A remembrance service has been held for a Normandy veteran honoured with an MBE and France’s top military medal.

Ian Charles Hammerton, a recipient of both the Croix de Guerre and Légion d’Honneur, died at his home on January 11 at the age of 95.

His funeral was held at Eltham Crematorium last Tuesday, followed by the service at St Barnabas’ Church in Joyden’s Wood.

Mr Hammerton was called up to the Army Officers Training Corps in 1939 while still at Dartford Grammar School. He trained at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, joined the new Royal Armoured Corps and was appointed to the 22nd Dragoons, which played an important role in the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

Sherman Crab flail tanks played a key role and Mr Hammerton was a lieutenant, commanding the first wave alongside the Canadian infantry.

His troop was also involved in major battles for Caen and Le Havre, the advance up through Belgium and the Netherlands, the Rhine Crossing at Nijmegen, the Reichswald offensive and the final allied push up towards Bremen and Hamburg.

After VE Day he was promoted to captain, at the age of just 23. He helped gather material for war crimes trials, including the atrocities committed at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany.

He said that reading the survivors’ accounts was the most harrowing experience of his life.

While in Germany he helped to run youth clubs to encourage young Germans to regain a sense of purpose after their country’s defeat — something he felt very strongly about — and he was finally released from service in July 1946.

He continued to work with young people on his return, teaching music and other subjects at Hurstmere Secondary School for Boys in Sidcup and conducting the Dartford Youth Orchestra for Kent Music School.

It was through music that he met his wife Barbara — she played the cello and he played the flute in the Dartford Symphony Orchestra. In 1991 Mr Hammerton published a book about his wartime experiences, Achtung! Minen! The Making of a Flail Tank Troop Commander.

He was a supporter of the Dartford Arts Council and became a voluntary warden for the Woodland Trust at Joyden’s Wood. He successfully campaigned to save the woodland from development, which earned him his MBE in 2002.

“His legacy is a family who bear witness to his gracious generosity of spirit, optimism and good humour, his love of people, the arts and nature"

He is survived by his wife Barbara, their children Michael, Susan and Colin, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild, as well as his younger brother Roy.

Paying tribute to her dad on behalf of the family, Susan said: “The Hammerton family are very touched by the tributes paid by people who knew Dad and the lovely comments in cards received.

“His legacy is a family who bear witness to his gracious generosity of spirit, optimism and good humour, his love of people, the arts and nature, several generations of people who have benefited from his teaching and, significantly, the wonderful haven for wildlife and people that is Joyden’s Wood.

“To help the Woodland Trust continue to look after this and other woodlands, the family are very keen that donations are made to the Trust in his memory.

“They are also delighted that the next concert by the Dartford Symphony Orchestra, on March 11, will be dedicated to Dad’s memory.

“It will be at the Mick Jagger Centre, at Dartford Grammar School for Boys, of which he was the oldest ex-pupil, having attended from the age of nine.”