Tributes paid to Banbury area RAF and D-Day hero who was recognised for his bravery during WWII

Tributes have been paid to RAF war hero Ken Handley who sadly passed away over the weekend.

RAF veteran Ken Handley, who was one of the area's last remaining survivors of D-Day, sadly passed away at the age of 98 in the early hours of Monday morning at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

Ken was awarded the Liberators Medal in September 2021 by a representative of the Dutch government for his role in the liberation of the Dutch people in the final year of World War Two.

Representatives from the Dutch military attaché travelled to Cropredy from London to make the presentation on September 1 2021, where Captain RNLN Gerrit Nijenhuis spoke eloquently of the role played by Mr. Handley and the gratitude of his people before presenting him with his medal and a certificate.

Dutch military Attaché Gerrit Nijenhuis presented RAF veteran Ken Handley, from Cropredy, with the Liberators Medal.

Mr. Handley was only 20 when he travelled to Normandy in the wake of the D-Day landings in 1944 as part of a fully armed RAF signals unit. Tasked with giving communications support to the air forces as they advanced, Mr. Handley's unit was attached to the Canadian forces.

Advancing through France and Belgium, by December 1944 they were in the Netherlands, facing appalling weather conditions and extreme cold and seeing action in Breda, Antwerp, and in the decisive Battle of the Bulge.

Chris Adams, the chair of the RAF Association in Banbury, said: "The RAFA Banbury Branch and Club are proud of you, Ken, and thank you for your service."

Tributes to Ken have been paid on the RAF Association Banbury Branch & Branch Club Facebook page.

Ken’s Funeral Service will take place at St Mary the Virgin Church in Cropredy on Monday March 13 at 10:00. Ken left instructions that he would like a full military funeral with all the trimmings and that’s exactly what he’s going to get!