World War Two veteran denied royal 100th birthday card as he was born in Ireland 

Lawrence O'Hara-Hutchinson's family have appealed to Britain's King Charles to send him a birthday card. File picture: ITV

An Irishman who fought for the British army in the Second World War and helped liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp has been denied a birthday card to celebrate his 100th birthday from the British monarchy because he was not born in the UK.

Dublin-born Lawrence O’Hara-Hutchinson also fought alongside British paratroopers in North Africa and later in the bloody battle at Arnhem in Holland when the Allies experienced some of the war’s fiercest fighting.

The veteran has lived in Britain since he was 14 when he arrived in Liverpool after stowing away on a ship out of Dublin. One of five children born into an impoverished family who lived in a slum tenement, he decided to cross the Irish Sea after his mother and a sister died at a very young age. He was just 17 when the war broke out.

Second World War veteran denied birthday card from the King after being born in Ireland.

Lawrence O'Hara Hutchinson served with the Parachute Regiment and saw action in North Africa. He also parachuted into Arnhem.

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Now, just days before he celebrates his 103rd birthday, Mr O’Hara-Hutchinson’s family is campaigning to get the traditional letter of congratulations for his 100th birthday from Britain’s King Charles.

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His family say Mr O’Hara-Hutchinson was very disappointed not to receive the card when he turned 100, and they and friends hope Buckingham Palace will have a change of heart and send him a belated card.

Their campaign has been highlighted by ITV News.

His daughter Kathy Hutchinson said she’s disappointed her father didn’t receive the card, especially given his lengthy and courageous military service.

“He didn’t get one because he wasn’t part of the realm. Because he was born in southern Ireland, he didn’t warrant a card, and he’s never had one,” she said.

I feel let down. I think he should have some recognition for the times that he went through.

“I think anyone who fights for the country should be recognised for it, regardless of where they live or where they were born.”

Mr O’Hara-Hutchinson was deeply traumatised by what he witnessed during the war, according to his daughter, and still cries out in his sleep, saying of the time: “I just had to survive.”

June Lane, a family friend and avid supporter of the campaign, said she recalls him speaking about the moment he and his regiment liberated Bergen-Belsen. More than 70,000 people were killed at the Nazi death camp and Lawrence and his fellow soldiers encountered a further 60,000 people dying from starvation.

Dubliner Lawrence O'Hara-Hutchinson was traumatised by what he saw in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where the Nazis had murdered tens of thousands of civilians and left behind 60,000 more dying of starvation. Picture: Keystone/Getty 

“He was talking about the horror and he said to me, ‘it wasn’t right, it wasn’t right, the people, people shouldn’t be treated like that,’” she told ITV.

In reply, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said that residents outside of the UK must make an application with the relevant documentation in order for a card to be arranged.

“As it is Their Majesties’ custom only to send messages to citizens of Realms or UK Overseas Territories, those born overseas, or who currently live overseas, must provide evidence of their British nationality,” the spokesperson added.

Retired Irish Defence Forces Lieutenant Colonel Dan Harvey, who has researched the numbers of Irish people who served with the Allies during the war, said an estimated 125,000 Irish people fought with the British army.