AS a young man, John Davies put his life on the line to fight for King and Country during the Second World War.

He served in the Royal Army Service Corps and advanced through the ranks to captain.

In June 1940, he was among the 338,000 troops evacuated from Dunkirk and four years later, he returned to France as part of the invading army in the Normandy landings. He was subsequently wounded.

He remained in France and Germany until the end of the war and was awarded the French Star and three British campaign medals.

Now his family want his efforts recognised with a Legion d'Honneur - France's highest award for bravery.

In 2014, the French government announced that, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings, it would award the Legion d'Honneur to all allied survivors.

Mr Davies' family applied to the Ministry of Defence a year ago and, so far, they have heard nothing.

In a bid to get some action, they contacted MP Julian Smith, who, they say, was most helpful and he, in turn, contacted Earl Howe, Minister of State for Defence.

But it seems there is nothing they can do as there is a huge backlog of applications - with thousands still to be processed.

That is, perhaps, understandable, but time is of the essence.

Mr Davies is 96 and the award cannot be given posthumously meaning the medals will not be sent to the families of those veterans who die waiting, which nationally is happening at a rate of about ten a week.

We agree with Mr Davies' family when they say that pressure should be brought to bear to ensure the brave Normandy veterans receive just recognition before it is too late.