World War Two veteran Henry Rice, who survived a near-miss when a torpedo was fired at the boat he was on, has died at the age of 100.

Rice, from Cranleigh in Surrey, was a signalman aboard HMS Eastway as part of the Normandy landings, arriving at Juno Beach five days after D-Day.

He received the Legion d’honneur from the French government and had called for schools to teach children more about the Normandy landings because the “world is dangerous at the moment”.

A spokesperson from the Spirit of Normandy Trust, a charity for veterans, said: “Henry was a great character, with a cheeky smile that endeared him to everyone he met.”

Rice previously told the BBC that revisiting Normandy for a remembrance service had meant “everything” to him.

“I’ve had a super lifetime,” he said.

When thinking about veterans who had died, he added: “I find it too easy to wipe a tear away, so I don’t let myself think too deeply. But when I’m on my own, then I do.”

Troops from the UK, the US, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of northern France on 6 June 1944, known as D-Day.

Rice delivered vehicles, men and equipment to reinforce the effort.

It was the largest military naval, air and land operation ever attempted and marked the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied north-west Europe.

Rice died just two weeks after Normandy veteran Kenneth Hay, who survived being captured just weeks after D-Day and spent years educating children about World War Two, who died at the age of 101.

The Royal Navy said Rice went on to Malta where he was land-based for 12 weeks before travelling through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea.

He spent some time based in the Gulf before going on to Sri Lanka, Burma and Singapore.

The Royal Navy said one of Rice’s close encounters was a torpedo being fired towards the boat he was on, only for the missile to go beneath the hull.

In March this year, his family hosted a special celebration for his 100th birthday.

He told the BBC that, generally, veterans like himself only shared wartime experiences quietly amongst themselves.

“At home or with friends, you just say ‘yeah, I was a matelot mate’,” he chuckled.

The Spirit of Normandy Trust said he was committed to remembering those who were sent to war and never returned.

He attended remembrance events in the UK, including the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and the Cenotaph Parade.

At the planting of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, he handed Queen Camilla the last poppy to be placed to mark VE Day 80, according to the Spirit of Normandy.

Earlier this year, Rice met fellow D-Day veteran Ronald Hendrey, from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex for the first time to share memories of the Normandy invasion – one of his last acts of remembrance.

“He will be greatly missed by all and we offer his family our most sincere condolences,” a Spirit of Normandy spokesperson said.

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