Is that Billinge Lump?

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Sandwiched between two massive neighbours in Liverpool and Manchester, it can be easy to lose a sense of local identity and be swallowed up by the giants at each end of the East Lancs. In an interview with the BBC a few years ago on Remembrance Sunday, I recall him saying he just wanted to be remembered as ‘a good old sapper who did his best’. A sapper, he was attached to the 44 Royal Engineer Commandos and was one of only four survivors from his unit. She added: “When he got the brochure about the British Normandy Memorial in the post, he felt compelled to start collecting. In his efforts to raise money for the memorial, he found great peace. We caught up with the Secretary of State today to ask her about that record and about the problems with benefits that are having a major impact on people in Merseyside - such as the 5-week wait for Universal Credit claims to be processed, which has pushed many people into a cycle of poverty.

This seems to be a common experience for anyone who doesn't live in a big, well known city. Whether it be meeting Brits at your holiday resort, or making friends on freshers week, the question "Where are you from?" can spark fear in those hailing from St Helens.How he dedicated his life to making sure that was never forgotten, that’s how he’ll be remembered. The memorial for the Normandy veterans just became part of him; it was just a huge part of his life. Some of his last words were: ‘Love one another.’” He was honoured by a funeral procession which passed the war memorial cross outside Holy Trinity Church in his home town of St Austell, and a guard of honour, which included standard-bearers, and Requiem Mass at St Pauls Church in nearby Charlestown. In 2020 Billinge was “deeply moved” to have a Great Western Railway (GWR) intercity express train named after him to mark 75 years since the end of the war. A tribute from British Normandy Memorial said: “The trust sends its deepest condolences to Harry’s wife, Sheila, and to all his family and friends.”

Mark Hopwood, the GWR managing director, said: “We’re so sad to hear about the passing of our dear friend Harry Billinge MBE. It was our absolute honour to name one of our trains after him in October 2020 and we will never forget the impact he had on so many.”When we asked her if she would be looking to end that 5-week wait, Dr Coffey said: "No, I don't think we are going to change that." Read More Related Articles She concluded: “Harry wanted future generations to never forget his comrades who fell in Normandy. If members of the public would like to pay their respects to Harry, we ask that they become guardians of the British Normandy Memorial. He was 18 when he was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold Beach during the Normandy invasion in 1944. Hundreds of people on Tuesday flooded the streets of a Cornish town to pay their respects to Harry Billinge, the late D-Day veteran who died earlier this month aged 96.

His daughter, Sally Billinge-Shandley, said: “He was a man that always gave his word, his word was solid. He always fought for what he believed in. The passion he had for all the veterans that lost their lives was unwavering. Despite this, there is no shortage of culture in the glass-making town, with those growing up in "Sintellins" having various rites of passage as they become an adult. The ECHO looked at seven things that everyone who grew up in St Helens has experienced.