Hero's passing 'a huge loss'

TRIBUTES were last night pouring in for Alan “Mac” McQuillan one of the last surviving D-Day heroes, who has died at the age of 102.

- By Giles Sheldrick Chief Reporter

The popular veteran's passing on Tuesday was described as “a huge loss” to the nation.

Alan was a 21-year-old RAF Servicing Commando when he landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, to take part in the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Under heavy fire from the Germans, he helped set up crucial airstrips, where weapons were loaded onto Allied warplanes.

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Later in life, Alan became known as Britain's oldest paperboy as he carried out deliveries in his home town, Kemble, Glos, well into his nineties.