Local History

On D-Day - 6th June 1944 - the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy and many from the South East made the treacherous journey across the English Channel.

On D-Day itself, there were around 10,000 casualties including 2,500 fatalities. More than 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing in the Battle of Normandy which followed. In spite of the terrible losses on both sides, the invasion marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

Film cameras were there too, capturing the scenes:

We met up with a few of those from the South East who survived to tell their tales:

Mary Emery

Mary Emery

On D-Day Mary was stationed on Lord Mountbatten's estate in Southampton. She manned a radar set. The day before D-Day she and her colleagues voluntarily went to work at seven o'clock in the morning and didn't go back to barracks until 7am the next morning.

Mary says they knew something was happening but it was all very "hush hush". It was sort of "keep your mouth shut. About 48 hours before hand you could tell by how tense everyone was."

Ernest Edwards

Ernest Edwards

Ernest was aboard HMS Orion, the first Royal Navy vessel to arrive off the coast of France. He was a Leading Hand and when the ship was at action stations and he worked a hoist on the upper deck loading the shells.

 He says they realised it was "on" when they sailed from the Clyde on the 4th of June. The ship was made to wait for a day before crossing the channel.  

Charles Skingle

Charles Skingle

Charles was a military despatch rider with No 5 Headquarters Signals. He landed at Omaha beach attached to the Americans.

He travelled across the channel on a flat topped vessel, was briefed immediately and then spent the next few weeks travelling behind the front lines right across Northern France.

Frank Martin

Frank Martin

Frank was a Corporal in the infantry, landing in the first hour of the invasion on Gold Beach. He says the mood of the men on the ships crossing the channel was good, many had been at Dunkirk and wanted to "get back at em". 

He was ashore six days before he was blown up by a shell which killed two men, wounded three others and meant Frank was evacuated back to England. 

Stanley Hodge

Stanley Hodge

Stanley was one of 130,000 troops who ran ashore on the first morning of the invasion, winning the Military Medal for his bravery. Pinned down by a German machine gun post he was lying  on the ground with his Sergeant.  Both he and his Sergeant won bravery awards.

Stanley then spent the next few months in almost continuous combat fighting the Germans all the way across Europe.

Fred Garrod

Five years ago BBC Kent's Dominic King travelled with the Folkestone and Canterbury branches of the Normandy veterans association for the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

Whilst aboard the Pride of Provence leaving Dover Dominic chatted to Dover resident Fred Garrod who served with the RAF's Air Formation  Signals of Fighter Command. He explained why the White Cliffs of Dover meant so much to him back in June 1944.