Last surviving Chelsea Pensioners who fought on D-Day and in Battle of Normandy pose proudly together ahead of 75th anniversary
THE last surviving Chelsea Pensioners who fought on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy came together to mark the 75th anniversary of the landings.
Seven veterans proudly posed for photos outside the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London on Monday.
D-Day saw some 156,000 U.S., British and Canadian forces landing on five beaches along a 50 mile stretch of France’s coast, supported by thousands of ships, landing vessels, planes and gliders, and with inland help from French resistance fighters.
On June 6 veterans will mark 75 years since the invasion began.
Veterans Roy Cadman, James George, Bill Fitzgerald, Ernie Boyden, Frank Mouque, George Skipper, Arthur Elli all gathered together to kick start anniversary celebrations today.
‘FULL OF BODIES’
Mr Fitzgerald, 94, remembered how the water was “full of bodies” when they arrived on the beach but described how the soldiers knew they had a job to do.
Former East End boxer Mr Skipper, 96, told his sweetheart June he’d be back to see her on his impending leave, but instead he boarded the boat to Normandy.
He said: “You didn’t think about it until the post came and there was a letter. I used to write notes and put them in a big envelope and send them to the wife. I told her how much I loved her and all that sort of thing.”
I told her how much I loved her
George Skipper
He won a medal for saving two lives after his boat sank when they arrived on Gold Beach.
Mr Mouque, 94, described how “exhausted” he felt during the landings.
He said: “After reaching the beach, I ran up towards a parapet, and searched for mines.
“After 12 hours of being on the go we were exhausted and then had to dig a fox hole to sleep in. We had to dig six foot down and two foot wide.”
He and his comrades once slept in barn and ended up getting ravaged by fleas.
‘EXHAUSTING’
Mr Cadman, 96, was told he was too young to fight when he put his name down to join the Commando in 1940 so he lied about his age.
He was captured by the enemy during the Sicilian invasion but managed to escape back to safety, and would play his part in D-Day.
He has visited Normandy on June 6 every year for the last fifty years to pay his respects to the friends he lost.
D-Day was the start of operation “Overlord” – the Allied invasion of occupied Europe.
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After months of intensive preparation, Allied forces launched their combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944 – the start of a lengthy campaign to liberate North West Europe from German occupation.
Within five days 326,547 troops and 104,428 tons of supplies had landed on the beaches.
The landings were followed by the 76-day Battle of Normandy, with a total of 210,000 Allied casualties including American, British and Canadian.
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