Ronald Brown stepped on a land mine while on a mission in France in August 1944.

The blast peppered his left leg with red-hot fragments and he was forced to crawl two miles to safety.

But because of medical conditions of the day it was thought safer to leave shrapnel in his body.

He survived the war but only ever told his family the basic story and said the accident had left him with a 'bad knee'.

Mr Brown told loved ones he still had a 'bullet' in his leg and asked his grandchildren not to sit on his knee because of the pain it caused.

When he died at age 94, and was cremated, his family was stunned to recieve a bag of shrapnel weighing 6 ounces.  He had been carrying that around for 60 years.

Amazing toughness, unsung hero.  Until now.