John's story: Avoiding mines at Gold Beach

John was an instrument mechanic, maintaining the equipment of the 7th Armoured Division of the famous Desert Rats when his unit was sent back to England to join the D-Day invasion.

"We were in enclosed camps near Felixstowe and, just prior to the invasion, boarded the landing crafts at Felixstowe and sailed the English Channel overnight.

“The actual destination of the landing was kept very secret, which was why we were in sealed camps before we eventually embarked. The only contact we had was getting rations in, and that sort of thing.

"Some of the troops actually were quite annoyed at the fact that they weren't told where they were going to land, but I wasn't. It was very, very important because we'd been waiting to go on the second front for years. When it did come, of course, we realised we had to get a foothold on D-Day itself."

As a driver, John had to safely navigate his vehicle up Gold Beach. 

"We landed quite safely, although the beach was under fire from snipers and artillery further back in the German lines.

"We had to drive our vehicles off the ramp of the landing crafts up onto the beach in a marked lane. There were lanes laid out that had been cleared of mines, so we had to be careful and keep the vehicles within the lines to get off the beach.

“We managed to get up off the beach without any casualties. The troops had cleared several miles of the enemy, so we were able to get a few miles inland. We ended up at a place called Bayeux until there was a big battle at Falaise."