Portsmouth D-Day veteran dies

Frank Rosier, from Cowplain, served as an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, and was in the second wave on Gold Beach on D-Day.

Mr Rosier was described as a ‘great friend’ on Twitter by staff at the of the D-Day Museum in Southsea, where he had given talks to thousands.

He was secretary of Portsmouth’s Normandy Veterans Association (NVA) before it disbanded in 2015, and was well known for media appearances talking about veterans’ experiences.

Mr Rosier previously told The News how the troops who stormed the beaches on D-Day had a secret weapon strong enough to defeat the Nazis – a sense of humour and a righteous anger.

He volunteered to fight aged 17-and-a-quarter. His two brothers were killed at war.

Mr Rosier said he would never describe the horrors he saw on that beach, even to the Queen. He was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French government for his work with the NVA.

Three months to the day after D-Day, Mr Rosier was hit by shrapnel from a mortar bomb near Le Havre while collecting eggs, causing him to lose his sight in one eye.