Harry Billinge Obituary: How Old Was Harry Billinge When He Died?

The funeral of Harry Billinge, one of the first British soldiers to storm Gold Beach during the Normandy landings in 1944, is taking place today (April 26, 2022) at 11am in St Paul’s Church in Charlestown, followed by a cremation for his immediate family.

Harry Billinge, who at 18 years, was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold beach in 1944, died at the age of 96 earlier this month after a short illness.

A sapper attached to the 44 Royal Engineer Commandos, Harry Billinge was one of only four men from his 10-man unit to survive the landings and subsequent battles in France, later fighting in Caen and the Falaise pocket in Normandy.

In his latter years, Harry Billinge helped raise more than £50,000 for the British Normandy Memorial and made annual pilgrimages to the cemeteries of northern France.

Harry Billinge was appointed an MBE in 2020 for his fundraising work, and dedicated it to the 22,442 service personnel killed on D-Day and during the Battle for Normandy.

Harry Billinge is survived by his wife Sheila, daughters Sally and Margot, son Christopher and granddaughters Amy and Claire.