THE daughter of a D-Day hero who single-handedly thwarted two German attempts to halt the British advance filled up with tears as her father was officially commemorated in his home town.

Pauline Armistead was surrounded by her family as the Last Post was played in memory of her Victoria Cross hero father Stanley Hollis, a man who also captured 25 German prisoners by himself on the same day.

A commemorative plaque was unveiled in Loftus, attended by members of Mr Hollis's regiment The Green Howards.

Mrs Armistead told of the actions of her Company Sergeant Major father - who died in 1972 - on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

She said: "He always said his inspiration was simply to survive. There were two pill boxes on the beach. Three men had already been shot trying to get to them and it was his turn next. He was under machine gun fire but managed to throw a grenade in the slit. If he hadn't the men behind him might have ended up getting killed as well as himself."

Mrs Armistead said that her father then moved along a communications trench to the neighbouring pill box where he came across 25 well-armed Germans and captured them all. Later in the day, after hiding in an orchard with a little boy caught up in the events, he took on a 75mm field gun and its German crew who were also armed with Spandaus. He charged them to cover the escape of two of his own men.

"I met up with that little boy just a couple of years ago on a trip to France, which was lovely," Mrs Armistead said.

Mr Hollis, who was born in Loftus to Alfred and Edith in 1912, was decorated at Buckingham Palace by King George VI as the war still raged on October 10, 1944. He went on to run The Holywell View pub at Liverton Mines.