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A veteran interview with

Eric Downing

Eric Downing provides a rare and often times emotional insight into the role of a Gunner on a Flail tank during the Second World War.

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About Eric Downing

Eric was conscripted into the army at age 18 and was assigned to the Royal Armoured Corps. He trained on a flail tank, which cleared mines, in readiness for the Normandy invasion. They landed on D-Day with his tank driving through shallow water, clearing mines as it went and supporting Canadian infantry. During the action he realised his shoulder was wet with blood. His commanding officer, above him in the tank, had been wounded. Eric helped him out of the tank and the officer was picked up by the medical corps. The remainder of the crew realised that their rations for five would now go further as there were only four of them! While mine clearing they drove very slowly with a good view of the carnage taking place during which his attitude was one of self-preservation and ‘Thank God it wasn’t me’.

Later, in Germany, he was ordered to machine gun farmhouses in case they housed enemy troops when a young mother holding a toddler ran out. She jumped into a trench and the child survived but the mother died after being hit by their gun fire. Eric is still upset by this as it was probably his gunnery and thinks about it now, speculating on how old the woman would be if she had lived. He served the entire campaign in western Europe and was later sent to Palestine during the Zionist insurrection. He considers himself to have had the luck of the proverbial cat with nine lives.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
David Mishan

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Home | Veterans | Eric Downing

A veteran interview with

Eric Downing

78174163

Eric Downing provides a rare and often times emotional insight into the role of a Gunner on a Flail tank during the Second World War.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Downing, Eric. A Veteran Interview with Eric Downing. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/eric-downing/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
APA Style:
Downing, E. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Eric Downing [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved April 20, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/eric-downing/
Chicago Style:
Downing, Eric. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Eric Downing. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed April 20, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/eric-downing/
Harvard Style:
Downing, E. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Eric Downing. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/eric-downing/ (Accessed: 20 April 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Downing, E. A Veteran Interview with Eric Downing [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 Apr 20]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/eric-downing/
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