During Word War II a plan was formulated that would result in the liberation of France, and ultimately the rest of Europe from German occupation, setting the conditions the Allied victory would end the war.
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The plan, code-named Operation Overlord, is better known as D-Day, and on 6 June 1944 became the largest seaborne invasion ever.
An 80 kilometre area of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors. Utah and Omaha sectors were the responsibility of US Forces, the British sectors were known as Gold and Sword with the Canadians dealing with the sector known as Juno.
We can learn much about great events in history from books, television and movies, however there is nothing like hearing about it from those that actually made history.
I had the great pleasure to meet with Nambucca Heads resident, Ken Hersee, a former British soldier who landed at Sword on D-Day. This is just some of his story.
Ken initially came to Australia in 1928 as a child, most of his early education was in Sydney. The family eventually returned to the UK when Ken was 15 due to his mothers health concerns.
A lack of alignment in the school systems of Australia and the UK resulted in Ken leaving school early where he found work in the construction of runways.
He and some of his workmates volunteered for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941 however there were trigonometry questions, due to his mixed-up education Ken was unable to answer.
He was not accepted by the RAF and was later to learn that his mates were killed during the bombing over Europe. Ken laments that his life may have been spared by missing those three questions.
Within six months Ken was called up for the army. Although Ken elected to be in tanks, he was initially sent to the Infantry then transferred to artillery, where he spend the war years in the 20th Anti Tank Regiment.
Ken clearly recalls conducting very thorough training in Scotland for the D-Day Landings, although none of them really knew what they were training for due to the tight security leading up to the invasion.
Ken says the picture in his mind of June 6, 1944 is as clear now as it was then. Ken recalls the excitement of heading toward Sword Beach, however states that once you began hearing the shelling and small arms fire, the excitement dissipated. Ken added that once you landed the horrors of war makes a young man grow up quickly.
Despite the resistance and German mining of beach obstacles, Ken’s Battery did not suffer any casualties during the D-Day landings. It was when the British began to move inland that things began to intensify for them. Initial gains would be met with German counter attacks and Ken spoke of the random nature of falling mortars and artillery.
It was during such an attack that Kens good mate, Bob Dutton, was killed in action. Ken revisited Normandy in 2003 where he was able to find Bob’s grave and pay his respects, this was a very moving time for Ken.
Ken witnessed the atrocities of the notorious German SS troops first hand. Interestingly, he discovered that the ordinary German army personnel and civilians he encountered during his work in Germany following the hostilities had no idea of the what the Nazis had done. They were unaware of what had occurred in places like Aushwitz and Belsen due to the success of Hitler’s propaganda.
Ken met his wife-to-be, Jenny, during that time in Germany. He says marrying Jenny was the best decision of his life and they enjoyed over 60 years together raising three daughters along the way. Having spent 10 years of his youth in Australia, Ken never got used to the UK’s cold weather and in 1966 he made his way back.
He lived in Sydney for some time eventually settling in Nambucca Heads. Until recently Ken has been an avid bowler, walker and swimmer.
A sprightly 96 years old, Ken is testament to why those of his era are commonly referred to as ‘The Greatest Generation’.
About the author: Mick Birtles is a recently retired Army Officer now living in Nambucca Heads. During his 36-year career, Birtles served in Bougainville, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for command and leadership. In his articles he shares his interest in the welfare and well-being of veterans on the Mid North Coast.
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