James Radford (1 October 1928 – 6 November 2020) was an English folk singer-songwriter, peace campaigner and community activist.
He was also the youngest known participant in the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, aged only 15, as a galley boy upon Empire Larch, a deep-sea rescue tug.
He retired after a varied career which included time as an engineering worker, in the press and in various roles in community work and social action initiatives.
Radford performed his song, "The Shores of Normandy", at the Royal Albert Hall in London in the 70th anniversary year of the invasion in 2014.
[4] In October 2015, Radford was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur[5] by the French Republic "in recognition of... steadfast involvement in the Liberation of France during the Second World War".