Funeral of D-Day veteran Joe Cattini takes place in Bury St Edmunds
Final salute for one of Britain’s last surviving D-Day veterans: Family celebrate life of ‘Charmer Joe’ WWII hero at his funeral after he died aged 100
- Joe Cattini, from Southampton, took part in Normandy landings on June 6, 1944
The emotional funeral of one of Britain’s last surviving D-Day veterans has taken place after he died last month aged 100.
Joe Cattini, from Southampton, took part in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings in June 1944, an operation which turned the tide of the Second World War.
Aged 21, Mr Cattini drove up Gold Beach in a three-ton ammunition truck that was loaded with 25lb shells and dozens of cans of petrol.
The great-grandfather was believed to have been one of only around half a dozen surviving British veterans from the Normandy campaign.
At his funeral today in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Mr Cattini’s coffin, draped in the flag of his Royal Artillery regiment, was pictured being carried into St Edmund’s Church.
![The emotional funeral of one of Britain's last surviving D-Day veterans has taken place after he died last month aged 100. Above: Pallbearers carry the coffin of Joe Cattini into St Edmund's Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, today](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185341-12103361-image-a-56_1684507009027.jpg)
The emotional funeral of one of Britain’s last surviving D-Day veterans has taken place after he died last month aged 100. Above: Pallbearers carry the coffin of Joe Cattini into St Edmund’s Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, today
![Joe Cattini, from Southampton, took part in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings in June 1944, an operation which turned the tide of the Second World War](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185855-12103361-Joe_Cattini_from_Southampton_took_part_in_one_of_the_first_waves-m-58_1684507482338.jpg)
Joe Cattini, from Southampton, took part in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings in June 1944, an operation which turned the tide of the Second World War
His daughter Fran Bradshaw, 71, said: ‘He told the story of coming off the ship with his truck loaded with petrol and ammunition and being quite scared in case he got a direct hit which would have meant he would be blown sky-high.’
Mr Cattini, who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day as a bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, spent his final months at a care home in Stowmarket, Suffolk.
The electrician had previously lived in Eastleigh, Hampshire, before moving to be closer to family.
His funeral was attended by several generations of his family, members of the Royal Regiment Artillery and representatives from veterans groups.
His coffin was carried past standard bearers to the top of the steps at the front of the church, followed by his children.
Members of his family then took over to carry the coffin inside the church for the service.
The arrival music was I’ll Walk With God by the tenor Mario Lanza, and prayers were read by Mr Cattini’s great-grandchildren.
Tributes were read by his daughter Marian Stevens-Farrow, and by representatives of the veterans groups D-Day Revisited, 18 September Foundation, Spirit of Normandy Trust and The British Normandy Memorial, with the latter represented by BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell, a founding trustee.
The departure music, after the Last Post was played, was Highland Cathedral by piper Tosh MacDonald, as the coffin was carried out to the hearse.
The order of service requested that any donations be made to the Normandy Memorial Trust.
His daughter Mrs Bradshaw, of Lavenham, Suffolk, said Mr Cattini did not speak much about what he experienced on D-Day until after the 70th anniversary.
‘I think it was the fact of meeting other veterans that prompted him, and all the daughters and sons of the veterans all said it was their mechanism to get through it basically,’ she said.
‘They just parcelled it up, put it away, and once they started talking it was incredible, the tears came and we heard such amazing stories.
![Mr Cattini became a centenarian on January 17, 2023 and he received a birthday card from The King](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71186475-12103361-image-a-66_1684508115075.jpg)
Mr Cattini became a centenarian on January 17, 2023 and he received a birthday card from The King
![At his funeral today in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Mr Cattini's coffin, draped in the flag of his Royal Artillery regiment, was pictured being carried into St Edmund's Church](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185323-12103361-image-a-59_1684507535947.jpg)
At his funeral today in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Mr Cattini’s coffin, draped in the flag of his Royal Artillery regiment, was pictured being carried into St Edmund’s Church
‘It was a real privilege to be part of that.’
She described her father as a ‘complete and utter charmer’.
‘He was perhaps one of the most positive men you’ve ever met,’ said Mrs Bradshaw.
‘My sister and I would often say to him ‘how come you can wake up every morning like that?’ and his answer to that was having survived the war he wanted to make every day count.
‘The fact he was here for 100 years was fantastic but I think it was down to his positivity.’
She said that the ‘two great loves in his life’ were ‘the church and his family’.
In the last 10 years of his life he joined veterans groups, went to memorial events and he ‘just transformed’, Mrs Bradshaw said.
![The great-grandfather was believed to have been one of only around half a dozen surviving British veterans from the Normandy campaign. Above: His coffin is carried into St Edmund's Church in Bury St Edmunds](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185329-12103361-image-a-60_1684507539332.jpg)
The great-grandfather was believed to have been one of only around half a dozen surviving British veterans from the Normandy campaign. Above: His coffin is carried into St Edmund’s Church in Bury St Edmunds
![The order of service for Mr Caattini's funeral shows how he was awarded France's highest honour, the Legion d'honneur](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185335-12103361-image-a-61_1684507542304.jpg)
The order of service for Mr Caattini’s funeral shows how he was awarded France’s highest honour, the Legion d’honneur
![The order of service for the funeral showed how the Last Post was played](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185333-12103361-image-a-62_1684507547803.jpg)
The order of service for the funeral showed how the Last Post was played
‘He was respected and he was honoured in a way that he hadn’t been before,’ she said.
‘A friend of mine put it, she said ‘normally they’re just old men taking up time in a queue, then suddenly when they put a uniform on and they go to these events they’re suddenly given so much respect’.
‘I think it floored my dad when he first started going.
‘He was shocked by people in Normandy clapping when they went down the road.
‘It was amazing.’
He moved to Suffolk in his final months and ‘loved’ Bury St Edmunds which is ‘full of restaurants’.
‘His joy, being Italian, his absolute joy was having lunches out with a glass of red wine,’ said Mrs Bradshaw.
‘That was the promise he made me make to him when we brought him up to Suffolk, that I would take him out for his lunches.’
![Mr Cattini's family are seen outside St Edmund's Church in Bury St Edmunds ahead of his funeral](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185319-12103361-image-a-63_1684507552482.jpg)
Mr Cattini’s family are seen outside St Edmund’s Church in Bury St Edmunds ahead of his funeral
![Born Alberto Giuseppe Antonio Cattini, 'Joe' was the eldest of four boys and grew up in Hampstead, north London](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185857-12103361-image-a-65_1684507794337.jpg)
Born Alberto Giuseppe Antonio Cattini, ‘Joe’ was the eldest of four boys and grew up in Hampstead, north London
She said her father, who grew up in Hampstead, north-west London, ‘had an incredible life’ and ‘would have been incredibly humbled’ by tributes to him.
‘Dad always said they weren’t the heroes, they were the lucky ones that survived,’ she said.
‘The heroes were the ones whose names appeared on the Normandy memorial, the ones that lost their lives.
‘I think while he was thrilled with the attention he got in the last 10 years he was also humbled by the fact he felt he was so privileged to still be here.’
Around 10,000 servicemen, including 2,700 British soldiers, 946 Canadians and 6,600 US soldiers died in the Allied landings.
The invasion force led to the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
Mr Cattini spent five days in hospital with coronavirus in August 2021.
After learning why he was feeling ill, he told his daughter Fran Bradshaw: ‘Thank goodness I’m not getting old – it’s only Covid.’
Mr Cattini was among the veterans who visited the British Normandy Memorial in October 2021, after it was opened on June 6 that year – 77 years to the day after D-Day.
Their visit was delayed because of travel restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid pandemic.
Mr Cattini said at the time: ‘I’m very excited to see the memorial. I felt very sorry for the young infantry who landed on the beaches on D-Day.
‘I think of the ones that didn’t come back – they are the heroes, the ones that gave their lives. I don’t class myself as a hero – I was lucky, I had a good guardian angel who saw me through the war.’
Speaking to the BBC in June 2019 to celebrate the 70th anniversary, Mr Cattini described the horrific scene he witnessed.
‘I landed here on D-Day at 10am and the beach was littered with dead, wounded, prisoners of war and also destroyed vehicles and craft,’ he said.
‘There were things floating in the water that you don’t want to remember. Now it’s so peaceful and tranquil that you feel more at ease.’
![BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell was at the funeral, representing The British Normandy Memorial. He is a founding trustee](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/19/15/71185321-12103361-image-a-64_1684507559219.jpg)
BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell was at the funeral, representing The British Normandy Memorial. He is a founding trustee
Mr Cattini became a centenarian on January 17, 2023 and he received a birthday card from The King.
Born Alberto Giuseppe Antonio Cattini, ‘Joe’ was the eldest of four boys and grew up in Hampstead, north London.
The British Normandy Memorial wrote about his upbringing and noted that he served for five years from 1941 onwards.
He was a Bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment RA of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry when he landed on Gold Beach on D-Day.