Sunbeams

By Saffi

D Day memories

My father-in-law was in the 4th Royal Tank Regiment, but was attached to another regiment,  and landed on the beach safely.  He was a tank commander aged 30, married with a son of three months old.  He and his tank crew fought in France, Belgium and Holland.  He got blown out of his tank and a two of his men were killed but he returned home safely and left the army in 1946.  We have his wartime letters he wrote home.

My uncle was in the Royal Navy and went out beforehand with others to the beaches to plan the landings - Operation Neptune.  They were based in a cellar of a house on Gold Beach.  He was 34 and single.  He wrote down some of his memories and they were horrendous and the descriptions of the veterans and historians have really brought home the enormity of it all over the last couple of days.  A time of heartache and sadness but also a special  time for those veterans in sharing with others who are still alive today to tell their stories.

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