One of York's last surviving Normandy veterans passed away at the age of 99 - on Remembrance Day.

Sid Metcalfe had been due to attend a Remembrance Day service at St Lawrence's Church yesterday.

But he was taken into hospital at about lunchtime after being taken 'very poorly', and passed away later in the afternoon.

Sid's daughter Linda said her dad - who was a driver mechanic with a reconnaissance unit which landed at Sword Beach on D-Day plus 10 - had had a 'very good life'.

"He was a really proud man, and very generous and very caring," Linda said.

Nick Beilby of the York Normandy Veterans Association described Sid as a 'happy, lovely man'.

As recently as Wednesday, Nick said, Sid had been to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks with his fellow York Normandy veteran Ken Cooke to talk about his wartime experiences at an army development day.

He told me "'I've had a wonderful day, Nick'," Nick said.

Sid Metcalfe was born on December 30, 1922. He was in his early 20s when the reconnaissance unit he served with as a mechanic/ driver landed at Sword Beach on D-Day plus 10.

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He and his sergeant were later captured while out on reconnaissance, and Sid was taken to a POW camp in Germany.

There he was forced to labour in a copper mine, Nick Bielby said.

He was badly injured in a mine collapse, and had to spend three months in a German military hospital.

"The mine collapsed on him," Nick said. "His back was broken, but fortunately his spinal cord was OK."

To the end of his life, Nick said, Sid would talk about the bad back 'that the Germans gave to me'.

Sid was eventually liberated by US troops.

After the war he became a joiner, and worked for York council, eventually rising to become the council's clerk of work - a job he remained in until he retired.

Linda said that he rarely talked about his wartime experiences - until he joined the Normandy Veterans Association.

"And then you couldn't stop him!" she said.

Linda said being a member of the veterans group, and talking about his experiences, made him 'extremely happy'. "It enhanced dad's life!" she said.

He also 'lived for his family', Linda said, and loved going out for Sunday lunch.

He lived on his own in a bungalow in Rawcliffe right up until the end, and was proud of still being able to do his own laundry and look after himself, Linda said - though family members would often pop round to keep an eye on him.

He had been looking forward to his 100th birthday on December 30. "We were planning a big party for him," Linda said.

That ultimately wasn't to be. But Nick Beilby said that if he could have chosen a day on which to pass away, it would surely have been November 11.

Paying tribute to Sid, the Lord Mayor of York Cllr David Carr, who will be leading tomorrow's Remembrance Sunday parade in York, said: "It is very sad to hear he passed on such a poignant day for veterans and servicepeople."

Sid is survived by three daughters - Linda, Shirley and Yvonne - plus nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

The funeral arrangements are yet to be confirmed, but Linda said it was hoped there would be a wake at Acomb Working Men's Club, which was her dad's 'favourite place'.

  • Sid Metcalfe, Normandy veteran, December 30, 1922 - November 11, 2022