Albert Keir, 99, of Bakewell, was part of the naval crew that ferried US troops onto Utah beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
At a meeting of our Full Council earlier this week (27 November 2024), councillors voted unanimously to agree in principle to bestow the honour of Freedom of the County of Derbyshire to Mr Keir in recognition of his achievements during his life and career, including the part he played in the Second World War.
Following the agreement in principle, the formality of agreeing to confer the title will be made at a special meeting of Full Council on a date to be set next year where Mr Keir will be invited to receive the honour.
Mr Keir, 99, of Bakewell, left school aged 14 and was an apprentice painter and decorator, and around 1939 he helped to camouflage hydro-electric dams and buildings before joining the Royal Navy in 1943 when he was 18.
As a Royal Navy seaman he carried out general ship and gunnery duties on his ship, the Flower class corvette HMS Potentilla.
He was part of the naval crew that ferried US troops onto Utah beach on D-Day on 6 June 1944 and he was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) by the French Government in 2015 for his heroism. The Légion d'honneur is the highest French order of merit for both military and civilian personnel, and Mr Keir received his medal from the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire at a service at Bakewell Church.
Following the war Mr Keir worked as a painter and decorator for Derbyshire County Council but left to work at Furness and Hassels in Longstone before returning to the county council in the 1960s. He retired around 1990 aged 65.
Mr Keir married Dorothy in 1954 and they were together for 66 years, having one son, Andrew. Dorothy died aged 87 in 2019.
He has another son, Michael, from a previous marriage and 2 grandchildren from him.
To honour the memory of fallen comrades, Mr Keir sold poppies for the Royal British Legion, becoming one of the longest serving poppy sellers in the country, and he returned to Normandy in June this year with other veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. While there he met HM King Charles and HM Queen Camilla, among other dignitaries.
Derbyshire County Council Civic Chairman Councillor Tony Kemp said:
“We are delighted that our council was unanimous in its decision to agree in principle to the bestowing of the honour of the Freedom of the County of Derbyshire to Mr Keir. He is an extraordinary man and one of the last surviving veterans of D-Day.
“We very much look forward to officially bestowing the honour on him following a formal, final agreement at a special meeting of our Full Council next year.”
Mr Keir said:
“I was very pleasantly surprised and thrilled to be considered for such an honour and would be extremely proud to accept it. I would like to thank everybody involved in the process and for putting my name forward.”