Ken provides a compelling account of his volatile journey through Europe with the 7th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment during World War II.

Leaving an unhappy childhood, Ken received his moment of destiny after enlisting into the Royal Tank Regiment at sixteen. He trained as a driver/operator in the 7th Tanks before transporting to Normandy, 2-3 days after the D-day landings; his first taste of luck.

Landing on seized beaches, six tanks were offloaded from an LCT. Despite being in the Churchill Regiment, Ken had the misfortune of operating inside a Stuart, a lightly armoured tank which the Germans could easily damage. Adding to the mania, it wasn’t long before many officers were replaced for various reasons. This included the promotion of his Captain, resulting in Ken, the Troop Leader’s operator, to take up the reins.

Following a few gruelling battles, the crew encountered some Canadian troops hammering at the Germans with a field full of 7.2-inch Howitzers. It was decided for the regiment to rest around their position while struggling to sleep against the constant banging of their assault. However, this site would also prove fateful, as dusk approached, Ken beheld a German aircraft, releasing a calamitous rain of bombs from above.

The scenes of destruction and pain remained evocative in his memory, from flaming petrol proliferating their surroundings to the agonising screams of their gunner, tragically missing much from the waist down in his failed attempt to remain hidden underneath one of the tanks. Despite the catastrophe, Ken managed to survive and was later sent to a holding camp for medical attention; considering himself fortunate once more. Eventually, he rejoined the 7th Tanks and continued his service.

He recalls how people used to call tanks ‘metal coffins’ due to the number of troops who died inside them but Ken saw differently. Protection was better than no protection and despite the setbacks, he remembers the occasions when German snipers would attack and was thankful to be in a tank.

Even among scorched earth, Ken was hardy throughout and embraced his time in the army, describing it as a big adventure. His story captures the bravery demonstrated by those who served in the Royal Tank Regiment as well as the fortunes and misfortunes one faces in a landscape afflicted by war.