Recently deceased Reginald was described as a quiet man, but behind Reginald's quiet demeanour was a hero of the Second World War.

Reg served as a sapper in the Royal Corp of Engineers. He took up the call to arms as did so many others in defence of their Country and was one of the lucky ones to return home, living to the great age of 101, dying in his care home in Salisbury Green.

Once again a forgotten hero was to pass this mortal coil with few remembering his heroism which included surviving the evacuation of Dunkirk. There he was a member of the rearguard action who fought off the advancing German armies enabling the British to escape the beaches of Dunkirk.

Reg came to the media's attention when it was realised that this great hero had no friends left and little family where his passing would be little remembered.

Reg's exploits during the war were many as he was tasked with clearing minefields whilst under attack. His unit was virtually wiped out, but as a great British soldier Reg continued to fight with his comrades.

For his bravery at Dunkirk, Reg was awarded one of Frances oldest and highest medals the French Order of Merit the Légion D’honneur (Legion of Honour).

Reg had undoubtedly helped to save his comrades lives at Dunkirk by putting his own at risk while our soldiers scrambled off those beaches.

Helping to detonate bridges on his way back to Dunkirk, he was one of the last of 100,000 or so to escape the advancing German war machine.

This was all far from the end of Reg's service to his country as he went on to help defeat the Nazi in other theatres of Battle.

In 1944 he was one of those brave souls in the first wave to hit Gold Beach in the invasion of Normandy.

Reg was also in North Africa when he helped to clear minefields at night losing many from his unit along the way, Reg's actions of poking around in the dark to clear mines helped our advancing forces, the end result being the victory of the battle of El Alamein in Egypt.

Sir Winston Churchill was to say " "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat".

This eventual victory by our forces probably would have been delayed or even not been a success without the courage and sacrifice of men like Reginald Tegg.

About 250 people turned out to Reginald's funeral following a plea on social media.

By William Burns, founder of Facebook group Southampton Sotonians & Friends.