THE family of a man who was stationed in Hereford before the invasion of France known as D-Day have paid tribute to him 75 years on.

Harold Hudston was a private in the army, but he sadly died after Britain started to regain control of Europe from the Nazis on June 6, 1944.

Mr Hudston died three weeks after the invasion started due to his injuries, leaving behind a wife and their newborn son.

His sister-in-law, Shirley Symonds, still lives in the city but she was only young when D-Day took place.

She said: "I would like my brother-in-law to be remembered, he passed away after D-Day in 1944. He was Harold Hudston, who married Hazel Hawkins at St. James' Church.

"Their son Michael was born two days after D-Day and was only three weeks old when his father dies. Michael often thinks about his father.

"I was only a little girl at the time, and Hazel lived at my parents' home."

Michael Hudston now lives in Lincolnshire, but knows very little of his father's time in the war as it was never spoken about afterwards.

He said: "He didn't die during the invasion, he died on the 27th. It said he died of his injuries and he was buried in Bayeux cemetery, near Caen.

"I think he was a private, but I don't know that much because it was never spoken about. His family home was near Wellingborough, so I assume he was billeted in Hereford."

The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, with more than 4,500 people buried there.