100-year-old WW2 veteran pays tribute to fallen friends on his return to Monte Cassino
A 100-year-old Second World War veteran has remembered the Battle of Monte Cassino and those who died there at the 80th anniversary commemorations in the Italian town.
"We were fighting with catapults, they were fighting with modern weapons," Jack Hearn told Forces News.
The veteran was "very proud" and "keen" to return to the town and pay homage but played down his role as "just one of the people that was here".
Mr Hearn, who spent three years in the country, called it "beautiful, even during the war".
"I'm very proud, I'm very keen to come back and pay my homage to all my friends that are lined up there in that cemetery," he said.
The veteran added: "They did the work, I'm just one of the people that was here. I did nothing outstanding. I didn't deserve the Victoria Cross. I didn't deserve anything.
"I was here as I was doing a job my country sent me to do."
More than 100 British service personnel took part in the commemoration service to mark the battle, with Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and Chief of the General Staff General Sir Patrick Sanders also in attendance.
The battle was a significant moment in the Second World War Italian campaign, as capturing the mountain was essential for the Allies to breach the Gustav Line and advance towards Rome.
It turned into one of the bloodiest engagements of the war.
Monte Cassino eventually resulted in an Allied victory, but it cost 55,000 Allied casualties and the deaths of 2,000 civilians.
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