D-Day veteran receives France's highest military honour
John Fiddler was presented with the Legion D'Honneur at HMS Cambria in Cardiff on Wednesday
A 100-year-old D-Day veteran broke into tears as he received France's highest military honour.
John Fiddler was presented with the Legion D'Honneur at HMS Cambria in Cardiff on Wednesday, in recognition of his service during the Second World War.
Mr Fiddler, who served in the Royal Navy, was 19 when he delivered tanks and troops to the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
He said he was "delighted" to receive the medal and described it as "a great honour indeed".
The Legion d'Honneur is France's highest decoration, established by Napoleon in 1802.
In 2014, the French government decided to recognise all D-Day veterans with the honour in recognition of their efforts to liberate France in 1944.
During the D-Day landings, Mr Fiddler worked as a leading supply assistant on a tank landing ship, whose role was to transport tanks and supplies across the Channel and onto the beaches at Normandy.
He also served on HMS Holmes, a frigate, which was deployed on convoys and anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea.
Originally from Edinburgh, Mr Fiddler settled in Cardiff in 1976, following a four-year tour of service as a civil servant working for the British Army in Germany.
He was presented with the honour by Helene Treheux-Duchene, French ambassador to the UK.
Ms Treheux-Duchene said: "It is a great honour for me to recognise and express our country's heartfelt gratitude to a hero who helped liberate France.
"My country was fortunate to be able to count on the support of its closest partner, the UK, and of the brave British people who fought for our common values, freedom, democracy and peace.
"This award ceremony is an opportunity to recall the unbreakable friendship between our two nations.
"Through this award, France wants to honour John Fiddler as the perfect example of an individual who deserves our endless gratitude."
Mr Fiddler said: "Thank you, you're all very kind people, thank you very much."
His daughter Allyson Fiddler said: "Like so many of my father's generation, he, too, would emphasise that he was just doing his duty.
"This is a proud and happy occasion to receive this recognition from the Republic of France.
"Dad was two days short of his 20th birthday when the ship he was on docked in Milford Haven on 8th of May 1945.
"He would recount that, very regrettably, by the time he and his shipmates had got onto dry land, the pubs had already been drunk dry."