A SECOND World War veteran will have his funeral in Farnworth on Friday.

Ray Shuck, of Kearsley, was among the first British troops to enter France on D-Day.

He was a member of the sixth Airborne Air-landing Division, fourth Air Landing Anti-Tank Battery, 13th Battalion the Parachute Regiment.

He was dropped on to landing zone ‘N’, north of Ranville, Normandy, at 3.30am on June 6, 1944, to take a key road bridge in Normandy ­— Caen Canal bridge that the Nazis planned to blow up.

On June 8, Ray was shot in the head by a German sniper. The bullet struck the top of his head putting a groove in his skull, as it travelled straight through his tin helmet.

The bullet knocked him unconscious, and he slowly recovered over the course of a year, firstly at hospitals in France and then back in the UK at Worcester Royal Infirmary. If the bullet hit any lower, the surgeon said he may have died.

In 2016, Ray was presented with a Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur and last year he became a viral sensation when a video emerged of two paratroopers helping him to his feet so he could show his respects on Armistice Day.

Ray Shuck passed away on the morning of Saturday, January 5, 2019 with his family by his side.

The funeral service will be at 10am on Friday February 1. It will be held at St John’s Church, in Church Street, Farnworth. Refreshments are available afterwards at St Gregory’s Social Club.

All are welcome to join the family in remembering Ray and fellow veterans are invited to form a guard of honour at the entrance.