Next month the country will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy – and 86-year-old local war veteran Peter Davies will travel to France to collect a medal as one of the surviving veterans of the invasion.
He will once again cross the channel, hopefully this time in a less dramatic manner, and spend four days with fellow veterans to mark the anniversary and collect his medal which has been awarded by the French government.
Originally trained as air crew by the RAF, Mr Davies switched to the Army in 1942 and became a member of the tank crew.
The memories of the momentous landings – often referred to as the world’s greatest invasion force – are a far cry from his life today in St Weonards, near Ross-on-Wye, where he cares for his visually-impaired wife Anne, to whom he has been married for nearly 60 years.
He spends much of his retirement tending to their garden in peaceful surroundings and representing the needs of current serving and ex-servicemen through his involvement with the Royal British Legion, where he is president of the local branch, and the Normandy Veterans Association, where he is an honorary life member and vice president.
He has written a book entitled World War Two and Me outlining his experiences, including the action he saw in northern France around Caen and Falaise and subsequently in the liberation of Holland, at the Battle of the Bulge and then in Germany.
During World War II his regiment was one of the initial ones to be trained to operate the first Duplex Drive floating tanks which landed on the Sword beach on the Eastern flank on the morning of D-Day.
Nicknamed ‘Donald Duck tanks’ the M4 Sherman amphibious swimming tanks were used by the Allies in the opening phases of the D-Day Landings in 1944. Mr Davies was a main gunner on the tanks and later on a Lance Corporal.
He told the Journal: “I’ve been lucky all my life. The first Sherman tank I was in took a hit after just 24 hours, yet all five of us in the tank survived.
“The two tanks with us were also hit and in the one all five were killed and two were killed in the other.
“You have to be grateful and thankful for what you’ve had and it’s a great privilege for me to have been involved with the campaigns I had in those days and with the people I have met since in the legion and the association.”
The book is the culmination of nine years’ work so that his grandchildren understand what it was like during the dark days of World War II.
“I often give talks at schools and I had lots of scribblings written down for the grandchildren,” he said.
“I wanted future generations to have a personal view of what happened and this is my account of that time. I was in many of the major battles from D-Day to VE Day, including the Battle of the Bulge and Arnhem.”
The book recounts his experiences, both good and bad, and paints a picture of war as seen by the soldier.
Looking forward to what he says will be his last trip to Normandy, he believes the book is particularly poignant at this time: “The British government has given veterans sponsorship to go to the anniversary event and I think this will be the last time I go there – I’m not getting any younger! The last time I went there was four years ago and it’s interesting to see what the area is like now as it’s so different to the landscape we faced when we had to charge our way through the high hedges.”
His physical fighting days may be over but his campaigning for what he believes in is not.
“I’m involved with various welfare work and fundraising these days for any serviceman or woman, or their families, in need,” said Peter.
“The public are always very supportive which is important with the current issues facing our young men and women in uniform.”
• World War II and Me by Peter Davies costs £6.99 including post and packing and is available directly from the author on 01981 580300 or by email at: nikkict@hotmail.com
