18-year-old John Woodward followed in the footsteps of his father, uncle and grandfather by enlisting in the Royal Navy in 1942, keen to join the fight and do his bit for the war effort. His original intention was to become a signaller but when he was found to be colour blind, he was transferred to the minesweepers and based on the Isle of Sheppey at Queenborough Pier. John shares details of his early training and his role onboard the minesweeper, and recounts a particularly inspired yet risky manoeuvre ordered by the ship’s captain when the Germans’ mine-laying tactics had become a little too predictable. As well as providing details about the types of mines deployed by the Germans and how his minesweeper dislodged them, John also recalls both the build-up to D-Day and the actual event itself, before going on to talk about VE Day and his memories of the occasion. Like his peers, John shares his story with remarkable modesty, but it is easy to find behind his words the bravery, commitment and dedication with which he served, and which will form the heart of his legacy for many years to come.

John Parsler joined the Royal Navy at 15 and served on various ships until he was 18 when he joined the Naval Police, training in close protection and obtaining the Commando Green Beret. John was sent to Hong Kong soon afterwards but within a few months after the start of the Korean War, 41 (Independent) Commando was formed and he was drafted in and flown to a US base in Japan. From their base, John was in a troop of about 50 men assigned to a submarine that took part in raids on the Korean coastline to disrupt the enemy’s transportation supply lines. In November 1950 41 Commando joined a Untied Nations advance into North Korea working with the US Marine Corps and took part in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir under the British Command of Lt Colonel Drysdale. John was in a convoy of trucks as part of an operation to help relieve thousands of US troops encircled by the Chinese and as a result about half of 41 Commando were either killed or captured. 41 Commando continued operations until 1952 when it was disbanded and John returned to Hong Kong.

Nick joined the Navy as a boy in 1933 and served until wounded in action in 1945. After training he served on HMS Emerald, a coal-burning cruiser. On returning from the East Indies he transferred to HMS Southampton, another light cruiser. On this ship he saw action against the Italian navy in the Mediterranean. He then transferred to service on motor launches, patrolling the North Sea for a brief period before being assigned to a minesweeper, HMS Ardrossan. After time spent mine-sweeping parts of the English Channel and North Sea his flotilla escorted a convoy of merchant ships to the beaches on D-Day. The sea was rough and many of the troops being carried suffered from sea-sickness, as well as being attacked by the Luftwaffe, until protection from the RAF arrived. He found the screeching of the bombs as they dropped particularly distressing and he remembers it to this day. His ship then took part in the bombardment of German defensive positions. He watched the infantry climbing from ships into landing craft which took them to the beaches. Some troops drowned because they left the landing craft too soon, trying to wade ashore in the choppy sea. They were carrying a lot of kit and Nick still recalls the bodies floating by his ship, and this sometimes keeps him awake at night. During this period his ship was at action stations for three weeks, fighting German E-boats and aircraft. Every Armistice Day Nick remembers the details of these tumultuous events.