One of the Horncastle area’s best-loved war veterans, a hero of the D-Day landings and an Army baker whose bread was sampled by Churchill, has died.

At the grand old age of 104, Harold Major, known affectionately as Monty, passed away in hospital after a fall a few days earlier at the Oaklands retirement homes complex in Woodhall Spa, where he was living in his later years.

His home village of Mareham le Fen is in mourning and residents turned out en masse for Monty’s funeral, which took place at St Helen’s Church there on Tuesday (November 4) morning.

Represented and honouring him at the funeral were the former Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), with whom he served during the Second World War, and the Royal British Legion.

War hero Harold 'Monty' Major, pictured during his later years.

placeholder image — War hero Harold 'Monty' Major, pictured during his later years.

A eulogy was read by his close friend, Ken Argent, of Thimbleby, who said: “Monty was a lovely, lovely man – but also a very private man.

"He didn’t want to be renowned, but all the village loved him. He was born in Mareham le Fen and lived there for most of his life.”

Monty, who leaves two children, was called up to serve in the Army as a 19-year-old in 1942, three years into the war. The RASC was a crucial branch of the Army, responsible for managing supplies, transport and provisions.

Initially, he wanted to be a driver but there was a need for trained combat bakers, so he ended up running a mobile bakery unit that fed and provided vital sustenance to thousands of Allied troops.

Monty was called up to serve in the Army in 1942. (PHOTO BY: Roy Crowshaw)

His work came into most notable focus in 1944 as troops made their way from the Normandy beaches through France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany for the D-Day campaign, codenamed Operation Overlord.

One day, Sir Winston Churchill made a morale-boosting visit to Normandy to rally his troops on the frontline and happened to pop into the mobile bakery, where he tasted Monty’s freshly baked bread.

"He just walked in and wished us well,” recalled Monty in an interview with the BBC last year. "He stayed quite a while.

"He tried my bread because there was nothing else to eat! He told us how well we were all doing.”

Monty pictured playing indoor bowls at Horncastle and District Bowls Club only three weeks before his death. (PHOTO BY: Vivienne Simpson)

Monty admitted he was “terrified” as bombs dropped close by while he was on the move, supporting troops, across Europe and said: “I was just lucky to get through it.”

Aged 22, he was in the north of Germany when the German forces finally surrendered to the Allies in May 1945.

But he wasn’t discharged until 1946 after being involved in the relief of the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in Germany, helping to feed and liberate thousands of ill and starving troops who had been incarcerated there.

“To finally get demobbed and to go home, I was full of joy,” he recalled. “There were victory celebrations in the village, but we were soon back to normal.”

When he was discharged from the Army after the war, Monty returned to Mareham le Fen to run the village bakery.

Also in 1946, Monty was married to wife Bibby, whom he had met at an Army camp, and they were together for 70 years until she died at the age of 93.

They had a son, Geoffrey, who lives in Horncastle, and a daughter, Ann, who lives in Woodhall Spa. The family also included four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

After the war, Monty returned to civilian life in Mareham le Fen, where he worked in the village bakery run by the Myers family for many years before setting up his own bakery with Bibby and establishing it as a community hub. After 25 years, the couple retired.

Monty remained unassuming at all times, shunning any spotlight and rarely speaking about what happened during the horrific war.

But he went on to live a long and happy life and right up to his fall, he was still living independently on his own, having moved to Oaklands only two years ago.

He was still very active too, and regularly enjoyed indoor bowling at Horncastle and District Bowls Club with friends Ken and Ken’s partner, Vivienne Simpson. He even celebrated his 100th birthday in 2022 with a game of bowls alongside family and friends.