Ted was a member of the Royal Army Service Corp attached to the 6th Airborne division. Their role was to transport key Allied goods including food, ammunition and medical supplies. 

His corps were part of the Normandy campaign, but didn’t know where they were going until they arrived and Ted climbed up the ship to see that they were surrounded by battleships firing at the beach. After the beach had been cleared, they began to unload. In the process of moving lorries to a landing craft, one of the lorries was dropped and killed a man beneath it, which is the only man he remembers losing. 

After landing, his lorry took a wrong turn which resulted in them ending up in the middle of some German troops. Luckily, they managed to turn around and get their supplies safely to Pegasus Bridge, where the troops were badly in need of ammunition. At Pegasus Bridge, Major Howard bought him a drink of calvados, the first time Ted had ever drank. Ted continued transporting supplies from Arromanche to Pegasus for the next few months. 

The Major of his division received the Military Cross for this role during the Normandy campaign, but when he received it he gathered all the men and said ‘This medal doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to all of you!’, a memory that has stuck with Ted.

Ted’s story reflects the vital role that the Service Corp played in the war and especially in the Normandy campaign, and the dangerous situations they could face.