page_title: Bill Cross
section_title: Post Military Career and Later Life
hierarchical_section_title: Bill Cross / Post Military Career and Later Life
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal Hospital Chelsea (1681-91)
context_page_description: William James Cross was a British soldier who fought in World War II. He participated in battles in Palestine, Salerno, and at Normandy shortly after D-Day. In 2015, he was awarded the Légion d’honneur.
context_section_description: After retiring from the army, Cross worked at Barclays Bank and as a hospital porter. In 1999 he joined the Royal Hospital Chelsea. As a Chelsea Pensioner still he played in the band there as well as joining the bowls team.
  In 2006 he was the subject of portrait in oil by Jennifer McRae in his Chelsea uniform, one of a series of portraits of Chelsea pensioners created by McRae. The painting is on permanent loan to the Royal Hospital.
  In 2015 he was one of 19 Chelsea Pensioners presented with the Légion d’honneur by the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Madame Sylvie Bermann.
  Cross died on 29 June 2015, he was a widower and was survived by his son Malcolm.
caption: Royal Hospital Chelsea
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