The D-Day veteran whose story of heroism brought Queen Camilla to tears joined the navy at just 17 years old to 'do his bit for King and Country',his family have revealed.
Since the end of hostilities Eric Bateman has rarely spoken about the terrible events of June 1944 and his part in the historic D-Day landings in Normandy.
But his family have given an insight into the bravery that inspired Eric to stand up in Portsmouth yesterday and remember the fallen heroes of the Allied invasion of Europe 80 years ago.
'Eric was in the Home Guard as a teenager and he was determined to do his bit for King and Country as soon as he was old enough,' his daughter-in-law Sylvia Bateman told MailOnline.
'His friend Fred had joined up first,because he was older than Eric and he went into the army.
'But Eric didn't want to 'square bash' – march all day – so he joined up with the navy. He was only 17 and a half.
Parachutists wearing replica WWII-era paratrooper attire check their equipment prior to their jump from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft in Normandy today
Tonight,as the sun sets,the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Bayeux War Cemetery will light up in honour of those who fought on the beaches. The light show will be streamed live on the BBC so all can witness the occasion.
On Thursday - the 80th anniversary of D-Day - commemorations will begin in Normandy at 7.25am,the same time the beach invasion began in 1944.
A military piper will land on the beaches of Arromanches-les-Bains in a Royal Marines landing craft and begin playing a lament in tribute to those who led the beach landings.
The official British commemoration for the 80th anniversary of D-Day will take place at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer,where the King will join French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Sunak.
Charles and Camilla hosted four D-Day veterans at Buckingham Palace yesterday,hearing moving personal stories and seeing their poignant keepsakes.
Football boots carried on the straps of a military backpack,dog tags still bearing blood,and photos of a much cherished wife were among the mementoes shared with Charles and Camilla.
Charles,in turn,read aloud from his grandfather's handwritten diary,recounting George VI's D-Day entry about the breaking news of the 'successful landings' in June 1944.
The special meeting was filmed and will be broadcast as part of BBC One's D-Day 80: Tribute to The Fallen on June 5.
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