Mablethorpe man Jack receives top military French honour

Jack Quinn,91, was presented with his medal at Sheffield Town Hall with the Lord Mayor of the city and a representative from the French Embassy in attendance.

Mr Quinn is also one of few war veterans who holds the Croix De Guerre - the French equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

Jack was in the Royal Marines as a Corporal and was active during the D-Day landings and regularly returns to Normandy annualy, to remember his fallen comrades.

On the evening of D-Day, Jack saw a boat of French sailors broken down in the sea and drifting towards the mines.

Jack recalls: “If they had just touched a mine, their whole boat would have gone up, killing them all.

“I took my boat and set off to rescue them.

“I didn’t rescue those men for the valour - I just did my job. I couldn’t watch them drift into mines.”

Jack retired to Mablethorpe 15 years ago and lives with his second wife Shirley, 79.