14 July 2023 , 12:15
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A D-Day hero with cancer who faces an eight-month wait for a new home said his war medals feel worthless after he was turfed out of the property he was living in.
World War Two paratrooper Alfred Guenigault, 98, is now living in a hostel after he was kicked out of the rented property he lived in for seven years in Ferndown, Dorset, following a 'no-fault' eviction.
His local council have told him it could be eight months before they can rehouse the family.
Alfred was one of the first in Normandy when he landed at Pegasus Bridge at 12.30am on June 6, 1944. Serving the Airborne Division, he was wounded protecting French villagers during the Normandy landings.
Alfred is a D-Day hero, but was turfed out of his home (Royal Naval Association/BNPS)
Alfred Guenigault won a prestigious Legion D’Honneur (Royal Naval Association/BNPS)Pegasus Bridge, then known as 'Benouville Bridge,' was secured when brave paratroopers landed in enemy territory in gliders in order to secure the river crossing needed for the invasion of German-occupied France
London flat for rent for £1,400 a month with bed tucked away in kitchen cupboard
Alfred now says his war medals, including the prestigious Legion D'Honneur, France's highest gallantry award, feel worthless because of the way he has been treated.
His daughter and carer Deb Dean, who lives with her father and her husband Bert, said the private landlord at the bungalow is elderly and in poor health and his children need to sell the home.
Such is the paucity of housing supply in the county, Dorset Council has only been able to find a single room in St Gabriel's Hostel in neighbouring Verwood for her frail father.
The room only has one hospital-style bed for Alfred, who also has severe kidney disease, and he has to share a kitchen and bathroom with other hostel residents.
Deb and Bert are living in separate room in the same hostel.
With his deteriorating condition, they fear Alfred's final months will be spent in misery.
The family say Alfred's treatment does not meet the government's Armed Forces Covenant, an act enshrined in law that recognises the nation has a moral duty to take care of former servicemen.
In later life, he worked as a London taxi driver and ran a hotel on the south coast with his wife of 69 years Joy, who died in 2015.
Deb, 66, said: "We received a solicitor's letter for a no-fault eviction for the bungalow where we had lived for seven years.
"The elderly landlord is a friend of ours but he is in ill health and his children have decided to sell the property.
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"They have followed the correct process so our issue is not so much with them, but with Dorset Council. We are told we could be in a hostel for six to eight months and it's very unfair on him.
"My concern is that in six months, he may not even be here anymore. He also won't be able to see his grandchildren or any of his church friends who come over to see him or the vicar as well; his life is in Ferndown.
"My father fought in the war and this is the treatment he gets.
"He is so proud of his medals but he has told me they seem worthless because of what he is going through.
"The council say they have a long list of people they need to house but I can't imagine there are too many other 98-year-old war veterans on it.
"My father is someone our nation owes a huge debt to."
Alfred said: "None of my grandchildren will be able to stay in the hostel. I feel terrible but mostly for Deb. I also have to change my doctor."
Dorset Council said the authority will work with the family to find suitable accommodation in 'as short a timescale as possible'.
But they warned that the family 'need to be realistic about what is achievable in the current climate'.
The spokesperson said: "Unfortunately being homeless inevitably comes with disruption and upheaval which we seek to mitigate in so far as possible but it may mean that temporarily a household will face some additional challenges inherent in living in temporary accommodation.
"We have support workers who can provide additional support to the family as we know and appreciate what an anxious time this is.
"The council takes the Military Covenant very seriously and has a former veteran working within the team so really do appreciate the sacrifice our veterans make."
The Mirror contacted Dorset Council for comment.