A D-Day veteran from Lewisham has been commemorated in a touching documentary which sees his relatives take a trip back to Normandy.

Wally Parr, who lived in Sydenham for 40 years, was part of Operation Deadstick which landed at Pegasus Bridge during the Normandy landings.

The regiment landed at 12.15am on June 6, 1944 with a mission to capture the Orne and Caen bridges, in order to make sure the D-Day operation was a success.

Speaking to News Shopper, Wally’s son, Barry, said: “[My dad] was on one of the gliders that landed on Pegasus Bridge.

“When I was a child growing up in Sydenham and he would tell me these stories, I thought he was lying - but it was all true.”

The father and son worked together in a window cleaning business in Catford and Beckenham for several years, during which time Barry started to write a book about his dad's service in the Second World War.

He finished writing ‘What D’ya do in the War, Dad?’ shortly after Wally passed away in 2005.

“I was about to finish the book when Dad got taken seriously ill,” the 69-year-old said.

Wally, who had returned to live in Normandy in his retirement, was brought back to Lewisham Hospital where he died. His ashes were spread between Home Park in Lower Sydenham and Pegasus Bridge.

A documentary produced by Eurotunnel follows Barry and his 21-year-old grandson, Jack Phillips as they travel back to Pegasus Bridge to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

In the short film, Barry describes the scene as the gliders landed as his father had recalled it to him.

“They all ran out and it was absolute mayhem. My father eventually managed to get across Pegasus Bridge firing his gun.”

Although Wally made it across the bridge unscathed, his friend Danny Brotheridge died from injuries he sustained during the ambush.

“He thought 'What a waste. How sad is this?'”

Barry, who now lives in Edenbridge, took Jack to the Pegasus Memorial Museum on their trip back to Normandy, where they were able to sit in the cockpit of an old glider.

“It was absolutely mind-blowing. Jack was totally moved by it,” Barry told News Shopper.

Speaking in the film, Jack says: “I do feel really lucky for my great-grandfather to have done what he has done. It really makes me feel proud.

“Not everyone understands the individual impact of each person on D-Day; the number of people that lost their lives so that we have what we have today.”