Leon Gautier joined the French navy in 1940 to fight against the German invasion. He retreated to England, where he would join the Free French and serve as a gunner on both battleships and submarines (The Surcouf). In 1941 he joined the French Marines and served all over Africa and the Middle East. It was in Africa that Leon volunteered for the commandos. He was shipped to Scotland, where he undertook the brutal training regime to become a ‘Beret Vert’. When he had completed his training, Leon travelled down to Portsmouth, where, on 5^th June 1944 he was sent to Normandy for the D-Day invasion. Leon provides a vividly accurate first-hand account of 78 straight days (without relief) on the Normandy front lines. He recounts the sights and sounds of the initial landing at Ouistreham, life on the front lines in the early days of the invasion and repelling the German counterattack at Amfreville. Leon served until August 1944, when he was excited to return to the U.K. and be reunited with his wife Dorothy. It is a truly remarkable interview that reinforces the important role that the Free French Commandos played in the D-Day invasion.

Ronald Arnold joined the Home Guard in 1940 aged 16, before joining the regular army in 1942 (Middlesex Regiment) and serving in Normandy. As a wartime teenager, he felt a strong sense of duty and urgency, with most people somehow contributing to the war effort. He provides a fascinating insight into wartime Britain: working as a machinist by day, basic Home Guard training from First World War veterans, learning to use sticky bombs, standing guard at night and vigilance against German parachutists. His reminiscences on wartime Britain continue after he joined the army: the harshness of the conditions, training exercises across the countryside, navigating through Southern England a dispatch rider with minimal resources and relying on army units for fuel and food. His unit landed in Normandy later in June as a support unit for 43rd Wessex Brigade. He recalls the ever-present fear of enemy artillery and nebelwerfer rockets, which had a significant psychological impact. After being injured, he was evacuated for medical treatment and struggled with feelings of guilt for leaving his comrades.