Family of D-Day veteran from Odiham reminisce ahead of Remembrance Day

Alfie ‘Fred’ Lee, a much-loved member of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, died at home with his family at his bedside on Thursday, July 28 last year.

Born on July 30, 1926, Fred decided to defend his county when he was just 17 years old and went on to become a leading Stoker in the Royal Navy.

Fred witnessed the action at D-Day in 1944, as his ship HMS Nith was one of the coordinating ships on Gold Beach during the D-Day landings in Normandy.

READ MORE: D-Day veteran Alfie ‘Fred’ Lee from Odiham dies at 95

Fred married Joyce Phyllis Osborne in 1947 and they had three children Kevin, Karen, and Katrina. Fred also had five grandchildren Rebecca, Abigail, Kelly, Madison and Charlotte and two great grandchildren Catherine and Poppy.

Chris Dingle, 34, who is married to Fred's granddaughter Abigail, said: "I am not related to Fred by blood but certainly I have got very fond memories of him. He was always good fun to be around.

"If you look back at what he did with his life, what he achieved, the family that he had around him, his experiences of the war and what he went through there is a huge life lived there and he seemed to have done it all with a good sense of humour all the way through.

"He was well-loved not just by his family but those in the community in which he lived as well and I think that says a huge amount about him."

On the evening of June 24, 1944 whilst still in the bay of Seine, his ship was attacked by a Junkers Ju88. Its bomb struck the side of the ship on which Fred normally worked, but he had swapped to the other side that night, which saved his life.

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Fred's son Kevin Lee, 64, said: "He was very much a family man and he enjoyed life to the full. I think he was a fun-loving individual who looked after and brought us up well.

"He got back into thinking about the war when grandchildren started talking to him about it then I think he started to open up.

"He started going back to Gold Beach from 2003 all the way through until June of 2023 which was in the end just six weeks before he passed away. Thankfully we got him back there one last time," Kevin continued. 

Kevin told the Gazette that when the Covid pandemic hit and the Remembrance Day parade in Odiham was cancelled Fred walked down the high street in his uniform.

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Chris added: "All the locals came out and stood at their front doors and watched him go down and whilst there could not be a gathering they all marked its passing by watching him walk down the street."

Not long after his death Chris and Abigail discovered they were expecting a second daughter who they have named Poppy in memory of Fred and his service to the country.

The family will be marking Remembrance Day in Odiham this year in honour of Fred.