Tributes today poured in following the death of war hero Major John Howard, the man whose daring attack on Pegasus Bridge led the way on D-Day, writes Andrew Ffrench.

Maj Howard entered the history books by leading 180 members of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, from the 6th Airborne Division, on to Pegasus Bridge, a vital link needed for the Normandy invasion, in a daring airborne raid on June 6, 1944.

The team swooped silently down in gliders, taking the Germans completely by surprise, then held the bridge until they were relieved later that day by troops making their way inland from the D-Day invasion beachheads. Maj Howard, who lived in Burcot, Berinsfield, for many years, died in Guildford, Surrey.

His friend and colleague, Lieutenant General Sir Michael Gray, chief of the Airborne Services Normandy Trust, said: "The job suited his character. He trained his men meticulously beforehand with dedication and left nothing at all to chance.

"The fact that the operation was so precise and successful was fundamentally down to his training." Maj Howard returned to Britain shortly after the Pegasus battle when he was seriously injured in a road accident. He retired from the Army in 1945 and went into agricultural sales.

But the memories of the extraordinary victory at Pegasus Bridge remained fresh in his mind for the rest of his life.

Lt Gen Gray said his friend returned to the tiny French village of Benouville every year, often with his wife and daughter Penny, to revisit the nearby Caen Canal, where the bridge used to sit. Maj Howard also made an annual pilgrimage to Normandy, meeting old friends and sharing reminiscences. Lt Gen Gray said Maj Howard was "a remarkable warrior", who blended his toughness with warmth and consideration.

"He was much loved and extremely well known both in France and here. He was a legend in his own lifetime."

Wally Parr, who served under Maj Howard in the battle of Pegasus, described his friend and colleague as "a most dedicated man".

He said: "That man would not ask us to do anything that he didn't do first. He was a man that led by example. He would lead us from the front.

"He studied every man in that company and knew all about their families and home lives. He wanted to be closely connected."

Story date: Friday 07 May

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.