D-Day Veteran Bill Redston will be celebrating his 100th birthday on November 28th, and he has asked that anyone who wants to give him a birthday present to make a donation to the National Memorial Arboretum in his honour. The National Memorial Arboretum is the UK's year-round centre of Remembrance - a spiritually uplifting place which honours the fallen and recognises service and sacrifice. It is a living and lasting memorial where visitors can enjoy discovering over 400 memorials set amongst over 25,000 trees in the Staffordshire countryside, and is free to all.

Bill served as First Lieutenant in the Naval Coastal Forces during World War Two, and his Motor Launch ML191 led the convoy of support boats that brought essential supplies to the American troops who had landed at Utah beach the previous day. After D-Day, Bill and his comrades were sent to patrol the River Irrawaddy in Burma, where he stayed until the end of the war in the Far East.

Bill was also one of the first volunteers to work at the Arboretum over twenty years ago, and was instrumental in establishing the Naval Coastal Forces memorial there, also known as the Rock of the Sea (see photo). He helped arrange for the three-ton rock to be brought to the Arboretum, and commissioned the plaque commemorating all those who served in the Coastal Forces who were lost during the war, especially those who gave their lives to the service of their country.

Since those early days the National Memorial Arboretum has always been a place close to Bill’s heart, and he visits there regularly with family and friends. He has also attended major commemoration days there, including VJ-Day 75 in 2020, where he met Prince Charles, and D-Day 80 earlier this year, where he met the Duke of Edinburgh and was one of only 26 D-Day veterans present on the day. He also received the Legion d'Honneur medal for his services on D-Day at the Arboretum in 2021. To see more pictures of Bill’s experiences at the Arboretum, click on the icon on the top right of the photo above.

If you would like to honour Bill’s extraordinary life and help him celebrate his 100th birthday, then please make a donation to the Arboretum in his honour by clicking on the Give Now button. Thank you.

P.S. You can also see Bill talking about his time during World War Two by cutting and pasting this link into your browser: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-65965837