Syd's story: Towing gliders into Normandy
Syd began training with glider pilots in February 1944. On D-Day, he was with 644 Squadron, flying in a Halifax bomber.
"I was an operations air gunner. We towed gliders.
"We trained solidly up to D-Day. We got all set to go, but the weather was against us. We were supposed to drop the gliders at 1,000 feet, but on the actual day the cloud base was 2,500 feet so we had to go below it."
Syd was the first of 32 to set off with a glider.
"At 1 o'clock, we took off to go to the town of Ranville. We were in touch with the glider. The navigator said 'Pilot, 10 miles to go'. Our pilot asked the glider pilot what height he wanted to be released at and the glider was released with about 4 miles to go. The glider pilot landed on landing zone 11. I remember saying 'glider released'.
There was also nine cannisters in the bomb bay which we dropped. We then dropped the tow rope, turned towards the Atlantic and then turned for home, arriving at 05:19. We saw no enemy aircraft at all.
"When I looked right and left, the sea was covered with these landing craft. They were all in straight lines, like a guard's parade. I would say that you could walk from England to France without getting your feet wet, that's how close they were. It was an amazing sight."
"I would say that you could walk from England to France without getting your feet wet. It was an amazing sight."
Blind veteran
Syd is very modest about his contribution.
"What we did was nothing compared to what those others were doing... Everything was so secret. We didn't know what other squadrons on other airfields were doing. Everything was so, so secretive.
"The enormity of it is... well, I'm still amazed at it, to be honest. To think of the arranging and planning to get all that? It's out of this world really."
"At the time, we didn't think anything of it. That was just another operation."
Blind veteran
Syd suffers from dry macular degeneration.
He loves his tabletop magnifier, EasyRead, which he says is a real "boon" to him. He also uses bumpons - tactical markers - on his oven so he knows how far to turn the dials. He says, "I'm ever so pleased I get help from you. It's changed my life."
Read more
Harry's story: Bringing back the wounded
With the responsible of flying senior officers to strategic points, Harry went on to witness a concentration camp.
John's story: Destroying enemy E-boats
RAF navigator, John, had the dangerous job of patrolling the channel at night in a Bristol Beaufighter.
D-Day 80 recollections
Many of our veterans have memories of D-Day, even those who were far too young to fight at the time.
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