'THE HEROES DIDN'T COME HOME'
"It was organised chaos; the noise, the smoke. I was frightened to death, hearing guns going off and seeing thousands of ships on either side," says Jack Mortimer, who was just 20 years old when he landed on the Normandy coast on 6 June 1944.
He was part of D-Day - Britain's largest ever amphibious invasion. The operation brought together the land, air and sea forces of the Allied nations in one of the most significant turning points of the Second World War.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Thousands died on the beaches and in the fields beyond them. It would take many more months of fighting before the Allied victory over Nazi Germany and the end of a war that led to the deaths of an estimated 70-85 million people.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, in what is likely to be the last milestone commemoration most veterans will see in their lifetimes.
"I was frightened to death, hearing guns going off and seeing thousands of ships"
"I don't think I'm a hero," says Jack. "The heroes are the ones who didn't come home, and they should always be remembered."
'Battleships were firing over our heads'
Jack Mortimer, 100
'WE'RE NOT GOING TO LOSE'
Stan Ford, 98
Stan recalls seeing thousands of ships setting sail on D-Day from his station on England鈥檚 south coast.
"Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, right down to the small little minesweepers," he says.
"As a 19-year-old, I said to myself 'we're not going to lose this war'."
Months later, his ship was hit on 18 August 1944 by what was believed to be a small submarine.
The vessel sank in four minutes and 31 men lost their lives.
The explosion was so severe that the gun platform that Stan operated was blown off the ship and into the water, with him still on it.
He was pulled from the sea and taken to a field hospital but the injuries he sustained meant he has walked with leg callipers ever since.
'WE'RE NOT GOING TO LOSE'
Stan Ford, 98
Stan recalls seeing thousands of ships setting sail on D-Day from his station on England鈥檚 south coast.
"Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, right down to the small little minesweepers," he says.
"As a 19-year-old, I said to myself 'we're not going to lose this war,'."
Months later, his ship was hit on 18 August 1944 by what was believed to be a small submarine. The vessel sank in four minutes and 31 men lost their lives.
The explosion was so severe that the gun platform that Stan operated was blown off the ship and into the water, with him still on it.
He was pulled from the sea and taken to a field hospital but the injuries he sustained meant he has walked with leg callipers ever since.
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Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
'I WAS SICK AS A DOG'
John Life, 100
John, who served in the Royal Artillery, was "very apprehensive" before making the crossing from Portsmouth where he was stationed.
Sailing past the Isle of Wight, he wondered if he would ever see his family again.
But he was distracted by seasickness which left him feeling "sick as a dog" on his way to Normandy.
"When we landed, my sickness vanished."
"I wasn't too bothered about shells landing around me, I was glad to be on dry land"
As John looked back, he saw a fellow soldier shot and killed on Sword Beach, the code name for one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast.
"That was the closest I got to not making it, I was lucky. I saw plenty of casualties but we had to focus on advancing."
'I WAS SICK AS A DOG'
John Life, 100
John, who served in the Royal Artillery, was "very apprehensive" before making the crossing from Portsmouth where he was stationed.
Sailing past the Isle of Wight, he wondered if he would ever see his family again.
But he was distracted by seasickness which left him feeling "sick as a dog" on his way to Normandy.
"When we landed, my sickness vanished."
"I wasn't too bothered about shells landing around me, I was glad to be on dry land."
As John looked back, he saw a fellow soldier shot and killed on Sword Beach, the code name for one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast.
"That was the closest I got to not making it, I was lucky. I saw plenty of casualties but we had to focus on advancing."
"Getting off the boat was tricky, the sea was up and down... battleships were firing over our heads and there were hundreds of rockets."
"When I go there, I cry. It is emotional, to remember those who didn鈥檛 come back."
Jack Mortimer, 100
'IN MY EARS, I WAS IN A WAR'
Marie Scott, 97
Marie was aged just 17 when she worked as a switchboard operator in an underground bunker that served as an operational hub for the D-Day landings.
The bunker was deep in the tunnels beneath the historic Fort Southwick in Portsmouth.
"In my ears, I was in a war," she says, recalling her role of transmitting messages to and from the French beaches.
"My contacts at the other end of the radio were troops landing on the beaches"
"The sounds were terrifying 鈥� loud cannons, machine-gun fire, bombs dropping, men screaming orders and screaming in pain."
'IN MY EARS, I WAS IN A WAR'
Marie Scott, 97
Marie was aged just 17 when she worked as a switchboard operator in an underground bunker that served as an operational hub for the D-Day landings.
The bunker was deep in the tunnels beneath the historic Fort Southwick in Portsmouth.
"In my ears, I was in a war," she says, recalling her role of transmitting messages to and from the French beaches.
"My contacts at the other end of the radio were troops landing on the beaches"
"The sounds were terrifying 鈥� loud cannons, machine-gun fire, bombs dropping, men screaming orders and screaming in pain."
"I wondered if would see my family again"
'THE SHIP ROCKED BACKWARDS'
John Dennett, 99
John, who served in the Royal Navy, "wasn鈥檛 a bit concerned" when he and his crewmates set off to get into position off the French coast.
"When I saw the ships on the water that day, I thought, 'how the hell could they do anything to this lot?'"
John remembers passing close to HMS Warspite, the first battleship to open fire, which was known to him and his crew affectionately as the Old Lady.
"Even with one turret still out of action, the first broadside made it seem like she had taken a hit.
"The whole ship rocked backwards with a great belch of flame before being covered in smoke."
John remembers "aircraft and shells coming at you," as they went into the beach before returning to Portsmouth to load up again 鈥� making a further 15 crossings.
"On the return journeys, we would be loaded up with injured troops and prisoners."
'THE SHIP ROCKED BACKWARDS'
John Dennett, 99
John, who served in the Royal Navy, "wasn鈥檛 a bit concerned" when he and his crewmates set off to get into position off the French coast.
"When I saw the ships on the water that day, I thought, 'how the hell could they do anything to this lot?'"
John remembers passing close to HMS Warspite, the first battleship to open fire, which was known to him and his crew affectionately as the Old Lady.
"Even with one turret still out of action, the first broadside made it seem like she had taken a hit.
"The whole ship rocked backwards with a great belch of flame before being covered in smoke."
John remembers "aircraft and shells coming at you," as they went into the beach before returning to Portsmouth to load up again 鈥� making a further 15 crossings.
"On the return journeys, we would be loaded up with injured troops and prisoners."
Don Sheppard, 104, still carries a sliver of shrapnel from a German shell fired on D-Day.
The beach in Normandy was "littered with dead Canadians" he says, recalling the horror he witnessed. "The shells were coming over like rain... we lost quite a few guys."
LOVE IN ADVERSITY
Allan Gullis, 99
"It has been a honeymoon every single day," Allan says of his 80-year marriage to Edna.
The lovestruck pair were married on 6 May 1944, just weeks before D-Day.
"We couldn't have any church bells as people would've thought there was an invasion"
A month later Allan, a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps, was helping to build Mulberry Harbour - a portable structure used to unload supply ships on the French coast in the immediate aftermath of D-Day.
It would be more than a year before Allan was reunited with his bride.
Edna, who is now 102, also played a part in the war effort, serving in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF).
LOVE IN ADVERSITY
Allan Gullis, 99
"It has been a honeymoon every single day," Allan says of his 80-year marriage to Edna.
The lovestruck pair were married on 6 May 1944, just weeks before D-Day.
"We couldn鈥檛 have any church bells as people would've thought there was an invasion."
A month later Allan, a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps, was helping to build Mulberry Harbour - a portable structure used to unload supply ships on the French coast - in the immediate aftermath of D-Day.
It would be more than a year before Allan was reunited with his bride.
Edna, who is now 102, also played a part in the war effort, serving in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF).
Richard Aldred, 99, served as a tank driver and landed on Gold Beach in Normandy the day after D-Day. His tank was blown up and he took cover under it on the side of the road alongside his surviving crewmates.
"I just heard on the wireless 'bailout'. You had eight seconds to get out because whenever a tank was hit, chances were it would burst into flames... I will always remember the smell of burning."
"Some of them got killed before they got off the boat"
A COUNTRY BOY AT SEA
Don Howkins, 103
Don was a "17-year-old country boy" when he joined the army before war was declared.
He remembers training from March until May 1944 to "hit" moving land targets.
"We were never told where we were going. We only knew we were going somewhere soon."
He only found out his destination when he was briefed after leaving London Docks.
"I only remember climbing down the rope nets into our landing craft.
"I have no recollection of being on Gold Beach until we were a short way inland and off the beach by a few hundred yards."
He and his comrades camped in a nearby orchard where Don enjoyed "a little calvados", before encountering the enemy in the town of Tilly-sur-Seulles, about 15 miles inland from the Normandy coast.
There he witnessed scenes of such death and destruction that decades later he still struggles to speak of it.
A COUNTRY BOY AT SEA
Don Howkins, 103
Don was a "17-year-old country boy" when he joined the army before war was declared. He remembers training from March until May 1944 to "hit" moving land targets.
"We were never told where we were going. We only knew we were going somewhere soon."
He only found out his destination when he was briefed after leaving London Docks.
"I only remember climbing down the rope nets into our landing craft.
"I have no recollection of being on Gold Beach until we were a short way inland and off the beach by a few hundred yards."
He and his comrades camped in a nearby orchard where Don enjoyed "a little calvados" before encountering the enemy in the town of Tilly-sur-Seulles, about 15 miles inland from the Normandy coast.
There he witnessed scenes of such death and destruction that decades later he still struggles to speak of it.
While travelling through France after D-Day, Reg Pye spotted a young girl staring at him as he ate his evening meal - a slice of bread with jam and a tin of pilchards. He gave the girl his bread and she ran away to eat it.
Reg and the girl, Huguette, reunited 78 years later in 2022, when he said: "In the bleakest of times this human interaction made a huge mark on my life."
THE LONG MARCH
Ken Hay, 99
After landing in Normandy a few days after D-Day, Ken's unit came under attack about a month later.
While nine of his fellow soldiers were killed, five of the unit, including Ken, were captured.
A further 16 of his comrades, including his brother, managed to escape.
He was eventually taken to the city of Zabrze in southern Poland and put to work in a coal mine.
Ken was among the more than 80,000 prisoners of war who took part in what became known as the Long March.
German forces made them walk about 1,000 miles in extreme winter weather conditions before they were liberated by American troops.
THE LONG MARCH
Ken Hay, 99
After landing in Normandy a few days after D-Day, Ken's unit came under attack about a month later.
While nine of his fellow soldiers were killed, five of the unit, including Ken, were captured. A further 16, including his brother, managed to escape.
He was eventually taken to the city of Zabrze in southern Poland and put to work in a coal mine.
Ken was among the more than 80,000 prisoners of war who took part in what became known as the Long March.
German forces made them walk about 1,000 miles in extreme winter weather conditions before they were liberated by American troops.
LISTENING FOR TORPEDOES
Alec Penstone, 98
Alec was 15 when war broke out.
He served with the Royal Navy on submarines before moving to escort aircraft carrier HMS Campania.
The ship played a vital role in the D-Day landings, sweeping for mines and searching for U-boats, and spent a week in the Normandy area.
Alec was three decks down on watch, listening out for torpedoes, submarines and mines.
He married his sweetheart Gladys after VE Day but was posted to the Far East two days later.
LISTENING FOR TORPEDOES
Alec Penstone, 98
Alec was 15 when war broke out
He served with the Royal Navy on submarines before moving to escort aircraft carrier HMS Campania.
The ship played a vital role in the D-Day landings, sweeping for mines and searching for U-boats, and spent a week in the Normandy area.
Alec was three decks down on watch, listening out for torpedoes, submarines and mines.
He married his sweetheart Gladys after VE Day but was posted to the Far East two days later.
Pic: The Taxi Charity
Pic: The Taxi Charity
DICKIE FORRESTER, 98
Dickie landed on Juno Beach on D-Day and fought throughout the Normandy campaign and in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Pics: Pat Davies/Robin Savage
Pics: Pat Davies/Robin Savage
PATRICIA OWTRAM, 100
Patricia learnt German and became an interceptor. She listened into the German E-boats, the first naval units to respond to the Allied operation, and reported the enigma code back to Bletchley Park.
Pics: The Taxi Charity/Wren
Pics: The Taxi Charity/Wren
DOROTHEA BARON, 99
Dorothea served with the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) from 1942 to '45. She taught signalling to the troops ahead of D-Day and helped to test Mulberry Harbour.
Pics: The Taxi Charity/Robin Savage
Pics: The Taxi Charity/Robin Savage
CHRISTIAN LAMB, 103
Christian was posted in secret to Whitehall at the start of 1944 to work on plotting the D-Day landing craft maps. Working from large ordnance survey maps and captured photos, she helped plot every point that would be seen by approaching crafts.
Pics: The Taxi Charity
Pics: The Taxi Charity
LES HAMMOND, 99
Les, who served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, landed in Normandy on 28 June. He then fought at Hill 112, which raged for more than six weeks in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Pic: The Taxi Charity
Pic: The Taxi Charity
ERNIE DAVIS, 99
Ernie joined the Royal Navy in 1943 and spent D-Day in the Channel patrolling for German U-boats and minesweeping.
CREDITS:
With thanks to the Spirit of Normandy Trust, The Taxi Charity and the Royal British Legion, and all of those featured for letting us tell their stories.
Written and produced by: Henry Vaughan
Editing: Serena KutchinAG百家乐在线官网
Design: Stacey Drake
Pictures: Press Association, Associated Press, Reuters, Royal British Legion, Spirit of Normandy Trust, British Normandy Memorial, The Taxi Charity, Robin Savage, Wren, Pat Davies