Second world war veteran of D-Day landings from Newark remembered following death

f.burrows@iliffepublishing.co.uk

Published: 11:00, 24 March 2023

A war hero and veteran of the D-Day landings has died at the age of 96.

Oscar Robert Black, known as Robert, lived a remarkable life most could only imagine and only a few can recall.

Born in Arbroath in 1926, he was evacuated to Wales before eventually moving to Nottingham where he spent much of his childhood.

Rosalind Sarah Black with a picture of her husband who was a Normandy Veteran of the second world war. (62988231)

At the outbreak of the second world war he joined the Home Guard as a runner at just 14 and enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of 16, but was found to be under age and so he was sent to protect convoy ships in Russia instead.

He later trained as a Commando, served with the unit known as the Fighting Fourth and was among the heroes to have braved the horrors of the D-Day landings at Gold Beach and was involved in the rescue of troops from Omaha Beach.

Oscar Robert Black and his commando patches. (63081071)

He worked as a minesweeper and was also said to have witnessed the sinking of the German battleship, Bismarck, and helped ferry spies across the channel to France in unmarked boats.

The war took it’s toll on Robert as he sustained several injuries from his battles. He was burnt from the waist upwards during the Normandy landings and was left blind in one eye.

Oscar Robert Black after the Second World War. (63081037)

After returning home Robert kept himself busy, working as a police sergeant in Newcastle where he met his wife, Ros, before later going on to have a successful career in sales and marketing.

But the military was never far from his heart, having been a member of the Royal British Legion for 70 years and attending veterans’ events.

Together he and Ros settled at their farmhouse in Balderton in the 1970s and had a fond love of animals — at one point owning six great danes and 20 cats.

Along with his wife and other veterans Robert returned to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2019, one of his last trips away from home before his health began to decline.

Now, in this difficult time of grieving Ros said that she had been helped immensely by the Newark Patriotic Fund and the Royal Naval Association who had told her not to worry, saying “we always look after our own.”

Oscar Robert Black first joined the military at 16. (63081057)

Robert will be buried in Newark Cemetery after telling his wife that he’d like to be laid to rest alongside the Polish and Commonwealth servicemen there.

Ros hopes that with assistance she can tell her husbands incredible story in a book to ensure that his sacrifices as a young man are never forgotten.