TRIBUTES have been paid following the death of a D-Day veteran who lived to be 104.

The passing was announced this week of Basildon resident and Freedom of the Borough recipient Don Sheppard. He  died at Basildon Hospital on Saturday, 8 September morning from pneumonia.

His family said he put up a brave fight but died peacefully.

A satetment from Basildon Council said: "We would like to thank Don Sheppard for his service and dedication to our country over his amazing 104 years of life.

"To honour his life and bravery the Basildon Centre flags have been lowered to half-mast and the Basildon sign lit in red, white and blue. 

"Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time."

Don Sheppard, who served with the Royal Engineers, landed on Juno Beach on 6 June 1944 as a Royal Engineer.

Recalling his landing Mr Sheppard described D-Day to the PA News agency in 2019 as a "waste of life" but recognised the landings as being "so important".

He said: "I know we had to defend ourselves... but young guys like me 20, 21, who never lasted five minutes, some of them got killed before they got off the boat.

"Tragic, absolutely."

When he arrived at the beach on the afternoon of 6 June 1944, Mr Sheppard said the Germans had "really got the distance and shells were coming over like rain", with battleships also firing over their heads.

"We lost quite a few guys," he said. "We (the survivors) were lucky really."

After breaking through Nazi lines in the August, he continued through to Belgium, the Netherlands and eventually Germany - including to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Don Sheppard.

Speaking of his experience, Mr Sheppard said: "I shall never forget that for the rest of my life. How one human could do that to another."

The only wound he received during the war was a cut to his leg as he took cover in a ditch as German bombs fell.

But after medical tests and scans some seven decades later, it was discovered he had a sliver of shrapnel sitting in his lung.

Mr Sheppard said the piece of metal had never caused any health problems.