War hero Roy ‘lived every day like a bonus’ after the D-Day landings

Roy Naftel, who took part in the D-Day landings, has died aged 89. He is from St Annes.

Roy Naftel died on Monday, aged 89, after a battle with lymph cancer.

As a 19-year-old in the King’s Own Shropshire Light Infantry, he was one of the first soldiers to take part in the D-Day landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944, when Allied Forces invaded German-occupied France during the Second World War.

Today, his son Chris paid tribute to his father, calling him “very much a family man.”

He added: “He took part in the Sword Beach operation, the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase.

“He spoke about that day about a fortnight ago, when he admitted to me he was ready for going.

“He told me soldiers were expected not to come back. He said he had another 70 years of his life. He did not expect to survive D-Day.

“He said he lived every day like a bonus after.”

Strictly embargoed to 0005 Friday September 17.
Undated picture of the D-Day landing in Normandy, France. Previously classified MI5 documents, released Friday 17 September 1999 by the Public Records Office, chart the success of the Double Cross System during the Second World War, which involved feeding misleading information to the Nazis via agents whom, Berlin believed, were working for Germany. The system's greatest triumph was operation Fortitude, which involved convincing the Germans that the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune) were just a diversion for a major attack further north. PA photo. See PA story DEFENCE Doublecross. — Strictly embargoed to 0005 Friday September 17. Undated picture of the D-Day landing in Normandy, France. Previously classified MI5 documents, released Friday 17 September 1999 by the Public Records Office, chart the success of the Double Cross System during the Second World War, which involved feeding misleading information to the Nazis via agents whom, Berlin believed, were working for Germany. The system's greatest triumph was operation Fortitude, which involved convincing the Germans that the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune) were just a diversion for a major attack further north. PA photo. See PA story DEFENCE Doublecross.

Born in Guernsey in 1925, Mr Naftel moved to mainland UK as a 16-year-old, just a day before Nazi forces arrived to take over the small island in the English Channel.

In 1943 he joined the Shropshire Light Infantry as an 18-year-old before taking part in the D-Day landings.

After the war he married Jean in the late 1940s, before starting a career in printing.

Chris added: “He moved to Dudley Hill Engineering in Southport soon after, before relocating to St Annes in 1959 when the business moved.

“He went on to set up a laundrette, called Sarnia, before establishing St Annes Timber in St Davids Road South, with both businesses continuing to this day.”

Mr Naftel is survived by wife Jean, 88, children Sue, 64, Chris, 61, John, 57 and Cheryl, 53, as well as nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

His funeral will be held on Friday, October 24, at 11am at the Fairhaven United Reformed Church in Clifton Drive.