AN EAST Morton resident who saw action in some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War has died.

Dennis Haydn Bailey was 99, and was believed to have been the oldest surviving former member of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.

He died on January 27 and his funeral takes place in Oakworth next week.

Cottingley resident Alan Cooper, standard bearer for the regiment, who knew Mr Bailey for nearly 10 years, said: "He was a lovely man, and he was a right gentleman. Everyone liked him."

Mr Bailey, who was originally from the Lawkholme area of Keighley, joined the army in 1939 and was deployed to France with the Duke of Wellington's as part of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force.

After the German victory in 1940, Mr Bailey and some of his fellow soldiers had to trek hundreds of miles across France to safety.

His wife, Joan, said: "They walked at night and hid during the day. Some French people helped them, giving them food, until they reached St Malo and were evacuated from there.

"Dennis said the boat was so full there was only room to stand."

Once back in England, Mr Bailey was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps and following intensive training his unit was sent to North Africa.

From there, he took part in the campaigns to liberate Sicily and Italy, before he and his unit returned to England in preparation for the D Day Landings.

Mr Bailey was part of this huge seaborne operation, and served in an armoured reconnaissance unit during the fighting across France and into Germany.

While driving an armoured car he was one of the first British soldiers into Denmark in early 1945.

Last year, he finally received the Legion D'honneur medal from the French government for his role in the liberation.

After the war, Mr Bailey worked in the engineering and textiles industries, marrying Joan Harley in Keighley in 1966. The couple moved to East Morton in 1969.

His funeral service is at Oakworth Crematorium at 2.30pm on Wednesday February 14.