{{short description|British singer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Jim Radford | birth_date = {{birth date|1928|10|1|df=y}} | birth_place = Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|11|6|1928|10|1|df=y}} | death_place = Lewisham, London, England | genre = Folk, Maritime music }}
'''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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Empire Larch |url=https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/empire-larch.76983/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=WW2Talk |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boat |first=Classic |date=2024-06-12 |title=D-Day 80th anniversary: Youngest soldier Jim Radford's experience on the front line |url=https://www.classicboat.co.uk/articles/people/remembering-jim-radford-on-the-80th-anniversary-of-d-day/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Classic Boat Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
The first song Radford wrote, "The Shores of Normandy", is also his most successful and best known, having been performed by him at two televised concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014 and released as a single in May 2019 to raise funds for the Normandy Memorial Trust. It topped the Amazon and iTunes download charts in the first week of June 2019, and reached number 72 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/55684/jim-radford/|title=JIM RADFORD|date=13 June 2019|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
==Life and career== Radford was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England in October 1928. He became a member of the Merchant Navy at 15 and later joined the Royal Navy upon turning 18.
He later became active in various peace campaigns. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVQMfxIfks |title=Jim Radford – The Shores of Normandy |via=YouTube |date=2010-11-16 |access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref> In October 2015, Radford was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour<ref>'Folk singer gets France's top gong', ''South London Press'', 21 November 2015</ref> by the French Republic "in recognition of... steadfast involvement in the Liberation of France during the Second World War".<ref>Extract from the letter of citation from the French Consul which accompanied the medal</ref>
He died on 6 November 2020 in hospital, after spending three weeks in intensive care following a diagnosis of COVID-19. He was 92 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vfpuk.org/2020/11/06/jim-radford-presente/|title=JIM RADFORD – PRESENTÉ|website=Vfpunk.org|date=6 November 2020}}</ref>
==See also== * List of peace activists
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Jim}} Category:1928 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Military personnel from Kingston upon Hull Category:British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England Category:English anti-war activists Category:English folk musicians Category:English folk singers Category:Musicians from Kingston upon Hull Category:20th-century squatters Category:20th-century Royal Navy personnel Category:Child soldiers in World War II