Patriotic veteran who refused to take down St George's flag dies aged 101

Patriotic veteran who refused to take down St George's flag dies aged 101Alec Penstone was defiant to the last and refused to bow to officialdom. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Giles Sheldrick 06:28, Fri, May 29, 2026 Updated: 06:29, Fri, May 29, 2026 Veteran Alec with The D-Day Darlings in 2024 - the 80th anniversary of the landings (Image: PA)A heroic Royal Navy veteran who made 10 Arctic Convoy crossings and saw action on D-Day has died aged 101. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) Alec Penstone was just 15 when the Second World War broke out and signed up as soon as he was old enough to fight for his country. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy PolicyThe warrior from Shanklin, Isle of Wight, joined after making a promise to his father that he would not serve in the trenches because of the horrors he witnessed during the First World War.His death on Thursday comes a little over a week before the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy landings.Alec was a regular on pilgrimages with the charity Spirit of Normandy Trust where he mustered with his wartime pals to remember the fallen. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENTVice ch...