aboard HMS Eastway during the Normandy landings at just 17 and spent his final decades urging schools to teach children about D-Day, has died aged 100. He received the Légion d'honneur from France and told the press that teaching the young about the war mattered because 'the world is dangerous at the moment.' Rice's death came only a fortnight after that of fellow Normandy veteran Kenneth Hay, who passed away aged 101.
Rice's narrowest escape came when a torpedo aimed at his vessel passed under the hull, the ship riding high enough in the water to avoid being struck.
He handed Queen Camilla the last ceramic poppy at the Tower of London to mark VE Day 80, and met the King, Queen and Prince of Wales at a reception marking Victory over Japan's 80th anniversary.
The Spirit of Normandy Trust remembered him as 'a great character with a cheeky smile', while French tributes noted he refused to call himself a hero, insisting the real heroes were those who never came home.
