Hundreds of people gathered in Pembroke Dock on Thursday, August 10, to say goodbye to a much-loved Pembrokeshire World War Two veteran.

Ted Owens was one of Wales’ last surviving D Day veterans. He landed on Sword Beach on June 6,1944 in the first wave of advances on Normandy.

His funeral was held on Thursday in Pembroke Dock, followed by a crematorium service in Narberth, two days before what would have been his 99th birthday.

The Royal Marines, the Royal British Legion, and the fire brigade, led a procession to St John's Church before a humanist service. The coffin was draped with the Royal Marine Flag and the Last Post was sounded by a Royal Marine Bugler.

Two Pembrokeshire vintage military vehicles and out riders of the Three Amigos Bikers led the way to the crematorium, followed by funeral cortège.

Ted's wartime experience had been shared with thousands in the award-winning documentary Lest We Forget which was broadcast on ITV Wales.

The series followed Ted and two schoolchildren – Evan Lewis, aged ten, and his sister, Caoimhe, eight – as they travelled to France, the Netherlands and Germany to discuss Ted’s war.

The children knew Ted through their dad, Greg – a former Western Telegraph reporter now based in Cardiff – who produced the series.

Milford Mercury: Hundreds turned up to bid a hero's goodbye to D-Day veteran Ted Owens

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Paying tribute, freelance producer and close friend Greg Lewis said: "I was honoured and privileged to share so many happy times with Ted. He was a wealth of information and stories, a fascinating man.

"He would always say he wasn’t an educated man. Well, he may not have been a scholar but he had a world of knowledge. With Ted’s passing. We’ve lost a library of memories and wisdom."

Ted a Royal Marine Commando, aged 19 at the time, was hit by a shell on D-Day and almost died – but returned to France to fight on. He later fought in major battles in the Netherlands.

“It was hard and it was frightening,” Ted had said of the experience. "I was a sniper with the Royal Marine Commandos.

“I carried a Lee Enfield 1914 with a 10x6 telescopic site and the men I could see were 75 yards away from me. But they must have picked me out because they sent over five mortar shells.

Milford Mercury: Ted Owens's wartime experiences were part of an award-winning television documentary

"I tried to hide behind a blown-up tank but the mortars exploded on my left side with 14 pieces of metal going into me.

“They laid me out on the beach, paralysed, but I could hear everything that was going on. I heard a voice saying ‘The poor blighter’s had it’ - but I kept on going.

“They checked me over and parcelled me up with a label which I’ve still got today and I spent two and half months in hospital.”

Upon recovery, the Pembroke Dock hero returned to his unit and swiftly set off through France and Belgium, and was wounded twice more in battles in the Netherlands.

He then fought in Dunkirk as part of a relief unit and during the Battle of the Bulge alongside the Americans.

Ted was wounded on three separate occasions, including by a piece of bullet which entered his windpipe.

After the war Ted re-joined the fire brigade and later worked for many years on boats on Milford Haven waterway.

He married Laurie, who had worked as a plotter for the RAF during the war.

He died on July 18, aged 98.

“Ted was loved by everyone. He was a real gentleman and a hero,” said former Pembroke Dock mayor, Peter Kraus. "What they must have gone through to give us what we have today.”

Current mayor Cllr George Manning added: "Ted Owens was well respected by all who were fortunate enough to know and meet with him, as I was. He was an absolute gentleman.”