One of Wigan borough's last D-Day veterans is mourned

Harry Cullen – known to one and all as “Little Harry” - stood just 4ft 11ins, but he never let his lack of height stand in his way.

A life-long bachelor, Harry, of Swinley Road, Wigan, was 99 and looking forward to his centenary. Sadly it was not to be.

One of his last “public appearances” was laying a wreath at the Wigan cenotaph last Armistice Day.

Pte Henry Cullen (known as Harry) served in the Royal Army Service Corps and the Royal Corps of Transport Association.

Born in January 1925, he was fearless even as a boy. His slight height didn’t stop him standing his corner and his relatives remember his many scuffles with other.

He readily took to army life.

Mr Cullen his war-time story was a harrowing one and he was proud of being President of the Wigan Normandy Veterans.

He was 21 when he made the trip across the Channel with more than 100,000 Allied troops to begin the liberation of western Europe from the Nazi occupation.

Although Mr Cullen did not get ashore on June 6, the first day of the landings, he landed on Juno beach in the second wave of troops and served in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany before returning home to Wigan in 1946.

Mr Cullen, who was also nicknamed the Little Bantam on account of his height, recalled the terrifying sound of the German Messerschmitt aircraft and some of his impressions of the war.

In a 2014 interview, Mr Cullen said: “On D-Day itself I was on the ship waiting to go ashore because all the troops couldn’t land on the same day.

“I don’t really want to talk about the war.

“Getting on to the beach and getting home again, that’s sufficient for me to remember.

“I think the commemoration event is great for those who have survived.

“I’ve been back once or twice and visited the graves of those who never came home, including a boy I went to school with.

“I’m a survivor, that’s all I can say.

“The reason I wear my medals is for those lads who never came home. They are not for me.”

Mr Cullen said he and other so-called “bantams” were conscripted for the war effort from 1942 due to heavy losses suffered in campaigns in Burma and the Middle East, with some soldiers being prioritised for overseas fighting and others being called up to take their places.

He served in the Royal Army Service Corps as a private before returning to his job at a bleach works in Red Rock after being demobbed.

He later worked at British Leyland before retiring.

Throughout his long life, he lived with sister Jane, and was one of 10 children. Despite the passing of the years, he was always seen to be immaculately dressed, with his medals displaying his blazer and cap, regularly attending commemorative events.

He was one of three borough Normandy campaign survivors to return to Northern France with the Royal British Legion for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2019.

Mr Cullen’s funeral takes place at Wigan crematorium on Monday June 20 at 1pm.