ROBERT HARDMAN: Immortalised at last, Battle of Normandy’s forgotten veterans

These include a US Spitfire pilot shot down over enemy territory while under British command on D-Day, and a brave Belgian serving with the 23rd Hussars when his tank was blown to smithereens. But the majority were British; Men like Glasgow-born Charles Coyle went down three times but never came back from the third.

What all 98 of them have in common is that they died in the most important battle in modern history – the Battle of Normandy – but were then somehow overlooked.

But not anymore. This morning, as we mark the 82nd anniversary of D-Day and the Allied landings on the beaches of Northern France, there will be a particularly poignant moment at the annual commemoration ceremony at the British Normandy Memorial.

There will be a whole new wall of heroes, alongside the names of the 22,442 men and women already featured on this ever-moving monument, erected with the help of generous readers of the Daily Mail. These are people who were omitted when this monument is completed in 2021, largely due to clerical errors 80 years ago. It was mainly thanks to the meticulous research of the monument’s expert researchers that these omissions were revealed and corrected.

In recent weeks, three British engravers have been carefully carving away the stonework on the west wall of the central courtyard in a new section titled ‘Addenda’, meaning additions to the original. The time and effort required to get all this done correctly was immense. But if you want to know how important this is for families, ask Clive Thompson.

‘This brought my grandfather back to life. Mr Thompson, 74, from Carlisle and a former reservist himself, says what they have done is tremendous. The family knew little about William Thompson’s death other than the fact that he was in the Territorial Army when the war broke out, was killed at sea in 1944, and was buried at Dover. ‘My father would say, ‘My father died during the war’ and that was it,’ says Clive.

In fact, Gunner Thompson of the Royal Artillery was serving as a gunner on an armed British cargo ship returning from Normandy on 30 July 1944. Just off Beachy Head, she was hit twice by a swarm of high-speed German torpedo boats.

Although the SS Ocean Courier managed to limp home, five men, including Mr. Thompson, were killed. He was buried in a marked grave at Dover but was never classified as a Normandy veteran. He had slipped through bureaucratic cracks as a Royal Artillery Gunner on a merchant ship before being buried in Kent.

Erected with the help of generous readers of the Daily Mail, the monument will be an entirely new wall of heroes

A family member described the memorial as ‘tremendous’ and added that it ‘brings back to life’ the grandfather of gunner William Thompson, who was killed at sea in 1944.

Now the father of three will join the ranks of the others – more than 22,500 – who died in what history calls Operation Overlord. His name came to light when the Normandy Memorial’s chief investigator, Jane Furlong, checked on another casualty. ‘This means a lot to all of us,’ says Clive Thompson. Although their father (William’s eldest) is no longer alive, the two younger children are delighted to have their father recognized after his death, especially Aunt Joan, who had never met her father when he was killed.

Another unforgotten hero is Charles Coyle of Maryhill, Glasgow. He also enlisted in the Royal Artillery but was deemed unfit for front-line duty because of a heart murmur. Instead, he was assigned to an anti-aircraft gun on a cargo ship tasked with one of the most terrifying missions of the Second World War: Arctic Convoys. In March 1942, his ship sank off Murmansk, but he survived. That’s it for ‘light’ tasks. A year later, Gunner Coyle was torpedoed and sunk again off the coast of North Africa. Once again he clung to the debris. In August 1944, aged just 25, he was aboard the SS Empire Rosebery helping to resupply troops in France when the ship struck a mine in the Channel. He was never seen again.

He left behind a widowed mother and his younger sister Margaret, who would raise her own children and grandchildren with the story of brave Uncle Charles. The only trace of him was his name on the Naval Memorial in Portsmouth. Margaret’s daughter, Angela Wallace, had always assumed that was the case. ‘I had no idea he was a Normandy veteran until I got the call,’ he told me. ‘My mum always talked about him and I’m extremely proud of him. You can’t even imagine the things he went through at that age. ‘I’m so happy it’s getting this recognition after all these years.’

Some of those added to the monument at this time were not British citizens but were still found to be under British command, such as the US Spitfire pilot. Lieutenant Richard Barclay was shot and killed on this very day in 1944. He had already flown two D-Day missions, locating enemy gun positions, but volunteered for a third after a subordinate refused to fly.

This week I watched Edinburgh-based engraver Gus Fisher (36) put the finishing touches on all the new names, ranks and dates. These are all engraved by hand, although the original engraving was done with automatic machines.

The setting above Gold Beach is as spectacular as ever, overseen by the founding trustees, without whom this place wouldn’t exist. In 2014, while covering the 70th anniversary of D-Day, BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell was approached by a group of elderly Normandy veterans. Can it help right a great wrong? Every Allied nation except the United Kingdom had a national monument in Normandy. Mr Witchell devoted almost all of his energy and free time to putting this thing on the drawing board, then raising the money with the help of the Daily Mail to see it eventually grow into the majestic landmark we see today. Since retiring from the BBC, he has refused all invitations to write his memoirs and instead devotes his time to keeping the place afloat (his temporary home is now actually located in a Portakabin).

An unforgettable hero was Charles Coyle, a Glaswegian who was aboard the SS Empire Rosebery and helped resupply troops in France when the ship struck a mine in the Channel.

Nicholas Witchell said the center was ‘in desperate need of donations’ to help the planned Winston Churchill statue be ‘cast on a plinth and erected’

He makes a video call when I arrive. ‘We are preparing the seating plan for Saturday,’ he laughs. At one point, he was actually helping in the kitchen of the café at the memorial’s new Winston Churchill Centre. ‘I have now been promoted to the position of shelf stacker in the store,’ he says proudly.

The 52-acre site is immaculate, with trees and plants now under the care of two full-time gardeners from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. But there is still one last mission. At the east end of the monument is an empty space awaiting a statue of Winston Churchill, one and a half times his life size, dressed as he was when he landed in Normandy.

‘The model is finished but we desperately need donations to mold the statue and put it on the pedestal,’ says Mr Witchell. ‘This is the last piece of unfinished business for veterans.’

Tomorrow, Mr Witchell and his team will host ministers, diplomats, members of the Churchill family and the grandson of British commander General Bernard Montgomery. Pride of place, however, will go to four of the last surviving Normandy veterans and the families of the dead men who, until now, have never received the credit they deserve.

‘Let’s not forget’ is an old saying. There is no such possibility in Normandy.