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Nick-Rumble

A veteran interview with

Nick Rumble

Nick Rumble was aboard a Merchant Navy Ship during the invasion and could see all the Allied traffic on the beach

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About Nick Rumble

Spurred by the looming threat of D-Day, Nick Rumble married in May 1944, just one month before he would find himself amidst the chaos of the invasion.   

On board the Anthony Enright, a Merchant Navy ship, Nick and his crew set sail on the 5th of June in total darkness. As dawn broke over Normandy, the sight of Allied traffic was unmissable, from jeeps to fellow troops, as was the unfortunate display of dead bodies floating in the water. 

Although he wasn’t frightened, Nick recalls his time in Normandy as being very tense. As a Royal Navy gunner, he had the responsibility of shooting down enemy crafts, having to concentrate through the intense noise of surrounding gunfire from other much bigger and more powerful Naval ships. 

Using an Oerlikon gun, Nick’s first attempt at shooting down an enemy plane seemed successful, much to the delight of his fellow crew members. His victory, however, was short-lived, after discovering that he had only managed to shoot down a balloon on the side of another ship. 

Credits

Interviewed by:
Brig. C Elderton
Reviewed by:
Toby Boddy

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | Nick Rumble

A veteran interview with

Nick Rumble

Nick-Rumble

Nick Rumble was aboard a Merchant Navy Ship during the invasion and could see all the Allied traffic on the beach

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Rumble, Nick. A Veteran Interview with Nick Rumble. Interview by Brig. C Elderton. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/nick-rumble/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
APA Style:
Rumble, N. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Nick Rumble [Interview by Brig. C Elderton]. Legasee. Retrieved November 10, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/nick-rumble/
Chicago Style:
Rumble, Nick. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Nick Rumble. Interview by Brig. C Elderton. Legasee. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/nick-rumble/
Harvard Style:
Rumble, N. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Nick Rumble. [Interviewed by Brig. C Elderton]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/nick-rumble/ (Accessed: 10 November 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Rumble, N. A Veteran Interview with Nick Rumble [Internet]. Interview by B. Elderton. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 Nov 10]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/nick-rumble/
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