Norfolk care home resident to lay wreath on Remembrance Day

Ted Perry, who was with the Royal Hampshire Regiment during the Battle of Monte Cassino, has been missing, presumed dead.

But much to the relief of his devoted wife, Marjorie, of whom he married just six weeks before he left for war, he came home.

Now, at the aged of 102-year-old, Mrs Perry will be laying a wreath at a war memorial in tribute to him following his passing.

Mrs Perry, a resident at St Mary's Care Home in Crostwick, will lay a wreath at the war memorial in Horsham St Faith on Remembrance Sunday.

The couple married in 1942 at St Matthew’s Church, Luton.

Marjorie with her niece Margaret at St Mary’s (Image: Submitted) In 1944, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, Mrs Perry received a telegram stating that her husband was "missing, presumed dead".

However, a letter from a nurse later revealed he was alive but severely injured.

He had lost both legs and his left eye in a bomb blast and was found among the dead, rescued three days later.

Marjorie and Ted outside their first home near Luton (Image: Submitted) Mrs Perry, who worked in a munitions factory during the war, said: “When I visited him in hospital the first time, he was covered in a sheet and he said, ‘don’t look at me, I have got no legs’.

“I told him, ‘never mind, we will get by’."

The couple, who had two sons, Kenny, 77, and Raymond, 73, moved to Spixworth in 1960 after falling in love with the area during a holiday.

Marjorie and Ted with their sons Kenny and Raymond (Image: Submitted) Mrs Perry worked as a fruit picker while her husband took on various odd jobs and served as a welfare officer for Blesma, the charity for limbless veterans.

He died in 1996, but Mrs Perry continued to live in their bungalow until she moved to St Mary's in 2021.

St Mary’s hospitality manager Ryan Kennedy said: “I want to thank the Royal British Legion for helping us to make Remembrance Sunday a special and meaningful occasion for Marjorie.”