A PRESTIGIOUS war medal presented to a hero of Dunkirk has been donated to Blackburn Museum by the soldier's family.

Lt Col Marcus Ervine-Andrews, formerly of the East Lancashire Regiment, which became the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the defence of Dunkirk. Under heavy fire, the former Stonyhurst College student defended a position which came under heavy fire but maintaining a pivotal role during the British retreat in 1940.

The soldier was the only man awarded the medal during the battle after he sent back the wounded men and led the remaining eight members of B Company to safety before returning to the fray, killing 17 German soldiers.

His actions allowed thousands of British troops to escape from the beaches behind them.

Now the Victoria Cross and his other medals, worth thousands of pounds, are to be permanently housed in Blackburn Museum, along with other East Lancashire Regiment memorabilia.

The war hero died last year in Cornwall aged 83.

Ervine-Andrew's step-daughter Rosamund Gregory, presented the medals to Lt General Scott Grant, Colonel of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment at the Somme Barracks, Blackburn.

Mrs Gregory said: "My father wanted you, his Regiment to be the custodians of his medals. He was always quietly aware of their cost - the lives of his own men and those he had to kill.

"He felt, as my mother does, that his Regiment will understand and appreciate the true value of the medals, and will honour them accordingly."

The presentation followed the annual commemoration service marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme held in Blackburn Cathedral.

Lt Col John Downham, regimental secretary of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, said: "We are particularly honoured to receive from his family this unique memento of a very gallant officer who always identified closely with his Lancashire soldiers and wish his medals to find a home where they could be seen by those men and their descendents."

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