Vincent Kemel Horton

27 March 1921 – 09 March 2017

Vince Horton was born in Essex, the second of five children. The family moved to Bradford in the 1920s but when Vince’s father, out of work in the Great Depression, heard there was work back in Essex, the family walked all the way to Southend over the Summer of 1930 with one child still in a pram. They slept in barns and hedgerows along the way, using water from cattle troughs and relying on food from friendly farmers.

Vince joined the Royal Marines in August 1940, completing basic training at Lympstone. He was then posted to the 11th Battalion Searchlight Unit, Royal Marines in Southend and, after less than a month, was sent to Crete via South Africa, the Red Sea and Alexandria. Crete was captured by the Germans and Vince became a Prisoner of War on 01 June 1941. He and others escaped and, after six months, were evacuated to Egypt by submarine.

In September 1942, Vince was part of a Commando raid on Tobruk, Libya when he was captured again. He was exchanged after seven months, this time after being in a Prisoner of War camp in Italy.

He returned to the UK in August 1943 and trained for D-Day. His landing craft left Warsash for Juno Beach on 05 June 1944 with 48 Commando RM. Vince’s war ended on 15 June at Sallenelles when he stepped on an anti-personnel mine. He was evacuated and had his legs amputated.

He met his future wife, Olive (who sadly passed away in September 1993) and they married in 1946, he walking up the aisle in uniform and with two new prosthetic limbs. He was discharged from the Royal Marines in September 1948, trained as a cobbler and later got a job with the GPO, which lasted until he retired in March 1981 at the age of 60.

He enjoyed angling and crabbing with his grandchildren, and was a member of the Caravan and Camping Club. Vince joined the Southampton, Winchester & District Branch, was a Committee Member for some years, and was Chairman from 2011 to 2013. He came to meetings until he died in March. Vince was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French Government in 2016. Blesma would like to extend its condolences to his family, especially his children; Paul and June.