Peterborough WW2 veteran gets MBE days before 100th birthday
A World War Two veteran who was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) said "the heroes are lying in a cemetery, I was lucky".Geoffrey Roberts, 99, from Peterborough, was appointed for his charity work and his services to the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem.He was captured during the battle in September 1944, in which more than 8,000 British soldiers were killed, missing or taken prisoner.Mr Roberts, who turns 100 on Saturday, received his MBE from the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace.
"I'm surprised actually, I don't know what I got it for, I didn't do anything," he said."When I saw the letter, I thought someone was kidding me. I didn't have a clue; it was the last thing on my mind. I was very shocked and very overwhelmed."
Mr Roberts was born in the Chelsea Barracks in London in 1925 and signed up in 1942.On 17 September 1944, he flew into the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden - depicted in the 1977 Hollywood film A Bridge Too Far. It saw 35,000 British, American and Polish troops parachute or glide behind German lines.He was captured on September 26, with a German officer giving him some cigarettes and telling him, "for you, the war is over".He was sent to a prisoner of war camp and put to work in a coal mine until the end of the war.
When asked how important it was that veterans continued to be recognised, he said: "It's very important, there's not many of us left, so it's very important, especially for the ones who didn't come home."The heroes are lying in a cemetery, I was lucky. I turned left when I should have turned right, so I'm still here."
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"It's given us hope for a better future," Mary stated optimistically. Facing unexpected costs that stretched their budget, the couple set up a GoFundMe page, estimating the total spend on the conversion at about £500,000. "We're really grateful to everyone who has donated," said Mary, acknowledging the support they received. "You don't set up a GoFundMe page without a lot of thought and we're just trying to relieve some of the stress on us. "Once you start a project like this, you've got to finish it - you can't afford to not finish it because then you've got nothing."
