Essex war hero Don Sheppard who died recently at the age of 104, was one of the last remaining D Day veterans. What a life. What a man. Don was just 24 when he stormed the Normandy beaches. He was not only left with memories of the horror he witnessed that day but with a piece of enemy shrapnel wedged in his lung for the rest of his life…

Even in the days leading up to his death from pneumonia, Don Sheppard, 104, was being asked for a handshake as he lay in his bed in Basildon Hospital.

Don’s daughter Joanne O’Brien explained: 'When people visiting relatives on the ward heard there was a D Day veteran was on the ward everyone wanted to shake his hand and thank him for his service. That made him really happy.'

It’s no wonder so many people wanted to meet a real life D Day veteran. Such was the respect for this remarkable man that Don’s own GP used to salute him whenever he went for an appointment. When Don and fellow veterans went to the cinema in 2017 to see the film Dunkirk, dressed in their uniforms with medals, as the credits rolled the audience erupted into cheers and applause for the group of grey-haired gents.

Don Sheppard in the army during war. Don Sheppard in the army during war. Don, who was born in Laindon and later moved to Basildon, had suffered several bouts of pneumonia in recent years and in April he was on the brink of death. He was so determined to hold on for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in June, however, that he bounced back.

He was also looking forward to his 104th birthday party in May, where he enjoyed a pint of Guinness and joined grandson Sam in singing the Frank Sinatra classic, ‘Young at Heart’.

There was just no keeping this good man down- something that literally became evident during the June D -Day commemoration event held at the Living Memorial at White House Farm in Rettendon, where Don insisted on rising from his wheelchair and standing up for the duration of the National Anthem, supported as always by his family.

For Don, despite receiving so many personal accolades, including being given Freedom of the Borough of Basildon in 2019, his focus was always on those who paid the ultimate price during the war. He said: 'The lads that didn’t make it back. They are the ones we need to remember.'

Don Sheppard as a young Despatch rider during the war. Don Sheppard as a young Despatch rider during the war. Don was called up at the beginning of the war and completed his army training at Colchester Garrison, before being sent off to fight in Sicily and north Africa. By the time D-Day arrived in June of 1944 the 24-year-old Sapper was a despatch rider with the highly regarded 51st Scottish Division of the Royal Engineers.

Once Don got on to Juno beach, the sheer scale of the situation became clear. 'There were shells and a whole lot of people killed. Bodies were everywhere,' he said. By the evening of June 6, Don and his regiment had made their way to Pegasus Bridge in Ouistreham, France, where Don was injured by an enemy bomb

'One of the explosions wounded my leg. I didn’t think it was a big deal really. I remember just bandaging it up and injecting myself with morphine,' he later recalled.

In 2008, an X-ray flagged up a “foreign body” in Don’s lungs and he feared it was cancer. It turned out to be shrapnel from the Pegasus Bridge explosion.

Don had been walking around with a piece of a German bomb wedged in his lungs from that very incident. 'They said they could try to remove it but I thought what’s the point at my age! Let it stay there,' he laughed.

Don pictured in Belgium with a family he helped liberate in 1944. Years later he returned to the same village and was welcomed as a hero by the family of the little girl he is cuddling in the picture. Don pictured in Belgium with a family he helped liberate in 1944. Years later he returned to the same village and was welcomed as a hero by the family of the little girl he is cuddling in the picture. After the hell of Normandy, Don and his regiment faced a tough fight and thousands of losses in Arnhem but Don managed to make it across the Rhine and helped capture the German heartland.

He eventually helped liberate the Bergen Belsen Nazi concentration camp, where 50,000 Jewish prisoners, as well as political prisoners and gypsies, had been massacred by the Nazis. Don was sent ahead on his motorbike with a convoy of trucks.

'As I approached the camp you could literally smell death in the air from miles away. Everyone was just skin and bones, like skeleton’s. What I saw changed me forever,' he said.

After the war Don settled in Basildon with Sandra to raise their family. He then began a new career driving oil tankers. He carried on working until he was 70. It was when he retired that Don really began to revisit his wartime experiences and became involved with veteran groups.

Don Sheppard and wife Sandra on their wedding day 57 years ago.  He became chairman of the Southend Normandy Veterans Association where he led veterans on annual trips to France and Belgium for commemorative events.

If there was ever a fantastic example of how the young understand the futility of war, it’s when Don took his young granddaughter Daisy on a poignant trip back to Pegasus Bridge in 2004 to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day. His visit was filmed by BBC’s Newsround programme. Don said: 'It was quite an emotional trip. Someone came over and said there was a German soldier who had been on the bridge at the same time on D-Day and asked if we could meet. So we met and had a chat.

'He told me he remembers being so terrified as our troops approached that he threw down his gun and went and hid in some bushes.

'After we finished chatting my little granddaughter turned to us both and said: "I hope you two are friends now!"'

Unforgettable moment- Don aged 103 on the back of an old army motorbike at the 79th anniversary of D Day event. This photo went round the world. Newsquest Unforgettable moment- Don aged 103 on the back of an old army motorbike at the 79th anniversary of D Day event. This photo went round the world. Newsquest Following Don’s death on September 7, tributes poured in from the many people he inspired during his eventful life. The ‘Basildon’ sign was lit up in red, white and blue in his honour. The most heart-felt tributes were from his beloved family, including Sandra, their two children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Joanne added: 'We loved dad more than words can say. We want to celebrate his life as best we can now.'

Baroness Angela Smith of Basildon, now a cabinet minister as Leader of the House of Lords, got to know Don well when she was MP for Basildon. Lady Smith, who served as MP from 1997 to 2010, said: 'He took joy in every moment. Don made you want to be better at what you did to make him proud of you.

'I still have the pendant from the Normandy celebrations that he gave me, that is something I have kept and treasured for many years.

'Because of what he went through, he wanted life to be fulfilling and I was always amazed by how active he was, dancing into his 80s!'

Don Sheppard with pupils from Buttsbury Junior School after giving a talk about the war last year. Don Sheppard with pupils from Buttsbury Junior School after giving a talk about the war last year. One of Don’s passions over the years was visiting schools to talk to children about the war. Ann Robinson, headteacher of Buttsbury Junior School in Billericay, where Don’s daughter Jo works as a teacher, said Don’s countless visits to the school over the years made a huge impact on the children. 'He joined us for every Remembrance Day for as long as I can remember and his presence - standing and saluting at the front of the school during The Last Post and subsequent two minutes’ silence - brought a sense of solemnity that is hard to capture in words

'For the children, seeing a war veteran and the medals he had earned serving his country, helped them to understand the sacrifices made by others so that we today are able to live in relative peace.'

Another of Don’s passions was supporting the Living Memorial in Rettendon, an incredible space of remembrance created by Fran and Peter Theobald in 2009.

The couple grew close to Don over the years and assisted Don and his family in creating a huge 80th anniversary event for D-Day.

Don Sheppard and his grandson Sam singing 'Young at Heart' at Don's 104th birthday party in MayDon Sheppard and his grandson Sam singing 'Young at Heart' at Don's 104th birthday party in May Fran particularly remembers the year before- the 79th D Day anniversary event -where despite his age and frailty Don climbed onto the back of a vintage army motorbike, much to the delight of spectators. 'This is just like the bike I rode around on in the war,' he beamed.

Fran said: 'Don was in fine fettle that day, so much so that despite several of his friends and family urging him not to, he climbed on to a motor scooter at the age of 103 years for an iconic photo that went round the world online.

'Beneath the exterior of this quiet and gentle man, was a man of character, humour, honour and warmth. He was like the father that every child should have and every friend needs. To be in his presence, made one feel everything would be alright with the world- and that is a rare gift.'

Don’s funeral was held at St Martin’s Church in Basildon in October. His family plan to continue his legacy of laying a wreath at Pitsea War Memorial this Remembrance Sunday.

Don at the Ede monument in Holland during one of his many visits to the country with the Southend Normandy Veterans Association.Don at the Ede monument in Holland during one of his many visits to the country with the Southend Normandy Veterans Association.