Tributes paid as D-Day veteran dies aged 96

Mr Hutton parachuted into Normandy in 1944 and descended to the famous Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.

Tributes paid as D-Day veteran dies aged 96

Tributes have been paid to a Scottish D-Day veteran who has died at the age of 96.

John Hutton, known by friends as ‘Jock’, was still a teenager when he signed to serve in the Second World War.

On confirming the news on Friday the Ministry of Defence paid tribute to the Stirling man’s “courage and spirit” which they say “must never be forgotten”.

Mr Hutton parachuted into Normandy in 1944 and descended to the famous Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.

He replicated his descent last year, as a 95-year-old, when he parachuted into France alongside fellow ex-serviceman Harry Read.

They took off from Duxford in Cambridgeshire, landing in fields overlooked by poppies – which was also the original drop zone for the 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion.

The MoD posted on Twitter: “We are saddened by the passing of D-Day veteran John ‘Jock’ Hutton who served in the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion.

“Last year, Jock touched the hearts of many, parachuting over Normandy at the #DDay75 commemorations.

“His courage and spirit must never be forgotten.”

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