Four World War II Veterans, all around 100, were honoured guests at a unique gathering hosted by Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre for the older person’s charity, Age Cymru Dyfed.

The get-together coincided with an exhibition at the centre marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the invasion of Occupied Europe in 1944.

The combined ages of the veterans total 397 years.

Royal Navy Veteran Tony Bird, of Freshwater East, believed to be Pembrokeshire’s last surviving veteran of the D-Day landings on 6th June 1944, served aboard the Flower class corvette HMS Clematis – part of a huge fleet protecting the invasion. Tony recently celebrated his 100th birthday.

Joining him were 101-year-old Neville Bowen, of Ammanford, a Royal Navy gunner on wartime Atlantic convoys; Duncan Hilling (98), of Saundersfoot, a Royal Welch Fusilier who served in India and with occupying forces in Japan at war’s end, and Idwal Davies (98), of Llanelli, a Royal Armoured Corps Churchill tank crewman.

They were supported by veterans of other military eras, representatives of the Royal Navy, the Army and RAF, the Royal British Legion, and the veterans staff and volunteer team of Age Cymru Dyfed. Colonel James Phillips, Veterans Commissioner, and Lieutenant Colonel Hayley Edwards, AFC Regional Liaison Officer, were among the guests.

Age Cymru Dyfed Veterans Coordinator Hugh Morgan said: “It was wonderful to witness Tony, Neville, Duncan and Idwal recounting stories from 80 years ago and so obviously enjoying each other’s company and it was also a tremendous privilege for the invited guests to be in the presence of ‘our greatest generation’.”

In addition to Tony Bird’s own story, the Heritage Centre’s D-Day exhibition features the stories of many local servicemen who took part in the Normandy campaign following the D-Day landings. They include Royal Marine Ted Owens, Army despatch rider Gordon Prime and Maurice Mullins, who arrived in France in a glider on June 6th.

Pembroke Dock Centre’s D-Day exhibition is on display for the rest of the year. The Heritage Centre is housed in the former Garrison Chapel, opposite the Market Hall, and is open Mondays to Fridays, 10am to 4pm.