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A NAVAL base has defended an official who has been slammed by war veterans after he turned up to a charity fancy dress parade dressed as Adolf Hitler.

Robbie Robertson donned a Nazi uniform and a moustache as he watched more than 500 naval trainees take part in the fundraiser at HMS Collingwood, Fareham.

Mr Robertson, 52, even stood to attention as the trainees marched past in fancy dress gear. He is pictured left.

Mr Robertson, who works for naval contractor Flagship Training Ltd, is responsible for health and safety on base.

He attended the procession as part of the base's Children in Need fundraising event.

He was wearing a grey German officer's uniform, a peaked cap, a Nazi-style iron cross medallion and a fake black moustache.

But war veterans have claimed it was in bad taste. Jim Ratcliffe, 84, was part of the 50th Northumbrian Division that took part in the D-day landings in 1944. After landing on Gold beach, he served in Europe until the end of the war, ending up in Berlin.

He said: "We don't need this kind of thing - it's in very bad taste and very disrespectful.

Disrespectful' "These guys don't have a clue what we went through - the men who died deserve far more respect than that.

"But anyone doing this kind of thing so close to Remembrance Sunday is out of order and is likely to upset people.

"It makes it even worse that they were on a Royal Navy base themselves."

Fellow D-day veteran Stan Dickenson, 83, was part of a regiment known as the "Polar Bears" - the 185 Field Regiment of the 49th Infantry Division.

He said: "It's terrible at any time to make a joke like this - it's even worse at this time of year".

Former soldier Colonel William Stevens, 65, the Royal British Legion's Hampshire county field officer, said: "I think it's totally tasteless - especially for many hundreds and thousands of families who lost loved ones in conflicts. It shows a lack of respect."

Ex-serviceman Mr Robertson said: "I have been likened to Hitler in the past and I thought I would dress like that for the event.

"There was no goose-stepping or Nazi style saluting at all. Health and safety people are often referred to as Hitlers. I do not accept that it was in bad taste. I have had 36 years of service in the Navy - I have been to war and fought for my country."

A Navy spokesman at HMS Collingwood said: "As the health and safety manager for the site, Mr Robertson was trying to wear something that showed that. It was just something he wanted to wear - there was no offence intended. I'm not sure where the moustache came from - maybe it came with the costume."

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