A WAR veteran who worked on a top-secret rocket ship during the Second World War has been given the French Legion D’Honeur.

Les George, of Grasmere Close, Loughton, was the third in charge of a classified group of soldiers on D-Day to force the Germans to retreat, by firing shells from his rocket ship.

The 92-year-old was called up to the Navy when he was just 19 in 1944, and remains humble about his efforts, saying he was “just a petty officer”.

And although he didn’t fight the enemy, he played a crucial role as an engineer in the lower deck, keeping the ship running while being bombarded with German bombs.

His ship was heavily armed, and could hold up to 2,000 shells. But the crews were not allowed to make any noise, because even the slightest sound could have put the Germans, who may have been listening in, on their trail.

Reminiscing about D-Day, he said: “I was in charge of the lower deck and kept repairing things while the bombing was going on.

“I came up at about 4pm to look, we got an oil leak and I had a bucket to catch it. I was filling it up, and just kept pouring it back in.

“I repaired around 18 valves on our way back. It was really worrying. I was just trying to keep the ship going as all the others were leaving us.”

His ship was one of three the Navy ran, and it was guided by a radar which sat just off the coast, and fired missiles behind enemy lines. Mr George sometimes helped his crew load the shells into the guns.

His house in Bethnal Green was obliterated by a bomb and as a private act of revenge, he decided to write messages on the shells before they were loaded.

He added: “It is a shame so many people had to die. I had a brilliant time as a petty officer, it was great.

“I saw the war – but unfortunately, part of it was people dying.”

After D-Day, he fell ill and developed a number of boils on his body but quickly recovered thanks to an injection.

The war never got in the way of his other passion – the opera – as he sang in a group for charity.

He continued to serve in the Navy even after the end of the war, touring Sicily, Malta and Egypt before coming back to his home in Bethnal Green in 1947.

It was there he met his wife and the couple had two children, Gloria and Wendy, and seven grandchildren.

He says his time travelling the world was “brilliant.”

He added: “I had no trouble when I left. Eventually I had to find a job. I had no injuries, everything was intact. I eventually got married and so on. You have got to make a life for yourself and work yourself silly.

“I was on 11 shillings a week in 1947. My wife and I moved to Loughton from Bethnal Green.

“I have had a hard life, but I have worked and worked and worked.”

He will receive the Legion D’Honeur at a ceremony in Bayswater tomorrow (June 6.)