A FORMER admiral in the Royal Navy has turned his hand to glass engraving to create a war memorial to mark the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

Former Rear Admiral Frank Grenier, 68, from Upton Scudamore is enjoying a second career as a glass engraver after retiring from the Navy 15 years ago.

Mr Grenier was commissioned by the British Friends of Normandy to design the memorial in blue glass, to commemorate soldiers who took part in the 1944 landings.

When the glass panels are finished they will be unveiled in the Memorial Garden in Caen, France, on the 40th anniversary of the landings on June 6, 2004.

Mr Grenier said: "I used to do some amateur sketching and painting in the navy, but managed to turn it into a career when I left.

"I chose to work with glass because it's an interesting way to express art, it captures light well and I like handling it."

Mr Grenier's three panels are shaped in the form of a wave and hand engraved on both sides using diamond cutters.

The sketches tell the story of the Normandy landings and Mr Grenier said it was an honour to design the memorial.

He said: "Glass is brilliant for things like this as it's an unusual way to commemorate things, and will hopefully tell a story."

Mr Grenier has teamed up with other local west Wiltshire businesses for supplies of glass and steel for his engraving work.