It was a sad start to the week to read in the Press (York Normandy veteran dies, September 19) that Dennis Haydock has died.

I met this brave Veteran in the spring of 2004 when I asked him if I could join the York branch of the Normandy Veterans Association on their monthly meeting to hear directly from it's members their recollections of that day in 1944.

As I was planning to do a BBC radio outside broadcast from the same beach these extraordinary men had fought on, I thought it was time to lay aside the history books and hear first hand the events of the D Day Landings Dennis was cautious at first and warned me his fellow veterans probably wouldn't say much. He was right of course but asked me to stick with 'em for at least three months. I did and every meeting opened new avenues of memories for them and left me more and more humbled and awestruck.

On June 6 - exactly 60 years on, at six in the morning - I dedicated the programme right there on the beach at Ammoraches to Dennis Haydock, and thanked him for telling his story to me in all it's scary details.

Ever since that encounter twelve years ago I've tried hard to meet and speak to as many York veterans as I can - simply because we must.

I'll mention Dennis in my introduction at the Festival of Remembrance on November 6th, not only for his times in Normandy in WW2 but for his sterling work keeping the NVA afloat, a vital link for his fellow Veterans.

I Will Remember Him.

Sandie Dunleavy.

Producer - RBL Festival of Remembrance 2016, York Barbican, Sunday November 6