At the outbreak of World War II Alfred Davies, a member of the Territorial Army in North Wales, was immediately called to the defence of his country and this heralded the start of a distinguished and interesting six years' full involvement in action.

In 1939 Mr Davies, then 19, was a member of Llandudno and Caernarfon Battery 242 of the 69th Medium Regiment of the Royal Artillery. Two batteries made up the 69th Regiment, 242 Battery from Llandudno and Caernarfon, 241 from the Bangor and Anglesey areas.

On 28 May, 1940, the 6th Regiment, RA was in retreat and heading towards the smoke and fire of the Dunkerque beaches, where the Germans, British and French armies were involved in heavy fighting as the British troops withdrew from French soil.

At Wormhout, about 12 miles away, the German SS were being held at bay by the Cheshire & Worcester Regiments, whilst the retreat continued.

Captain Earl of Aylesford, leading D Troop, of the 6th Medium Regiment decided unwittingly in the general confusion of retreat to take a short cut to the beaches via the town of Wormhout. D Troop ran into the fire of the infamous SS. Mr Davies, a member of the ill-fated and unarmed D Troop, clearly remembers the ensuing mayhem.

The hail of SS machine gun fire instantly killed Captain Aylesford and those immediately with him. It was clearly a case of every man for himself. Amid the confusion Mr Davies and about 40 others flung themselves into the nearby Peene Becque.

The river offered them temporary safe shelter. Others, many wounded, managed to hide in houses or buildings on the opposite side of the Peene Becque bridge. The majority of these would escape later.

The members of D Troop in the river had to decide whether to escape up or downstream. Little did they realise that their survival depended on that choice.

Mr. Davies and those with him made the choice that ensured their escape to safety. Others choosing the opposite fell hostage to the SS. All prisoners taken from D Troop together with those from the Warwickshire and Cheshire Regiments were herded by the SS into a barn and were executed in cold blood at the command of General Wilhelm Monnkers. Grenades were thrown into the barn and any survivors shot.

Undetected by the SS, on 28 May, 1940, Mr Davies and others were eventually able to escape on foot, walking the 12 miles to the Dunkerque beaches. Safe on board ship and completely exhausted, Mr Davies remembered nothing until he woke up in England.

In 1942 he was involved in active service in Africa, at El Alamein. Next they advanced through the desert to Tripoli to prepare for the invasion of Italy via Salerno. The British, together with the Americans forces, advanced to Naples and Rome. In 1944 he saw action at the Battle of Monte Casino.

Next the Royal Artillery advanced through France via Marseilles. Their heavy calibre armaments were too heavy for the anticipated Normandy landings, where speed in advancement would be essential.

However, the unexpected was about to happen to Mr Davies. Following Hitler's death in 1945, there remained a pocket of resistance under Admiral Donnetz just five miles from Dunkerque. Mr Davies and his regiment returned there on 8 May, 1945. This time he was one of the victors not the vanquished.

His war began in Dunkerque and ended in Dunkerque after six long eventful years with the Royal Artillery 6th Medium Regiment 242 Battery. He was now 25.

On rejoining civilian life Mr Davies went back to Llandudno to work as a supervisor in the council cleansing department. He's been a member of the Llandudno Branch Royal British Legion for many years and was recently elected as Patron.

He holds the following war medals from 1939-1945: Africa Star, Italian Star, France and Germany, Defence Medal, War Medal, Territorial Medal, Dunkirk Medal.