One of the last surviving D-Day veterans given military send-off in Peterborough

One of the last surviving veterans who took part in the D-Day landings has been laid to rest in Peterborough.

Philip Hoggarth, who lived to the age of 100, was given a guard of honour from the Royal British Legion at his funeral service at Peterborough Crematorium on Tuesday afternoon (February 20).

Phi Hoggarth was born in Huddersfield in 1923 and was undertaking an apprenticeship to become a fitter- aged 16- when World War II broke out in 1939.

Once he turned 18, in 1941, he volunteered for army service in the Yorkshire Light Infantry.

His service saw him serve with the Canadians, after being seconded to the Nay, at Juno Beach on the famous D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.

The landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, remain the largest seaborne invasion in history and began the Allied liberation of France after it had fallen to the Nazis. Over 156,00 Allied forces landed on Juno Beach.

The operation marked the start of the Allies’ eventually successful push to expel German forces out of France and secure victory on the war’s Western Front.

Phil was manning the radio on the beach craft and was the one to hear Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famous speech in which he announced the landings to parliament.

After leaving the army in 1946, he returned to England to complete his apprenticeship before graduating through the ranks at the Atomic Energy Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire and joined the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

He eventually became a manager responsible for the maintenance of nuclear reactors and was there for over 30 years.

An interesting diversion during his MOD career was a 4-month ‘top secret’ period spent in Swaziland (new Eswatini) in Africa.

He was married to his wife Irene for 57 years and had one daughter, Margaret, before becoming a grandfather to Louise and Chris and a great grandfather to Eleanor and Alexander.

The couple spent a very happy 20 years in the welsh town of Carmarthen but following Irene’s passing, Phil moved to Peterborough at the age of 90.

First he lived in the Five Arches retirement accommodation at Orton Wistow for over ten years before spending the final five months of his life at the Castor Lodge Care Home.

Phil has been described by his family as a naturally clever, determined and intelligent man who did not often talk about his time at war.

Phil’s son-in-law Steve Davies said: “He talked quite a lot and you might have thought he was an extrovert but he was actually quite introverted.

"He was a very kind, loyal, decent man, the epitome of decency. People would describe him as a gentleman, he was really very polite and pleasant.

"The people he worked with at the MOD, many of whom had PHDs and degrees, were amazed he was so good after such a humble educational background. Some people are just naturally clever and they rise up because they can cotton-on to things quickly.