A COLCHESTER war veteran has been given an MBE by the Queen.

Edward Slater, 89, picked up the prestigious honour at Buckingham Palace. 

He received the reward for voluntary service to the Normandy Veterans Association, which he is national chairman of.

He has been instrumental in organising commemorations of the D-Day landings for the last quarter of a century.

Mr Slater was among 62,000 British troops who landed on the Normandy coast in the early hours of June 6, 1944 as part of the Allied invasion.

Some 4,414 Allied servicemen died on D-Day.

He said: “I’m accepting it for every Normandy veteran.

“To me, this award is in recognition of what they did on June 6.”

The ceremony took place on Friday.