A Fife D-Day hero will miss out on his last chance to remember fallen comrades at the scene of the Normandy landings.
Former Gordon Highlander Bert Jones, 88, was set to join Edinburgh veterans next year for a ceremony on the beach in France.
In 2014, it will be 70 years since the seaborne invasion, which saw allied forces suffer heavy losses.
The organiser of the trip sadly passed away, meaning it has been cancelled and, with Second World War veterans now well into their eighties and nineties, it would have been their final visit to Normandy.
Mr Jones, who lives in Dunfermline with wife Catherine, landed on Juno Beach on D-Day.
He said: “Every five years we used to go there. My wife and I always go to Normandy.
“We were supposed to be going to Normandy next year but unfortunately the secretary of the branch in Edinburgh died and we had to cancel the trip.
“It would have been our final visit. There will be no more.
“Some individuals used to go on their own when they were fit but I don’t think anybody does that now.”
He added: “We had to plan it such a long time ahead because it was difficult getting hotels. A lot of Americans will be coming across.”
Juno was the code name for the beach spanning either side of the port of Courseulles-sur-Mer from La Riviere to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer.
British soldiers landed alongside Canadian troops.
Out of 21,400 men who landed, there were an estimated 1,200 casualties.
Mr Jones is a member of the Kingdom and Angus branch of the Normandy Veterans Association, which is understood to have eight surviving members.
Having come through events in Normandy and Arnhem, where he was injured, Mr Jones described himself as “lucky”.
He added: “I was lucky. I got as far as Arnhem. I got flown home from there and when I got out of hospital I got married.”
Photo by David Wardle