D-Day veteran from Melksham dies aged 101

One of the last surviving D-Day veterans in the country, who was born and raised in Melksham, has died aged 101.

John Dennett, who was awarded the Légion d’honneur, died on Sunday 22nd March after a short illness. He grew up in Purlpit in Atworth and attended Shaw School. He worked as an apprentice bricklayer in the War Department in Corsham before joining the Royal Navy in 1942.

During his service in the Royal Navy, he served as a gunner and was part of a crew transporting troops, tanks and vehicles to the Normandy beaches.

He also took part in major operations including Operation Husky in Sicily, the largest amphibious invasion of the war, which helped bring about Italy’s surrender. He was at the Salerno landings on 9 September 1943, codenamed Operation Avalanche, where Allied forces secured a foothold on mainland Italy.

Following the war, John settled in Wallasey in north west England and made regular pilgrimages back to Normandy for many years with local army veteran, Major General Darren Crook.

Darren said, “I was fortunate and honoured to join John on his recent pilgrimages to Normandy and to act as his ‘driver.’ He shared stories, reflections and the sacrifice of service. Raised in Purlpit, John attended Shaw School (where I too attended albeit some years later) and warmly referred to us as ‘the Melksham Mafia.”

“In our visits to Normandy, he spoke fondly of his childhood memories in Melksham, of swimming in the river, getting into mischief and the fresh air of Whitley. He vividly remembered the industrial roots of the town and returned when he could to visit family in Bath.

“Talking about Melksham rolled the years back for John and his eyes would light up. A great storyteller and symbol of humility, he lived a full life, knowing that he was given opportunities that others sacrificed. He loved meeting children to share his wartime experience and was nearly always asked ‘what did your mum say?’

“John had a charm that captured the best of Wiltshire and Merseyside: as we returned through Dover last year there was a little cheer for the Border Control Officer who did a double take as she looked at a birth year of 1926 and read it as 2026.”

“A son of Melksham, John walked these streets and breathed this Wiltshire air: it was where his character was formed. One of life’s great characters, John will not be forgotten, nor will his friends and colleagues who gave so much for our freedom. I will miss his humour, his laugh and his boyhood tales: my thoughts and prayers are with his great nephew Tony who cared for him deeply and all.”