SIX former Royal Marines will be pall bearers at the funeral of a 94 years old Normandy landings veteran whose Rhyl home was burgled while on holiday.

Eric Vaughan died last month, and his funeral will be held at St Asaph crematorium on Thursday January 10, when six fellow marines will carry his coffin. To honour his wartime service in the Corps they will be wearing their Green Berets and medals.

Eric had been on an English Channel cruise in the liner Black Watch, with his wife Beryl, when a phone call from a neighbour told them their Prestatyn home had been burgled and ransacked.

He had planned to revisit the beaches where he landed in 1944, when the Black Watch called at St Malo, but his visit had to be called off because of the burglary.

Graham Jones, chairman of the North Wales branch of the Royal Marines Association, said: “The pall bearers will be wearing the coveted Green Beret to honour Eric who was well respected in the branch and throughout the Royal Marines community.

"There was no shortage of volunteers for the pall bearer duty, plenty of our comrades stepped forward.

“There were plans to take him back to the beaches next summer, but sadly this will not now happen for obvious reasons.”

At the time of the burglary, Eric’s wife Beryl said: “When we got home we found the burglar had forced the kitchen window and had taken my laptop and a number of Eric’s wartime souvenirs, including two watches and money from the time including a Nazi Reichmark.”

Eric, who served as a Royal Marine Commando with 47 Commando in Normandy, and the Allied advance through northern France, Belgium and Holland, said: “It was bitterly disappointing to be called back and very distressing to see our home had been ransacked.

“This was to have been the first time I had been back to Normandy since 1944, and at my age I doubt I’ll go again. I had been looking forward to seeing some of the places where I served and reviving my memories.”

In addition to his British war service medals he was also awarded the French Legion d’honneur. He said: "I'm glad I took my medals with me and they weren't taken."

He said he joined the Royal Marines in 1942 and was demobbed in 1946. Originally from Bodelwyddan, he returned there to work for the MOD at an Army camp. He was subsequently employed in a factory making electrical products in St Asaph.