It possibly wasn't the best preparation for the greatest seaborne invasion in history, but a D-Day veteran has recalled crashing his tank into Swaffham post office while training for the landings.
Lance Corporal Cyril “Lou” Bird, from Scotland, was just 20 years old and a tank driver in the 5th Royal Tank Regiment, when he went ashore on Gold Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944.
He spent time in Norfolk preparing before the landings, which he described as “a very special time with very special people, special people who were my comrades, who all knew what they were going to, as I did”.
The 100-year-old, who continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, recalled crashing his tank into the then Swaffham post office during a training exercise, causing a crack in the wall that he said was still visible when he visited the town years later.
He said a police officer had threatened to arrest him for the damage, but that he’d told him to “get lost”, warning he had a 75mm gun and four machine guns.
Speaking ahead of the 80th anniversary of the landings on Thursday, L/Cpl Bird said the landings had helped bring peace to Europe.
“I hope that persists, and if we did that, if it really is persistent, we did a wonderful job, the war was worthwhile,” he said.
Recalling his experience of the invasion, he described how “peculiar” it was that the fear he felt before going into action disappeared once the battle started.
“Going, I was frightened to death. When it started, when the fighting started, I wasn’t scared at all," he said.
“It’s just very difficult to describe being faced with death, so closely faced with death. And I didn’t get a scratch.”
L/Cpl Bird, who became a carpet salesman in Scotland after the war, added that waiting to go into action was the hardest part.
The veteran, who had also served in the North African campaign in 1942, said his biggest surprise was how quickly the German defenders gave up.