A SPECIAL bench has been placed in Malton in honour of a 105 year old war veteran.

Deputy Mayor of Malton Cllr Lindsay Burr has provided the bench to thank the town's oldest veteran Raymond Whitwell.

Cllr Burr said she first met Raymond when she was a young girl.

"I often visited Raymond's greengrocer shop located in Malton, with my dad.

"At that time, little did I know just what this kind, humble man, had done for his country."

Raymond, who turned 105 in March, was born in Rillington, moving to Scampston when he was a year old.

He left school at 15 and got a job as an errand boy at G Longster and Sons in Malton.

He was called up to the army in September 1939 at the age of 20 and was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) before moving to Belgium as the German advance began.

Raymond was part of the rearguard to allow the BEF to make for Dunkirk and evacuate to England. He eventually got to the beaches, but the situation was chaotic and hopeless, so decided to try elsewhere.

Raymond was left in France after the evacuation of Dunkirk and spent 16 days travelling around, trying to find his way back to England.

He had no knowledge of the overall situation and eventually met up with a regular army officer who was also lost, but could speak French.

They arrived at Lille Railway Station, where he found a Dutch fishing boat in the harbour and hitched a ride to Southampton.

Raymond's distinguished career continued with a period serving in North Africa and then the Battle of Arnhem when, he recalls, he and others went for nine days without food.

From there he went to Norway to disarm the German garrison, before he came back to England for VE Day and eventually, demob after serving for six years and four months in the Army.

Raymond returned to Malton and opened his own shop in Castlegate as well as running several market stalls until he retired aged 90.

He was married to Iris for more than 40 years and the couple had three children, Paul, Tim and Jill, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Cllr Burr said we all owe Raymond and all the service men and women who fought and gave their lives for us huge thanks.

"It is fitting that 80 years on from D Day we remember all those brave soldiers involved especially our local veteran Raymond . I hope the new bench in Malton will be a special place to reflect."