"Witnessing History: A Soldier's Story of Gold Beach on D-Day"

Cracking video mate. I remember our visits out there when you still thought he was Warwicks, trying to retrace his steps. I'm glad you now know more.

Great video. My father landed on Gold on D-Day as part of 47 RM Cdo

Thank you for sharring your story and what a brave man your grandfather Was god bless him and his mates ❤️ my grandfather Was not a soldier under ww2 but a freedom fighter ore sabetur in a danish group called Holger danske, he told some scarey stories about thing they had to do

Wonderful video. My grandad was in charge of LCT 1153 and landed on Gold Beach. I was clearing out his attic on Monday and found a photo of the LCT with his crew. There is a large tiger painted on it. My grandfather was 34 years old at the time. At the same time, my great grandfather who was in his 60s came out of retirement to help with mine sweeping! I'm just beginning to research it all now. I know that he hit some underwater obstructions and the men had to swim. Like your grandfather, he never talked about his experiences at all. He died in Jan 2000. In the final weeks of his life, he did tell me that he lost his best friend, who was shot, beside him as the LCT came in. All the best to you. Steve.

My Father was on FDT 216 off Omaha and Utah, never once mentioned a word about it until his mid eighties when i asked him about the war years, he was hesitant to talk for long periods as the impact had obviously effected him all his life since that day.He loved the forces life, first joining the RAF then moving on to the army but details why he moved i have no real detail.He then ended up with Combined Operations and managed to explain his experience on that day and things leading up and afterwards too and it's something i'll remember forever knowing Dad had kept this bottled up for so many years.A month after D Day FDT 216 was torpedoed off the Bay Of Biscay by a Junkers 88, five lives lost and Dads story of this was fascinating .At home he always had a regimental way about him, shoes shined and always smartly dressed the forces life left such an impression on him. After the war he joined the TA and remained active for about another 15 years.Proud of you Dad and miss you every day.

I walked those with my wife in 2019. The feeling you get when you walk on the land where something like that has happened, is priceless! Next trip is in a year, but have to spoil the wife with a fancy river cruise in exchange for my WW2 following.

My father was a communications officer in the Royal Navy and landed on Gold Beach on D Day+ 2. Bodies had already been cleared from the beaches. He and the rest of the team were taken to Meuvaines, a village just below the ridge between Aromanche and Ver sur Mer. The two chateau of the village and tents in the gardens became one of the communication centers for bringing in shipping and landing craft in the immediate weeks and then in situating the Mulberry Harbour installations.The chateau had previously been occupied and abandoned by the Luftwaffe. He worked 4 hours on 4 hours off for the first months. When operations moved to Aromanche he carried dispatches from Admiral Ramsey’s office based in a villa in Ver sur Mer across the Channel, crossing several times a week to Eisenhower’s headquarters at Southwick House. When Bayeuax and Caen were taken any spare time was spent learning to drive a Jeep and scouring safe countryside for cider. The War artist Stephen Bone was based in Meuvaines and has drawings of the time and paintings of the war conditions of the beaches and coast. My father removed drawings made by an artistically inclined member of the Meauvaines Luftwaffe, of his colleagues , and family and nudes which were stuck to the walls. I have them still.
When my wife and I visited Aromanche we stayed in a collection of converted farm buildings in the town. The owner Jean Claude was 6 years old in 1944 and on June 6 th 1944 his grandmother and mother refused to leave the farm and stayed in the cellar with biscuits and food. They only came up when an English soldier called down the steps in the darkness for them to come out he remembered. The yard farm buildings were commandeered to be an Officers mess. As the summer progressed he remembers being taken for an occasional ride in a landing craft.Trucks carrying diesel used the road behind the farm initially before pipelines were laid. The place was noisy and busy.

These are outstanding. I really enjoy your style and delivery. You are so knowledgeable. I look forward to your uploads like I look forward to JD’s work. Thanks Mate

God bless your grandfather thank you

Hi Johnny
Fascinating story about your Grandfather!!
I had one great uncle who served in New Guinea and contracted malaria.
Whilst he was recuperating back here in Australia, he met and married my great aunt who was a nurse serving in the RAANS.
The craziest thing, but a very true story was I also had six other great uncles, all brothers, on the other side of the family(Mum’s) who were in the RAAF who met and also married six sisters, that were all in the WAAAF during WW2.
But I don’t know of their military service and in which theatres they served in cos my darling grandmother couldn’t remember, God bless her 😢

Hi there, my grandfather, Cyril Urwin, a gunner of the Essex Yeomanry/ 147th RA landed at Gold Beach on D-Day. Have started tracing his movements from d-day onwards myself recently. Great video 👍

Just came across your channel - great vids and thanks for posting them. Its possible that the position you describe and show was an antitank defence held by up to 3 PaK40 AT guns of PanzerJager Abteilung 716 and initially by members of Ost Battalion 441 also of the 716th Inf Division. The intention of the position was to cover the beach (as you showed) and also protect the eastern approach to WN32 Battery Vera - Mare Fontaine - about 2.3 Km to the south east. Batterie Vera (Mare Fontaine) can be clearly viewed on Google Earth and is just south of Vers-sur-Mer - it contained 4 x 10cm mobile artillery pieces of the 716th divisional artillery in hardened casemates, with range sufficient to cover all of Gold and half of Juno.

My father landed at gold beach on D-Day with the second wave. He was a Royal Navy medic and helped with the wounded from the first wave. I did return with him in later years. A very emotional experience.

My father was in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and was in the Italian campaign. Served at Monte Casino and was stationed in workshops in Naples where Italian prisoners worked under British supervision.

What was the length of Gold Beach (frontage)

Hi John and thanks for sharing your Grandfather's experience. I was chatting with my partners father about his father's brother's experience at Gold. Apparently, he was a Royal Engineer who had a phosphorus grenade thrown at him by a woman which temporarily blinded him and was casevaced back to England on the same day. He was known as the soldier who had a daytrip to Normandy as well as the guy who learnt to play the organ in Cairo during his time with the 8th Army. His name was William Howard Prince and that's all we know.

My father was part of the army that followed the German's retreat. I do not know the details only that he and his best friend went to a Belgium church and had a crucifix blessed by the priest for my mother who was Catholic at the time. He gave it to her when he finally came back to the U.K. and they got married when he was demobbed. It makes it sound as though I am much older than I am. I was born in 1967. He talked about his time in the army before the war. He was professional soldier in the Wiltshire reg. in the band as a flute player. Travelling all over the world. What the role of the reg. was I am not sure, mainly peacekeeping. Anyway, he lived in a completely different time to us but I must research his army career and my grand father who was in the cavalry in the first world war! Thence my interest in military history.

Lovely story from Your self and everyone. Best Bob Wishes. Bristol. All stay safe. With out them all we would not be here now. Thanks everyone for posting.

Thank you for your total dedication to all you put out, your time and research is very educational and better than any book read and even any personal visits i’ve made to these areas, total commitment and thank you once again 👌👍

I'm glad this older stuff is starting to show up.

My grandad Green Howards 6th battalion Gold Beach King sector also, and that’s about the only details he ever gave, also mentioned Italy prior to that.

Great story

Did being a coal miner come under reserved occupation because my uncle went to join up but he was told he'd be better and do more good down the pit

Nice video

Good video. The major unit that stormed Gold were 4 brigades of 50th (Northumbrian) Division.

I wished there was more on the British in ww2 everything is on Americansi met so many British men in the 70s 80s and their story’s wished I’d recorded them

The true cost of freedom 😇

Just cannot imagine what it was like.may we never forget

Hi, my Dad landed Gold King Green, earlier than planned, at 0805h, part of 69th Brigade. He commanded a Sexton SP gun of 86th Herts Yeo Fd Regt. Very long day as they participated in Operation Neptune with the Run-In-Shoot and didn't really stop firing until midnight. They too had to guard roads that night and were also bothered by that artillery position.

My Uncle Frank came ashore on Gold (not sure which section) with the 65th Norfolk Yeomanry with his M10 Anti Tank vehicle on the 7th June having sailed from Tilbury on the morning of the 6th. Interesting to hear that the threat to the beaches was still very real on D Day +1.
Thanks again for another great video.

Great video. Very cool to follow in your grandfather’s footsteps. I bet that was surreal.

👌👍👍👍

My Grandad (and his Brother Uncle Percy) was a sergeant major in the 2nd London Regiment of the Royal artillery. They landed at Arromanches-les-bains at 6+2hrs (in his diary) with their tanks. They went on to Bayeaux and then on to the liberation of Brussels.
I would love to visit Arromanches one day to pay respects to my Grandad and Uncle. Luckily they came home but many of their friends didn’t. They were all such brave men, I’m so proud of them xxx

Gostei,bem criativo !

Very interesting personal story including the fire support details. These little things all added up .

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all your work. It's very interesting to see all these then and now videos. My grandfather landed on Utah beach with the 4th ID and also fought at Bastogne, among other engagements. He was wounded not long after they made their way inland from Utah beach, when the tank he was riding on hit a mine and all were killed, except for him. He was able to rejoin his unit (4th ID, 29th Field Artillery) a few days after being wounded.

You look a lot like him Jon. My grandad was in the Royal marines commando and he died in 2000. As you say he wouldn't talk about it.

Your grandfather was a brave man. I commend your grandfather's service and bravery.

You did a superb job with this upload. You certainly did your research and it shows. A very belated and heartfelt thank you for your grandad and his buds for the freedoms we enjoy today.
Cheers from Texas. 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🇫🇷 🇧🇪 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 Thanks fellas. 👊

Have just found this , than you, very informative. My father landed with 4 Sextons E troop 465 Battery 90th field Regiment on Jig green/Red at 0825 , they were in action at 0845 at the beach exit wn 35 immediately below where the British Normandy Memorial is now situated.

So many brave men landed at the beaches of Normandy some came back like your Grandfather, some did not. Brave men all of them.
To walk in his steps and have his diary is an honor and brings alive one mans story of D-day amd you had the chance to shsre with us his story. Thank you.

hi my dad too landed here as part of the beach group 6th battalion border regiment im turning 65 tomorrow and am finally go to do what you have done later this year as God allows.

I've just discovered you're great channel. I am a US Navy veteran, but my father fought with the 63rd Infantry Division ( Blood and Fire ), in the 254th Regiment under Colonel Tucker. He was a corporal in an I & R platoon and first fought attached to the First French Army at the Colmar Pocket in early 1945 at the bloody battle for Jebsheim. His unit then penetrated the Siegfried Line at Ensheim, just east of Saarbrucken. His unit crossed the Rhine at Worms, then pushed along the Neckar valley, and turned south to the Danube, and saw is last combat at Leiphiem, just east of Ulm, where they captured a Luftwaffe airfield with several ME262's . He was in Rothenberg on the Tauber on VE day. Like your grandfather, he hardly ever spoke about the combat, but after his death in 2013, I researched the archives and now know where he fought. Love all your episodes!

My dad landed on Gold beach with 1st Dorsets, the third assault landing in 12 months. Sicily and Italy being the other 2. What a generation!!

If you had a family member land at Gold Beach or who was part of the 2nd Herts or even 2nd Warwick’s let me know in the comments!