Plea to finish D-Day veteran's war memorial dream

Councillors have been urged to finish a D-Day veteran's dream for a new war memorial in his hometown.

Donald "Don" Sheppard, from Basildon in Essex, spearheaded the campaign before he died aged 104 in 2024.

Basildon mayor Sam Journet said the late Royal Engineer "served our country when it needed him most", as he appealed to Basildon Borough Council for support.

The authority's Conservative leader, Andy Barnes, said funds would be made available to deliver the memorial by November 2027.

There is already a small plinth outside St Martin's Church, but Reform UK councillor Journet has called for a more prominent tribute in the town centre.

In a motion proposed to the authority, he called on council officers to identify a suitable location for a memorial and estimate its cost.

Journet said Sheppard had "spent years asking for a permanent place where the people of Basildon and Laindon could remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice".

"He deserved to see that happen in his lifetime," he added.

Sheppard served with the Royal Engineers 51st Highland Division in north Africa and Sicily prior to D-Day.

Having broken through Nazi lines in the August, he continued through to Belgium, the Netherlands and eventually Germany.

The veteran was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Basildon in 2019 and a street was named after him in 2025.

Sheppard's family has continued campaigning for a war memorial since his death.

Journet's motion is due to be considered by the council within seven working days.

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