UK’s oldest man and WWII veteran, Donald Rose, dies at 110

LONDON (AP) – Britain’s oldest World War II veteran, Donald Rose, has died at the age of 110.

Rose participated in the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, and was part of the division that liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany.

In a statement Friday, the leader of the Erewash Borough Council in the north of England, James Dawson, announced Rose’s death, calling him a “war hero.”

“Erewash was privileged to count him as a resident,” he added.

In May, Rose joined 45 other veterans as guests of honor at a tea party celebration hosted by the Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum, to mark 80 years since Victory in Europe Day.

Rose, who was born on Christmas Eve in 1914 following the outbreak of hostilities in World War I, said at the event that he did not celebrate VE Day at the time.

“When I heard that the armistice had been signed 80 years ago, I was in Germany at Belsen and, like most active soldiers, I didn’t get to celebrate at that time,” he said. “We just did what we thought was right and it was a relief when it was over.”

Originally from the village of Westcott, southwest of London, Rose joined the army aged 23 and served in North Africa, Italy and France, according to the Royal British Legion. He received a number of medals and was awarded France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur.

Rose is also believed to have been the U.K.’s oldest man.