World War Two veteran, 98, who is battling cancer is staying in a hostel after landlords kicked him out of his rented bungalow in ‘no fault eviction’

• Hero paratrooper Alfred Guenigault was shot by a German sniper during the war
• He has skin and prostate cancer and has been forced to move into a tiny hostel
• Are you a veteran who has been evicted? Email [email protected] 

A Second World War veteran with cancer has been told to wait six months for a council flat after being evicted from his home. 

D-Day hero Alfred Guenigault, 98, has been placed with his daughter in a cramped hostel while Dorset Council finds him suitable appropriate housing.  

The former paratrooper had lived for seven years at his home in Ferndown, Dorset, and was given just two months notice to leave under a ‘no fault’ eviction. 

But decorated war veteran Alfred – who signed up to kill Nazis as an underage soldier – has prostate and skin cancer, and is immobile after breaking his right hip last year. 

His daughter, Deb Dean, is looking after him in the hostel but fears his deteriorating condition means he will have to spend his final months in misery. 

The fuming 66-year-old said: ‘My father fought in the war and this is the treatment he gets…. My concern is that in six months, he may not even be here anymore. 

D-Day hero Alfred Guenigault, 98, has been placed with his daughter in a cramped hostel while Dorset Council finds him suitable appropriate housing

The cancer-suffering veteran now lives in this hostel with his family after being evicted from his home 

‘He also won’t be able to see his grandchildren or any of his church friends who come over to see him or the vicar as well; his life is in Ferndown. 

Do you know an elderly veteran who has been evicted and made homeless? 

Are you an elderly veteran who been made homeless? Please email tom.cotterill@mailonline to tell your story  

‘He is so proud of his medals but he has told me they seem worthless because of what he is going through. 

‘The council say they have a long list of people they need to house but I can’t imagine there are too many other 98 year-old war veterans on it. 

‘My father is someone our nation owes a huge debt to.’ 

Alfred was one of the first paratroopers into Normandy when he landed at Pegasus Bridge at 12.30am on June 6, 1944. He was was wounded protecting French villagers during the Normandy landings.

His heroism during the war saw him awarded the prestigious Legion D’Honneur, France’s highest gallantry award.

In later life, he worked as a London taxi driver and ran a hotel on the south coast with his wife of 69 years Joy, who died in 2015. 

Now the war hero has been forced to move into the tired-looking hostel with Deb and her husband, Bernard. 

Alfred Guenigault with Deb and Bernard Dean in the hostel. There is outrage after a cancer suffering D-Day hero was evicted from his bungalow and made homeless for no apparent reason

Alfred had lived in this bungalow before being evicted and sent to stay in a tiny room in a hostel 

The frail pensioner – who still proudly sports is coveted maroon beret and medals – is left cooped in a 12ft by 8ft room. 

READ MORE: Military families are given £1 to compensate for damp, mouldy homes as war heroes brand Government’s £8.5m for homeless veterans ‘a drop in the ocean’

The family say Alfred’s treatment does not meet the government’s Armed Forces Covenant, an act enshrined in law that recognises the nation has a moral duty to take care of former servicemen.

They paid £1,300 a month rent for the bungalow they lived in for seven years but now the cost of renting a similar house in Ferndown is about £2,000, which they cannot afford.

Alfred said he signed up to fight for his country while underage as it seemed ‘exciting’ but his attitude changed after landing behind enemy lines on D-Day.

The first thing was a fellow paratrooper ‘blown to bits’ before he was shot by a German sniper, with the bullet skimming his right cheek.

He said: ‘The war stopped being exciting then and I just had a job to do.

‘The Legion d’Honneur means the most to me.

‘There are other people in here (the hostel) and they must feel the same as us.

‘The problem is I have lived too long. You would have to be at least 96 years old to have served at D-Day. There are not many of us left

The decorated war hero was awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest medal for valour for his bravery during the invasion of Normandy

Alfred said he signed up to fight for his country while underage but was shot by a German sniper, with the bullet grazing his face. Pictured are Alfred’s medals, with the Legion d’Honneur, far fight

‘I don’t want to make a fuss. I suppose life goes on.

Deb said her father was of a ‘stoic’ generation but that privately he is hurt that ‘his medals seem worthless and he is not getting the respect’ for his service. 

Dorset Council said the authority will work with the family to find suitable accommodation in ‘as short a timescale as possible’. But it has only been able to find a single room in St Gabriel’s Hostel in neighbouring Verwood for the elderly para.

The family’s  local MP said today it was wrong for Dorset residents like Alfred to be ‘relegated down the pecking order’ for help when millions of pounds is being spent on a giant barge to house 500 asylum seekers in the same county.

Christopher Chope, the MP for Christchurch, said: ‘The government is finding an enormous amount of money to pay for asylum seekers to live on a barge at Portland with lots of costs to Dorset Council, yet the concerns of local people seem to be relegated down the pecking order which is just a cause for public anger.

Christopher Chope, the MP for Christchurch, branded the veteran’s treatment as ‘disgusting’. Alfred is pictured with his daughter Deb and her husband Bernard Dean (right)

‘The council should be doing more in this case. They have the power, they are the housing authority for Dorset.

‘The fact that he is a war veteran makes the case important. All veterans are under the Armed Forces Covenant and they are entitled to priority treatment, that is often overlooked by local authorities but it shouldn’t be.

‘They shouldn’t have got to a situation where they have moved into a hostel.’

Jimmy Dukes, the chief executive of charity UKHomes4Heroes, who have found accommodation for hundreds of homeless veterans, said Alfred’s plight is a ‘disgrace’ and he was being ‘let down by his country’.

He said: ‘It is a disgrace. This is a man who served his country and he is treated like this. They should give him a bit of dignity.

‘He fought for his country and he is being let down by his country.’

Dorset Council said the authority will work with the family to find suitable accommodation in ‘as short a timescale as possible’.

But they warned the family ‘need to be realistic about what is achievable in the current climate’.

A spokesperson added: ‘Unfortunately being homeless inevitably comes with disruption and upheaval which we seek to mitigate in so far as possible but it may mean that temporarily a household will face some additional challenges inherent in living in temporary accommodation.

‘We have support workers who can provide additional support to the family as we know and appreciate what an anxious time this is.

‘The council takes the Military Covenant very seriously and has a former veteran working within the team so really do appreciate the sacrifice our veterans make.’

Do you know an elderly veteran who has been made homeless? Please email [email protected] 

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