A 92-year-old Chessington great-grandfather has become a French Knight after being awarded the country’s highest military honour.

Arthur Burt, of Compton Crescent, was given the Légion d’Honneur because of his bravery at the Normandy landings during the Second World War.

Mr Burt was 18 years old when he was conscripted and joined the Royal Artillery.

On June 6, 1944, at just 21, he found himself storming the beaches in northern France as part of unit in charge of heavy guns.

He said: “I watched the shelling from the boat. I was on an American ship at the time because the equipment we had was so big and towing six tonnes of ammunition.

“A boat in front of me was hit and completely blown to dust. It was dust and everyone on it was dust. It was consuming, scary.

“The Germans had put mines on top of each other [leading up to the beach]. We got the message we weren’t welcome.”

When Mr Burt reached the beach, the operation was not the swift victory that many had been led to believe it would be.

He said: “We didn’t move out of the beach for five weeks. It was hell there. Many gave their lives and most gave up their youth on those beaches.”

Mr Burt left the army in 1946, a year after the armistice.

He said: “My regiment was created for the war so it was disbanded. I had to wait in Germany for more than a year before I could go home though.

“After the war I became a shop fitter and then a contracts officer. An old soldier never retires and I worked with my tools until I was 85.”

Mr Burt was awarded the Chevalier (Knight) degree of the order at a ceremony at the French embassy in Knightsbridge on May 27, joined by his daughter and son-in-law.

In a letter to Mr Burt, Sylvie Bermann, the French ambassador to the United Kingdom, wrote: “As we contemplate this Europe of peace, we must never forget the heroes like you, who came from Britain and the Commonwealth to begin the liberation of Europe by liberating France.

“We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life.”