Ninety-six-year-old Gordon Prime, who is the president of the Tenby branch of the Royal British Legion, has given his recollections of his experience of war when he served as a motorcycle despatch rider, and the day 75 years ago when the allies declared victory in Europe with the formal acceptance of Nazi Germany’s surrender, bringing an end to almost six years of conflict.

Gordon, who previously resided in Jameston and now at Pembroke Haven Residential Home in Pembroke Dock, was one of 22 veterans chosen to receive France’s highest decoration for heroism, the Legion d’Honneur medal, during an emotional return to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014.

He joined the army in 1942, age 18, and in 1944 landed in Normandy on D­-Day, at Juno Beach. “We went right through France, Belgium, Holland into Germany, with various battles along the way,” explained Gordon.

“I was a despatch rider, so I had to get all over the place on a motorcycle, delivering messages. My job was going up to the frontline. They’d give me their messages of supplies that they wanted. The supplies would be taken up in the cover of night and I’d often have to lead the convoy. No lights would be used, it was totally dark. I’ll never know how we did it, but we did it.

“Our company motto was ‘bash on regardless’ and that’s just what we had to do. You couldn’t give up - it would have been letting your mates down.

“Ten days before the end of the war, a fellow despatch rider, and my number one pal, Bert Tinscombe, was killed in Germany. We served together all the way through. We shared everything, the same slit trench, we did everything together. It was very sad,” he continued.

On VE Day, Gordon and his fellow comrades were in Germany.

“All the boys had been saving up their booze because they knew the end of the war was imminent. Unfortunately, on that particular day, I was on duty; I think I was the only one in that camp who was sober!” he explained.

“We heard the news on the radio. We had a tank radio and it could pick up the BBC and we all celebrated. We built a massive bonfire in the evening, the boys were all drinking then, all the local booze that they’d acquired. I remember thinking - thank God it’s all over!

“In my case, it was two years before I was demobbed. In August, all the young ones in my unit were put into a new unit to be sent to Burma, because of course the Japanese war was still going. They sent us back to England to regroup for the mainland invasion of Japan.

“Can you imagine? I bought a morning newspaper at Dover station en route to Burma and the headline read - ‘Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima’. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but thank God we didn’t have to go. We were then sent back to Germany and spent two years as army of occupation in Germany. I was demobbed in May of 1947,” continued Gordon, who two years ago was also presented with the Royal British Legion’s Gold Badge for his outstanding service to the organisation, marking 70 years of service.

He continued his love of motorcycles after the war by becoming a test driver for Dunlop in Birmingham, before retiring to Pembrokeshire with his wife Patricia, who sadly passed away in 2014.

Gordon originally joined the British Legion, as it was then, in the Birmingham branch in 1948 and became involved with the Tenby branch over 30 years ago.

“I’ve been deputy standard bearer, standard bearer, closely involved in the Poppy Appeal and now president - the Royal British Legion has been a big part of my life, and has offered me lots of friendship and fellowship,” he added.

Back in 2012, Gordon was also presented with a poppy badge and clasp at the Lord Lieutenant Poppy Appeal Cadet Awards for South West Wales, in recognition of his years as a poppy collector, a role he first started undertaking for charity in 1948.