Daughter's hopes for Coventry veteran's D-Day legacy to be remembered

Dennis Davison fought in World War Two and lived in Coventry

Dennis Davison fought on D-Day during World War Two
Author: Laurence GriffinPublished 4th Jun 2024

A daughter from Coventry is reminding people of her father's message of peace, ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Dennis Davison fought in the D-Day landings in Normandy during World War Two at the age of 21, and passed away in 2019 at 96 years old.

His daughter, Heather Davison said: "He wanted to invest in future generations, he was doing it for young people - he wanted what happened to those young men and women to be remembered.

"I think he saw war as futile and I think the loss of life hurt him because he was a man who wanted to see the world as a better place and promote this idea of peace."

Mr Davison set up the Normandy Day UK charity, which raises awareness of D-Day and shared his story in the hope of inspiring young people to become peacemakers.

Ms Davison said: "Given we're seeing wars and conflicts taking place at the moment where innocent people are dying it seems very apt that D-Day is going to be remembered in the way it is."

There will be a series of commemorations across Coventry and Warwickshire on Thursday 6 June 2024 to make 80 years since D-Day -read more here.

Ms Davison is now the chair of the Peace Orchard, which was established by Dennis in Coundon Hall Park in Coventry as a sanctuary to promote his message of peace, in a nod to the orchards he saw in Normandy.

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