D-Day, Cornwall survivor Ivor Pascoe funeral date 2024

Ivor Pascoe passed away peacefully aged 101 at King Charles Court, Falmouth on February 10 and will be sadly missed by all his family and friends. He leaves behind his children Chris and Marilyn and his grandchildren.

Mr Pascoe was just 21 when, as a Royal Marine Commando, he piloted his landing craft onto Juno Beach delivering British troops to the battle under heavy fire from German guns.

Ivor, centre, with two other members of the group known as the 'Coffin Dodgers' (Image: File)

He also survived the bombing of his home during the Blitz, when 23 houses in the Quay Hill area of Penryn were destroyed by bombing during an attack on May 13, 1941.

He spent five hours under debris but survived. Unfortunately, however, he lost his mother and three sisters.

One of the organisers of the funeral Sean Taylor told the Packet that Mr Pascoe only had a small family and he wanted as many veterans as possible to attend to give Ivor the send-off he deserves.

He said, as far as he was aware, Mr Pascoe was the last of the D-Day veterans in Cornwall to go.

He said he was definitely the last member of the Cornwall branch of the Landing Craft Association.

“Because he had a very small family we are trying to get as many veterans as we can to come along to the funeral to provide support to the family,” he said.

He said he had also invited MPs and local dignitaries who he hoped would come as well.

The death of Mr Pascoe comes just months before the 80th anniversary of the invasion of France on June 6, 1944.

Mr Pascoe was well known in the community and used to visit schools in Penryn to tell the pupils about his experiences during World War Two.

Ivor Pascoe and Warrant Officer Robbie Buglass on the occasion of his 100th birthday last year (Image: Ryan Morwood)

Last year he was visited by Royal Marine Commando, Warrant Officer Robbie Buglass, to celebrate his 100th birthday.

He told The Packet at the time: "As a representative from the air station on Culdrose, it is an absolute privilege to be here today to join Ivor on his 100th birthday.

"The true bravery for me is for the landing craft, was the going back.

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"The first time when they breached those beaches, and the young boys were being landed, the noise and the smell must have been so overwhelming, but to go back, pick up more people, and go back again to drop more boys off to support that front line...

"That, for me, is absolutely awesome and that's what makes a hero.”

Mr Pascoe’s funeral takes place at 2pm on Thursday, March 14, at Treswithian Downs Crematorium, Treswithian Downs, Puggis Hill, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 0BL.