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Born in 1924, Donald ‘Dixie’ Dean volunteered for the Hampshire Regiment on his 18th birthday and fought at Cassino and Anzio for the Queen’s Royal Regiment during World War Two.

Despite sustaining injuries in an explosion at Anzio, Dixie returned to Italy where he volunteered for the Parachute Regiment and became part of the Pathfinder Platoon.

On VE Day, Dixie recalls being in Rome, where the fighting had ended six days earlier. It was a feeling of relief and survival for the soldiers and pure joy for the Italian people.

When the war ended he was sent to Palestine until 1946.

Following careers in the Metropolitan Police and as a history teacher, Dixie suffered a serious illness, partly due to his war experiences. Subsequently, Dixie was offered a permanent place at The Queen Alexandra Hospital ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ in Worthing, where he is cared for along with many other ex-servicemen and women who require nursing care and rehabilitation.

Image: Donald then, and now