Stan Ford, who turned 99 on 7 May, served on HMS Fratton, which escorted ships taking people back to the UK and was stationed off Selsey Bill on the south coast on D-Day.
Weeks later, Mr Ford, who is originally from Bristol, suffered lifelong injuries when the ship was sunk by what is believed to have been a midget submarine off the Normandy coast. Thirtyeight members of the crew were rescued but 31 were killed.
On 18 August at 5.30am or 6am, Mr Ford was on duty when he said there was a “terrific explosion”.
“The explosion detached the gun platform I was on and the gun platform and myself, we went over the side,” he said. “It was quite a – as you can imagine – heavy piece of metal. I came to in the water.”
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin June 03, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin June 03, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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