Prior to enlisting in 1942, Terry lived through the Birmingham Blitz. The Army wasn’t his first choice but fear of heights ruled out the RAF and he definitely didn’t want to work as a stoker in the Navy so the Army it was, where Terry became trained in a new weapon, the Flail Tank.

The Flail Tank took a lot of getting used to. The visibility was poor and this was a big issue when Terry landed on Juno beach. Another problem was the tank chains being blown off by mines. Eventually, the tank became stranded and as Terry sought cover he stood on a mine. Thankfully, the mine was defective but no sooner had he survived this scrape when he encountered an anti-tank mine, again, somehow remaining unhurt. While repairing the tanks, Terry’s group suffered heavy losses in a German attack. From that point on the tank crews were under manned and Terry became a gunner.

Terry shares his recollections of moving through France including an attack on an underground radar station, the Battle of Le Havre, the fight to take Carpiquet and how he thinks he made it through thanks to the cool, calm nature of his driver, Ben. Terry also recollects a local family they would spend time with, sharing food, singing songs and looking out for each other. Terry went back about 10 years ago and was able to find one of the children, now a woman in her fifties. Terry ended the war in Germany then spent 12 months in Palestine.