A poignant final farewell has been paid to a hero D-Day paratrooper who fought in the Battle of Normandy following his death aged 97.
Harry Read was just 20-years-old when he was dropped behind enemy lines from a Dakota aircraft in the early hours of June 6, 1944.
He jumped through a torrent of enemy shell and gunfire and looked on from above as another Allied plane crashed into a ball of flames, killing all the men on board.
Due to poor navigation, many of the paratroopers like Mr Read landed in flooded fields.
Some were then dragged down by their heavy gear and drowned.
Mr Read, a Royal Corps of Signals wireless operator, was part of the 6th Airborne Division.
The regiment had the job and seizing and holding the famous Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.
The bridge was vital to the success of the Normandy invasion because it provided an exit to the thousands of troops landing at nearby Sword Beach.
Mr Read set up wireless communications close to the bridge and helped stop German Panzer tanks and reinforcements from reaching the area in the days and weeks afterwards.
A poignant final farewell has been paid to a hero D-Day paratrooper who fought in the Battle of Normandy following his death aged 97. Harry Read was just 20-years-old when he was dropped behind enemy lines from a Dakota aircraft in the early hours of June 6, 1944. Above: Mr Read posing with his medals, including France's Legion D'Honneur, and right during the war
Mr Read, a commissioner in the Salvation Army, was awarded the prestigious Legion D'Honneur in 2016 by the French government for his role in liberating the country from the Nazis.
The great-great grandfather of three, who did a 10,000ft charity tandem skydive with the Red Devils Display Team in 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, died last month at his home in Bournemouth, Dorset after a short illness.
Dozens of family members, friends, Parachute Regimental Association and Salvation Army members gathered to pay their respects at Bournemouth Crematorium on Monday.
His son John Reed, 70, a retired Salvation Army commissioner, said: 'Harry was immensely proud of his family and took great delight in each one of them from the oldest to the youngest.
'We were extremely proud of his achievements and loved him dearly.
'Most of all we are proud that he was a man who was devoted to the service of others.
'As a young man this was his motivation when he served in Normandy as a paratrooper.
Dozens of family members, friends, Parachute Regimental Association and Salvation Army members gathered to pay their respects at Bournemouth Crematorium on Monday. Above: Members of the Salvation Army next to Mr Read's coffin
During D-Day, Mr Read (pictured centre with his comrades) jumped through a torrent of enemy shell and gunfire and looked on from above as another Allied plane crashed into a ball of flames, killing all the men on board
'It continued through his life of service as a Salvation Army Officer and it was his motivation when at the age of 95 he returned to the skies to jump once again.'
Mr Read recalled his D-Day experience after receiving the Legion D'Honneur: 'In that first hour of D-Day, as our Dakota aircraft took us steadily, inevitably, towards the French coast, on the word of command we stood in line and prepared to jump.
'As we did so we flew into the most magnificent fireworks display imaginable, except of course they were not fireworks but shells and tracer bullets.
'Keeping our feet in a wildly bucking aircraft was no easy exercise but the red warning light was on, then came the green light and we shuffled unsteadily down the plane to the exit where, in turn, and aided by a burly dispatcher, we leapt out into the night air to whatever awaited us.
'We were on time but, having landed, we knew we were in the wrong place because we splashed down in an area deliberately flooded to make life difficult for paratroops.
'Many of our men drowned there, but for those who survived we faced the hazards of linking with our units.
'It was a challenging experience but all part of the liberation, firstly of France... and then, one by one, other countries which had also been conquered.'
Two years after the war ended Mr Read left the British Army to join the Salvation Army. Mr Read was awarded the prestigious Legion D'Honneur in 2016 by the French government for his role in liberating the country from the Nazis. Above: Mr Read in his Salvation Army uniform, and posing with the Legion D'Honneur
For the next two months the 6th Airborne Division remained in static positions, holding the left flank of the Allied bridgehead and conducting vigorous patrolling.
On the night of August 16, they advanced against stiff German opposition until reaching its objective at the mouth of the River Seine on the 26 August, in nine days of fighting they advanced 45 miles.
The division was withdrawn from the frontline at the end of the month and Mr Read returned to England on September 7.
Two years after the war ended Mr Read left the British Army to join the Salvation Army.
He worked for the charity throughout his career and attained the rank of commissioner, the second highest position attainable by officers within the organisation.
He had two children, John and Margaret, with wife Winifred, who died in 2007, as well as four grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.
The great-great grandfather of three, who did a 10,000ft charity tandem skydive with the Red Devils Display Team in 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, died last month at his home after a short illness in Bournemouth, Dorset
Mr Read had two children, John and Margaret, with wife Winifred, who died in 2007, as well as four grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. Above: Pallbearers wait to receive the veteran's coffin
Members of the armed forces carry Mr Read's coffin into Bournemouth Crematorium on Monday
His son John Reed, 70, a retired Salvation Army commissioner, said: 'Harry was immensely proud of his family
