ON Armistice Day last Friday Horrabridge man Frank Greep was presented with the medal which makes him a Chevalier of France’s Legion d’Honneur for his part in the liberation of France from Nazi occupation more than 70 years ago.

The French consul in Plymouth, Alain Sibiril, presented the medal at Plymouth Pavilions after the Festival of Remembrance there, organised by the Federation of Plymouth and District Ex-Services Associations.

In 2014, the French marked the 70th anniversary of D Day — the Allied attack on the Normandy coast which marked the beginning of the end of World War Two — by announcing its wish to honour all the surviving servicemen who took part in the preparations for it.

Frank was a mechanic at the Manor Garage, Horrabridge, before he joined the Royal Navy in 1942 and he became chief engineer on a minesweeper which helped clear the way for the D Day landings in 1944. He was commended by the Admiralty for his work and his attitude in the Channel and later in the Mediterranean.

Then he came home and got on with working and raising a family until the Horrabridge Combined Services Group took his story to the French government and confirmed that he was entitled to their grandest honour.

Presenting the medal last night, Monsieur Sibiril switched to French, as the etiquette required, to say: ‘Frank William Greep: in the name of the French president and the Republic we honour you with the medal of the Legion d’Honneur. Congratulations.’

The full story of Frank’s life and naval career was recently featured in the Times and can also be found on this website at http://tinyurl.com/zzm8r19/

The picture shows Frank Greep wearing the star-shaped medal of the Legion d’Honneur pinned next to his poppy.

Picture by Peter Carvell.