Susanna Redi announced the tragic news.

 

Close up of susanna Reid

Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid announced a heartbreaking death (Image: ITV)

Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid announced the news that 100-year-old war veteran Stan Ford had died just minutes into the Monday, February 9, episode of the ITV breakfast show. The  World War II D-Day veteran from Bath had previously appeared on the show on Monday, March 4 2024, and they broadcast a clip of his appearance as they fondly remembered him.

In the throwback video, he proudly wore his medals sitting on the show’s sofa as he recalled serving on board the HMS Fratton when it sank in 1944 with the loss of 31 crew. “I often asked myself, Why me? And when there were so many didn’t survive, it was just so amazing that we’d gone over the side in there in a big gun turret, when I survived, and I come to the top, and they floated and sort of swam until a rescue crowd came by and plucked me from the water.”

After showing the clip, Susanna noted: “That generation was just extraordinary.”

Show contributor Kevin Maguire agreed to pay tribute to the late hero. “You feel that survivor’s guilt. They endured what is unimaginable to most of us. I remember the first world war generation passing away 15 – 20 years ago, and we’re going through that again.

“And I think we will lose something when they’ve all gone because they were the very best of us, and they just remember a time when people put their own lives on the line to save others so we would be free.”

worlkd War II veteran Stan Ford wearing his medals and smiling

GMB paid tribute to D-Day veteran Stan Ford who has died at the age of 100 (Image: PA)

While Stan had survived the attack on HMS Fratton, he continued to suffer issues because of his injuries.

He had fractured his spine and injured both his legs, which meant he had to wear callipers for the rest of his life. However, he insisted it was something he had gotten used to.

Stan became an ambassador for the British Normandy Memorial and regularly returned to France to honour fallen soldiers.

He was among those chosen to take part in the Queen’s baton relay ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2022. He also helped to raise funds for an education centre on the site of the memorial.