AN SAS veteran was able to attend a parade in Manchester to commemorate the end of the Second World War thanks to A charitable couple.

Outreach worker from Veterans In Communities, Claire Wright and her partner Chris Squires, who are both ex-service personnel from Stretford, met Tommy Norfolk, 92, who lives in sheltered accommodation in Urmston, when he was singing on stage at an event in Longford Park, Stretford.

Claire said: “He likes to sing songs from the war years and he is fluent in both French and German.

“He was in the SAS and he had seen an advert for the VE Day event in St Peter’s Square, Manchester, and he wanted to attend.”

Tommy was 18 when he left his job in 1940 to enlist initially in the Dorset Regiment when he completed his training at Bournemouth. He then joined the Manchester Regiment and was posted to North Africa where, in 1942, he joined the Special Air Service. He also carried out many parachute jumps.

He said: “It was kill or be killed. I was in Italy, Sicily, Austria and I am a lifetime member of the SAS Association.

“When I went to Hereford this year there were only 32 of us left from the Second World War and I am one of the 32.

“No one knows their true potential until they are confronted with it.”

Tommy said he was very grateful to Claire and Chris for enabling him to attend the event and said it had left him with very good memories.

Claire said: “We had only a day’s notice, but we were happy to be able to collect him, so that he could attend this very special service.

“He held my hand throughout the service apart from when they played the National Anthem and he saluted at the Last Post. He did find it emotional at times.

“We love spending time with him and it was an honour, as military people ourselves, to be able to do this for him; it was a small deed.”

The Manchester Russian community was involved in organising the service; Russian children sang songs and held a procession at the end where they paid tribute to their lost family members. They also made a big fuss of Tommy.

He was also invited into the town hall and met the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Cllr Paul Murphy.