Scots D-Day hero died after choking on full English breakfast in veterans' care home

A Scottish D-Day hero died after choking on his full English breakfast in a care home for veterans, an inquest heard. Frederick Temple, who spent his last years in an ex-forces residential home in Portsmouth, died at the age of 97 while enjoying one of his favourite meals.

Before his passing in August 2023, former Royal Marine Frederick was one of the last survivors of the Allied Forces' Normandy beach landings in 1944. Only around 100 of those who participated in the operation are believed to be alive today.

According to the inquest into his death, Mr Temple had mentally "regressed" back to his military days in his later years and frequently asked care home staff to "see the captain of the ship". The hearing was told that the veteran, who devoted 22 years of his life to defending his country, was the "typical military man", "determined" and "frustratingly stubborn."

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The pensioner had suffered a similar choking incident the day before his death and a coroner has now concluded that dementia likely contributed to the event. Frederick was born in Glasgow in 1925, the Portsmouth Coroners Court in Hampshire heard.

At 16 he left home to join the Marine Cadets until he became of age to serve. The veteran went on to become a Coxwain, assigned to the SS Empire Cutlass, where he was successfully involved in three trips delivering British soldiers to Sword Beach on D-Day.

He served from 1943 until 1966 and was part of the Royal Marines 41, 42, 43, and 45 Commando.

The Senior Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, Christopher Wilkinson, told the inquest today that Frederick died on August 1 last year at the Admiral Jellicoe House in Southsea, Portsmouth. The home provides luxury later life care for Royal Navy and Royal Marine veterans and their spouses.

The veteran's son, David Harvey, said he moved into the facility in the summer of 2022. "He was a very proud and stubborn man who did not like to depend on anyone, or ask for any help," Mr Harvey said of his father.

The inquest heard evidence from the care home manager, Jade Delaney, who said Mr Temple had a diagnosis of dementia. She said: "Sometimes, Fred would demand to see the captain of the ship at which point we would go along with his reality."

The manager claimed that "instantly he relaxed" after introducing herself to Frederick as "Captain Delaney". She continued: "He said 'good for you', I assume because I was a female. We would talk through some of the issues he was having. Somebody accepting his reality really helped Fred to feel like he was being listened to and he was being heard."

Mr Temple "enjoyed" having a full English breakfast every morning and they "tried not to take that away from him", she told the inquest. On July 31 last year, Frederick began choking on a "small piece of sausage" which was served to him in his breakfast. But he was able to cough up the food, thanks to the assistance from nurses at the home.

A member of the home's staff fed Mr Temple his breakfast the next day at around 9.30am. He took three sips of tea after chewing and swallowing about seven mouthfuls of food before he began "coughing and gasping." Unfortunately, Mr Temple choked to death in an incident which occurred "swiftly", the coroner said.

It was heard that as soon as he started choking, the situation was "unrecoverable". His granddaughter wept as she said he was "supposed to reach 100" during the hearing. The coroner said: "He probably had a relatively high tolerance to pain, he liked to go on."

Mr Wilkinson concluded the pensioner's dementia contributed to the choking incident, and concluded a verdict of accidental death. "It does strike me that the level of care that he was receiving at the care home was good," he said. "He had been appropriately and safely assessed by the care home team, he had been assessed by the speech and language therapy team."

Mr Wilkinson said that Mr Temple's dementia symptoms had worsened in the months preceding his death. "I don't think it would have been abundantly obvious that anything significant had changed," he continued.

The coroner said Mr Temple was unable to process and swallow his food on August 31, which is related to his dementia. "Sadly, therefore, he died as a result of that," he continued. "As I have said, it's more likely than not that dementia has played a part here but I cannot say the extent to which it was.

"It was an accident, it wasn't expected, it wasn't intentional, but it sits against the background of a recognised contribution of dementia. I do believe, on balance, objectively that he was receiving the right care, and the right care for his stage in life."

The care home staff were commended by Mr Wilkinson, who also stated that Mr Temple had probably "regressed" back to his time in the military, which was a "significant aspect of his life."

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