// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
D-Day veteran who survived capture dies aged 101
Normandy veteran Kenneth Hay was an "extraordinary gentleman", the British Normandy Memorial said
Normandy veteran Kenneth Hay, who survived being captured just weeks after D-Day and spent years educating children about World War Two, has died aged 101.
Hay, from Upminster in east London, served in the 4th Dorset Infantry Regiment. He was captured a month after the allied invasion of northern France and survived a 1,000-mile (1,609km) forced march in eastern Europe until he was liberated by US forces.
His death was announced on Sunday by the British Normandy Memorial, for which he was an ambassador.
The organisation said he was an "extraordinary gentleman whose remarkable life will never be forgotten".
In its statement on social media, the British Normandy Memorial added: "His passion for education was unwavering.
"The countless schoolchildren whose lives he touched with his stories of courage and resilience nicknamed him 'Grandad Ken'.
"We extend our most sincere condolences to Ken's sons Chris and Jeremy, all the Hay family and his very many friends."
Hay, pictured in 2025 at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, France, served in the 4th Dorset Infantry Regiment
D-Day, on 6 June 1944, saw British, American and Canadian troops storm beaches along the Normandy coastline to begin the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.