The daughter of a D-Day veteran who died while serving in the Second World War has said she is “immensely proud” of his service.
Pte Cecil Mercer, from Kidderminster, was the first soldier from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters regiment to lose his life after Allied troops landed in France on D-Day.
Diana Talbot, from Suckley, was four years old when her father was murdered but remembers the day her family received the news.
“We thought ‘who is this’ and it was the telegram that was delivered. My mother screamed and that was it,” she said.
“I don’t remember anything after that.”
Mrs Talbot will visit the site where her father died and his grave at the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Bayeux later this month.
Pte Mercer joined the Army as a radio operator. He died during his journey to Caen when the vehicle he was in exploded.
The news of her father’s death remained an unspoken topic in the family, but she always felt a great sense of pride in what he did.
“My mother never talked about it or what happened. Our whole lives changed that day,” she recalls.
“I get goosebumps when I talk about it and think about him. I think about him so often and after visiting the Bayeux cemetery four times, I am extremely proud.”
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