THE son and daughter of a Liskeard man who landed on Sword Beach on D-Day are to retrace his footsteps later in June.

Philip Venning and Mrs Merlyn Suckling are the children of the late Major Roger Venning (1916-1953), who was awarded a Military MBE for his role in D Day planning. Born and brought up in Liskeard he was the son of Riley Venning, owner of the former D R Venning brewery in Bay Tree Hill, and Barbara Venning, a former Mayoress of Liskeard.

Philip and Merlyn will join a tour of D-Day beaches on June 20 where they plan to visit Sword beach as well as the British Normandy Memorial where there is a temporary plaque to their father, erected to mark the 80th anniversary of the event. There is already a memorial brick to him in the wall of the D Day Museum in Southsea.

Roger Venning was a member of the headquarters staff of the Third Division. As senior supply officer of the Royal Army Service Corps he oversaw the offloading of vital supplies from the ships on to Sword beach. The rapid build up of petrol, ammunition and equipment was essential to the success of the invasion.

Earlier in the war, as a young officer, Roger Venning had been in charge of field bakeries in Tobruk, North Africa where he was wounded following its capture by the Germans. After recovering he transferred to D Day planning. He remained with the Third Division, ending the war in Bremen, Germany.

Roger Venning went to Highwood House School, Liskeard; St Petroc’s, Bude; and Sherborne School, Dorset. He qualified as an electrical engineer, a career he took up after the war before dying young.

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