A 103-YEAR-OLD veteran who was on the beaches in Normandy will be part of a special D-Day parade in Peebles.

Thursday (June 6) will mark 80 years since the historic World War II invasion of Nazi-occupied France by the Allied Forces.

Former soldiers will join the rest of the Peeblesshire community to commemorate the occasion.

The parade – organised by SSAFA, the armed forces charity – will also welcome a veteran who was one of thousands who risked their lives in 1944.

John McOwan shared his experiences on the beaches in Normandy in his memoir, A Centenarian’s Memoirs of WWII.

“I landed on Gold Beach in Normandy,” said Mr McOwan. “I went to Bayeux for the 75th D-Day anniversary, it was a very emotional and wonderful day.

“We paid tribute to the lads who did not survive.

“I read the ages of some of the young lads in the cemeteries, 18, 19, who did not survive to have a family life.

“I would like to pay tribute to them [this year].”

The Borderer was a member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), and during WWII he was stationed in the Middle East and Italy before being called up for D-Day.

Calum Stewart, from SSAFA Borders, and a fellow former REME member, said: “Having a bit of living history at the parade makes it more relevant to people.

“It is an honour to have John still be active and it is good to have a community of veterans supporting him and him supporting us.”

There are around 3,000 veterans living in the Borders.

Mr Stewart said: “Events like these are where we can get veterans together and recognise each other.

“If we [veterans] knew each other and worked together we would be a force for good in the community.”

He also highlighted the Armed Forces Breakfast Club, which meets on the first Saturday of every month at the Cross Keys in Peebles.

Members will join the D-Day parade in the town next week.

Although the commemoration will be held on a workday, Mr Stewart is hoping locals will take 15 to 20 minutes out of their day to join the ceremony at the Quadrangle.

He said: “We know it will be a working day but we are asking people to come out as it is an important day in history.

“There are people in our cemeteries, people with plaques in the Quadrangle who were at D-Day, there is a man in this town who was at D-Day.

“If we do not mark it our children will not see it as something to remember.”

Veterans wanting to join the parade on June 6 are asked to gather outside the Old Parish Church from 11.20am, with the parade setting off at 11.30am.

A service will then be held at the War Memorial in the Quadrangle at 11.45am where speakers will included Sir Hew Strachan, Father Tony Lapin, and two Peebles High School pupils who will read an excerpt from Mr McOwan’s book.

The 103-year-old added: “I’m very pleased that the young people are taking note of the experiences of us lads during the war, to impress on people that wars are not what I call a triumph.

“War brings grief and life long misery to a lot of mothers, wives, and sweethearts.

“There is a story behind every one of the gravestones.”

Following the D-Day commemoration veterans are invited to gather at the Green Tree.