Painter and decorator honoured to play war hero in VE Day film tribute

A MAN from Binfield Heath played a Second World War veteran during VE Day celebrations in London.

Harri Douglas, 25, was 100-year-old Mervyn Kersh as a young soldier returning to present day London in a video that was screened in Piccadilly Circus.

It was overlaid with celebratory archive footage following the moments Victory in Europe was declared by Winston Churchill in 1945.

Mr Douglas watched it back while stood behind Mr Kersh, who joined the army aged 18 and served in the Ordnance Corps. Mr Kersh, from London, landed on the Gold Beach in Normandy three days after D-Day. His unit was responsible for setting up vehicle parks and providing transport to frontline units.

He witnessed the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp, and saw the survivors, many still wearing striped prison uniforms.

Mr Douglas, who has had no formal acting training, was approached after producers contacted him on the casting platform StarNow because he had the “right look” for the part. He dressed in a replica military uniform with war badges stitched on to show those Mr Kersh would have worn, which Mr Douglas said was “overwhelming” and heavier than he had anticipated.

Mr Douglas, a painter and decorator, said: “It was purely based on me being a soldier from 1945 coming to present day and being absolutely amazed by what London is like now compared to 80 years ago.

“Speaking in Mervyn’s words, if we didn’t go to war and succeed, London wouldn’t look like London now. Originally, it was just supposed to be me in a couple of snippets here and there, but the producers changed the plan and ended up using me for a fair chunk of the video, which was quite a shock.”

Mr Douglas, who studied sport and exercise at The Henley College, got into acting when he was about 18. He was an extra in Masters of the Air, a Second World War drama released for Apple TV in January this year.

Mr Douglas said it was a privilege playing Mervyn. “I got to speak to his daughter Lynne, who showed me a photo of Mervyn when he was 19 and they said they had done such a good job choosing me because I looked just like how she would have pictured him. The family were very happy that I was able to recreate such a personal memory for them.”

The film concludes with a shot of Mr Douglas and Mr Kersh saluting to one another.