Heroes of battle

Dodging the enemy... and celebrating victory

- BY LUCY THORNTON

D-Day hero Jack Mortimer chuckles as he remembers belting out Moonlight Becomes You in front of hundreds of people during VE Day celebrations overseas.

The 101-year-old, who was a driver and dispatch rider with the 12th Ordnance Beach Detachment, recalls attending a “great big dance” close to where he was posted in Antwerp, Belgium, as they celebrated the end of the Second World War.

Hed cheekily volunteered a pal to be the pianist and in revenge he was forced to get up in front of colleagues and locals to sing Bing Crosby's classic.

It was a welcome relief for them all after being terrorised by the doodle bugs or buzz bombs - the V-1 flying bombs used by Nazi Germany.

"We just watched them go over... when the engine stopped, we waited for the bang. They were mainly aimed on the docks but some fell on villages along the path to the docks.