When 89-year-old D-Day veteran Bernard Jordan was found to be missing from his care home last night, staff must have feared the worst.
They alerted police, who began searching the area around his home and checked with hospitals, bus firms and taxi companies.
The mystery was solved when the care home received a phone call from another veteran saying he had met Mr Jordan - on a coach on the way to France.
Mr Jordan had set off by coach from Hove, near Brighton, on the south coast of England, yesterday morning and checked into a hotel in Ouisterham, near Arromanches on the Normandy coast 109 miles to the south, last night to attend the D-Day 70th anniversary commemorations with his old comrades.
Police found the story highly amusing and Brighton commander Nev Kemp tweeted: ‘Love this: 89-yr-old veteran reported missing by care home who said he can’t go to Normandy for DDay70 remembrance. We’ve found him there!’
But one troubling and disturbing questions needs to be asked: Why were the care home preventing Mr Jordan from travelling to Normandy in the first place?
Bernard's Great Escape: D-Day veteran, 89, who was reported missing by care home staff is found in Normandy - after escaping to join his former comrades
Bernard Jordan, 89, sneaked out of The Pines care home, Hove, yesterday
D-Day veteran had been told by staff that he could not travel to Normandy
Donning war medals under a raincoat, he joined his comrades on a coach
Sussex Police were called and launched search for former mayor of Hove
But care home later received call from a younger veteran reassuring them Mr Jordan was safe and would return home after the celebrations were over
By Andy Dolan and Clare Elicott and Sara Smyth
6 June 2014
Daily Mail
Grounded by staff at his care home, Bernard Jordan faced missing out on an emotional return to the D-Day beaches.
So, summoning up the spirit and determination of June 6, 1944, he hatched a cunning plan to join his old comrades in honouring the fallen.
With his medals hidden under his coat, the 89-year-old told his carers he was off for a walk. Instead he boarded a coach for France.
Found: Veteran Bernard Jordan has been found in Normandy after travelling to France to mark the anniversary of D-Day. Above, the 89-year-old is pictured now (left) and during his time as a member of the Royal Navy (right)
Escape: Mr Johnson sneaked out of The Pines nursing home (pictured) yesterday after being told by staff he could not travel to Normandy. Donning his war medals under a raincoat, he joined his comrades on a coach
By the time staff realised he was missing the Royal Navy veteran was already in Normandy.
And, thanks to his great escape, Mr Jordan was yesterday able to stand proudly among world leaders and old soldiers in marking the audacious assault 70 years ago that cost more than 4,000 Allied lives.
He had left Hove in East Sussex on Thursday morning and checked in to a hotel in Ouistreham, near Arromanches, that night.
The alarm was raised at 7.15pm and police began searching the area around his home and checked with hospitals, bus firms and taxi companies.
The mystery was solved when the care home received a phone call from another veteran saying he had met Mr Jordan on a coach on the way to France.
The caller said Mr Jordan would be coming home when he was ready. Police found the story highly amusing and Brighton commander Nev Kemp tweeted: ‘Love this: 89-yr-old veteran reported missing by care home who said he can’t go to Normandy for DDay70 remembrance. We’ve found him there!’
The care home was at pains to stress that Mr Jordan had not been banned from attending the commemorations.
Former mayor: The veteran, who is yet to be formally identified by police, was mayor of Hove from 1995 to '96
Destination: After getting on the coach, Mr Jordan (not pictured) arrived at a hotel near the beach in Ouistreham
A spokesman for the Pines, which has been named as one of the best in the UK, said their ‘wilful and determined’ resident had been spurred in to action after staff had failed to get him on to the accredited trip with the Royal British Legion.
The spokesman said he had moved to the home in January when his wife Irene was admitted and was able to come and go as he pleased. He added: ‘Bernard is quite a character and certainly knows his own mind.
We fully celebrate his participation in the D-Day commemorations.’
Mr Jordan, who turns 90 next week, was the Conservative mayor of Hove in 1995-1996, during a colourful 34-year career as a leading councillor.
He has spent all of his life in the town, returning there to marry his sweetheart Irene at the end of the war.
In a newsletter in April, Mr Jordan talked fondly of being able to ‘serve the people of my town and do a job I loved’.
Pictured holding a photograph of himself as mayor, he warned anybody with designs on becoming a mayor that ‘you must be prepared to work hard’.
The proudest moment of his working life, he said, was meeting Margaret Thatcher, even though he had defected to Labour in 2000.
Celebrations: Hundreds of veterans are in Normandy today to pay tribute to those who gave their lives in the invasion. Above, a veteran (not Mr Jordan) salutes a grave during a memorial service at Bayeux Cemetery
The former company director added: ‘It was definitely one of my favourite memories. She was an amazingly strong lady.
‘When she visited Brighton I got the chance to meet her and it was a very proud moment for me.’
Garry Dunn, a fellow councillor and friend, said: ‘He was always very modest about the war. I know he was involved in D-Day but he would never talk about it.
‘He is the perfect example of a generation who did their duty, but didn’t feel they had to tell people what they had done. It makes me proud to be British because he is a proud Briton. He put his town and his country first, before him.
‘Rather than himself, people are more important to Bernie.’
Last night Mr Kemp clarified on Twitter that Mr Jordan had not been banned from going to France.
Paying tribute: Earlier today, the Queen bowed as she laid a wreath during a poignant service of remembrance in Bayeux, which was the first town in Normandy to be freed from Hitler's grip in 1944
A spokesman for Sussex police said: ‘We have spoken to the veteran who called the home and are satisfied that the pensioner is fine and that his friends are going to ensure he gets back to Hove safely over the next couple of days after the D-Day celebrations finish.’
The care home yesterday tweeted ‘now and then’ pictures showing Mr Jordan in his wartime naval uniform, and also posing with his medals in an armchair before he travelled to France.
Peter Curtis, chief executive officer of Gracewell Healthcare, which runs the home, said: ‘At no stage was Bernard banned from going to the commemorations.
We are in awe of the part Mr Jordan played in the D-Day invasion 70 years ago.’
Earlier this year, the Pines was judged one of the top 20 homes in the UK in the carehome.co.uk awards, which are based on 20,000 recommendations for homes from residents and their families.
Missing D-Day veteran found in Normandy celebrating with former comrades | Mail Online
They alerted police, who began searching the area around his home and checked with hospitals, bus firms and taxi companies.
The mystery was solved when the care home received a phone call from another veteran saying he had met Mr Jordan - on a coach on the way to France.
Mr Jordan had set off by coach from Hove, near Brighton, on the south coast of England, yesterday morning and checked into a hotel in Ouisterham, near Arromanches on the Normandy coast 109 miles to the south, last night to attend the D-Day 70th anniversary commemorations with his old comrades.
Police found the story highly amusing and Brighton commander Nev Kemp tweeted: ‘Love this: 89-yr-old veteran reported missing by care home who said he can’t go to Normandy for DDay70 remembrance. We’ve found him there!’
But one troubling and disturbing questions needs to be asked: Why were the care home preventing Mr Jordan from travelling to Normandy in the first place?
Bernard's Great Escape: D-Day veteran, 89, who was reported missing by care home staff is found in Normandy - after escaping to join his former comrades
Bernard Jordan, 89, sneaked out of The Pines care home, Hove, yesterday
D-Day veteran had been told by staff that he could not travel to Normandy
Donning war medals under a raincoat, he joined his comrades on a coach
Sussex Police were called and launched search for former mayor of Hove
But care home later received call from a younger veteran reassuring them Mr Jordan was safe and would return home after the celebrations were over
By Andy Dolan and Clare Elicott and Sara Smyth
6 June 2014
Daily Mail
Grounded by staff at his care home, Bernard Jordan faced missing out on an emotional return to the D-Day beaches.
So, summoning up the spirit and determination of June 6, 1944, he hatched a cunning plan to join his old comrades in honouring the fallen.
With his medals hidden under his coat, the 89-year-old told his carers he was off for a walk. Instead he boarded a coach for France.
Found: Veteran Bernard Jordan has been found in Normandy after travelling to France to mark the anniversary of D-Day. Above, the 89-year-old is pictured now (left) and during his time as a member of the Royal Navy (right)
Escape: Mr Johnson sneaked out of The Pines nursing home (pictured) yesterday after being told by staff he could not travel to Normandy. Donning his war medals under a raincoat, he joined his comrades on a coach
By the time staff realised he was missing the Royal Navy veteran was already in Normandy.
And, thanks to his great escape, Mr Jordan was yesterday able to stand proudly among world leaders and old soldiers in marking the audacious assault 70 years ago that cost more than 4,000 Allied lives.
He had left Hove in East Sussex on Thursday morning and checked in to a hotel in Ouistreham, near Arromanches, that night.
The alarm was raised at 7.15pm and police began searching the area around his home and checked with hospitals, bus firms and taxi companies.
The mystery was solved when the care home received a phone call from another veteran saying he had met Mr Jordan on a coach on the way to France.
The caller said Mr Jordan would be coming home when he was ready. Police found the story highly amusing and Brighton commander Nev Kemp tweeted: ‘Love this: 89-yr-old veteran reported missing by care home who said he can’t go to Normandy for DDay70 remembrance. We’ve found him there!’
The care home was at pains to stress that Mr Jordan had not been banned from attending the commemorations.
Former mayor: The veteran, who is yet to be formally identified by police, was mayor of Hove from 1995 to '96
Destination: After getting on the coach, Mr Jordan (not pictured) arrived at a hotel near the beach in Ouistreham
A spokesman for the Pines, which has been named as one of the best in the UK, said their ‘wilful and determined’ resident had been spurred in to action after staff had failed to get him on to the accredited trip with the Royal British Legion.
The spokesman said he had moved to the home in January when his wife Irene was admitted and was able to come and go as he pleased. He added: ‘Bernard is quite a character and certainly knows his own mind.
We fully celebrate his participation in the D-Day commemorations.’
Mr Jordan, who turns 90 next week, was the Conservative mayor of Hove in 1995-1996, during a colourful 34-year career as a leading councillor.
He has spent all of his life in the town, returning there to marry his sweetheart Irene at the end of the war.
In a newsletter in April, Mr Jordan talked fondly of being able to ‘serve the people of my town and do a job I loved’.
Pictured holding a photograph of himself as mayor, he warned anybody with designs on becoming a mayor that ‘you must be prepared to work hard’.
The proudest moment of his working life, he said, was meeting Margaret Thatcher, even though he had defected to Labour in 2000.
Celebrations: Hundreds of veterans are in Normandy today to pay tribute to those who gave their lives in the invasion. Above, a veteran (not Mr Jordan) salutes a grave during a memorial service at Bayeux Cemetery
The former company director added: ‘It was definitely one of my favourite memories. She was an amazingly strong lady.
‘When she visited Brighton I got the chance to meet her and it was a very proud moment for me.’
Garry Dunn, a fellow councillor and friend, said: ‘He was always very modest about the war. I know he was involved in D-Day but he would never talk about it.
‘He is the perfect example of a generation who did their duty, but didn’t feel they had to tell people what they had done. It makes me proud to be British because he is a proud Briton. He put his town and his country first, before him.
‘Rather than himself, people are more important to Bernie.’
Last night Mr Kemp clarified on Twitter that Mr Jordan had not been banned from going to France.
Paying tribute: Earlier today, the Queen bowed as she laid a wreath during a poignant service of remembrance in Bayeux, which was the first town in Normandy to be freed from Hitler's grip in 1944
A spokesman for Sussex police said: ‘We have spoken to the veteran who called the home and are satisfied that the pensioner is fine and that his friends are going to ensure he gets back to Hove safely over the next couple of days after the D-Day celebrations finish.’
The care home yesterday tweeted ‘now and then’ pictures showing Mr Jordan in his wartime naval uniform, and also posing with his medals in an armchair before he travelled to France.
Peter Curtis, chief executive officer of Gracewell Healthcare, which runs the home, said: ‘At no stage was Bernard banned from going to the commemorations.
We are in awe of the part Mr Jordan played in the D-Day invasion 70 years ago.’
Earlier this year, the Pines was judged one of the top 20 homes in the UK in the carehome.co.uk awards, which are based on 20,000 recommendations for homes from residents and their families.
Missing D-Day veteran found in Normandy celebrating with former comrades | Mail Online
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