“Wasn’t that just great? One of our best evenings yet,” said Ken Cooke, following the event at St Lawrence Parish Church on Thursday (May 22).
Ken, who has recently travelled to Normandy for a trip marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day, presented Margaret Petty with the portrait of her late father, Douglas Petty, who served as a flying officer during the Second World War.
The portrait, by artist Nel Brooks, was presented while American students were visiting St Lawrence Parish Church, on a visit that Maragaret had helped organise.
One of the students, called Faith, described meeting Ken, 99, who took part in the D-Day landings at Gold Beach as a Green Howards private, as a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
“They were deeply moved after meeting and listening to Ken,” said Nick Beilby, from St Lawrence Parish Church.
