A D-DAY war hero awarded France’s highest honour has died aged 92.

John White, of Shopland Road, Rayleigh, died suddenly at Southend Hospital on March 10 following a short illness.

In December he was decorated with France’s highest honour – the Legion d’Honneur Grand Cross – to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, in recognition of his role in the liberation of France with the No. 3 Commandos.

At the time Mr White, who was a sergeant, said he felt “passionate” and “emotional” about receiving the honour, and that it brought back memories of landing at Sword Beach and a skirmish at the famous Pegasus Bridge.

Son Nick, 63, said: “It was a bit of a shock to us because we thought he was going to be home again and that wasn’t the case.

“But we’ve all come to the opinion that it was better for him to go like that rather than suffering from some illness.”

Mr White was born in Wimbourne Street, Shoreditch, on April 27, 1923, and met wife Violet at the Mecca Dance Hall in Southend before volunteering with the No. 3 Commando Unit in August 1940 aged 17.

Rising through the ranks to sergeant by 1944, he served in Dieppe in France, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Germany, before being demobilised in 1945. He would marry Violet four years later.

Speaking to the Echo in December, Mr White described becoming lost in a mine field following the Normandy landings while in charge of 36 men – all of which he managed to navigate out without any casualties.

He said: “We saw the dead and dying getting hit. I’ve seen the crying, and I’ve cried myself – I still cry – but I got every one of my men out.”

For a short time, he worked with his father in carpentry before becoming a “barrow boy” in the 1950s, selling fruit and vegetables outside the Sutton Arms pub in Southchurch Road, and later a potato merchant delivering to schools and seafront restaurants – which he continued to do into his seventies.

He leaves Violet, 87, children Bill, 65, Nick, 63, Shanie, 59, and Cheryl, 56, as well as grandchildren Sarah, Keeley, Oliver, Lewis, and Alana, and six great grandchildren aged five to 20.

The Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with 156,000 British, American, Commonwealth and European troops turning the tide of the Second World War, opening up a second front with a decisive foothold in western Europe.

The Legion d’Honneur was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.

Famous recipients include Sir Paul McCartney, JK Rowling, Marlene Dietrich, Bob Dylan, Orson Welles, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Dwight D Eisenhower - though none were awarded the highest order of Grand Cross.