Hector Duff OBE

Tribute paid to 101-year-old WWII veteran Hector Duff.

Hector Hugh McDonald Duff OBE, BEM, MM, TH, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, WWII veteran, and retired police sergeant, has died on the Isle of Man. Born 1919 in Ballaugh, WWII veteran Hector Hugh MacDonald Duff sadly passed away at the age of 101. Hector joined the army shortly after war broke out in 1939.

He fought across North Africa, winning the Military Medal in 1943 for running towards a German machine gun nest, armed with a Bren gun; he fought through Italy; landed in Normandy on D-Day; was one of the first soldiers to enter Belsen after its liberation and was present for part of the Nuremburg war trials.

After the war Hector returned to Isle of Man and joined the Police force. He remained a police officer until 1972, when he retired as a sergeant, and became a driving instructor

Hector was hugely decorated for his war efforts, but also for what he contributed to the Isle of Man community.

He was awarded the Military Medal for his action in North Africa, given the British Empire Medal for his work in schools; became an OBE this year, and he is one of a handful of people to have been given the Isle of Man’s highest award, the Tynwald Honour.

In his later years, Hector was supported by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans who were saddened to hear of his death.

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