D-Day veteran Bill Redston dies aged 101

A 101-year-old D-Day veteran who spent four years in the navy during World War Two has died. Bill Redston from Wolverhampton "passed away peacefully" in the early hours of Wednesday 27 May at Bridge Manor Care Home in Wombourne, his son told the BBC. Redston joined the navy as a commissioned officer when he was 18, but was promoted to first lieutenant within a few months. He is survived by three children, two grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His son, Chris Redston, said: "He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him." Born in Maidenhead in 1924, Redston spent most of his childhood in the Thames Valley but would go on to live in Wolverhampton for more than 60 years. During World War Two, he and his crew regularly travelled to the coast of occupied France to collect "British spies who needed to get out in a hurry", his son told the BBC. He also took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as his motor launch escorted a convoy of essential supply vessels to Utah Beach the day after it had been invaded by American troops. However, D-Day could have turned out very differently for Redston and his crew. Redston had been due to guide US soldiers on to Utah Beach duri