Known fondly as ‘Bunts’ to his friends, after the Naval slang for bunting, David Jefferies had always dreamed of joining the Royal Marine Marching Band. Due to increasing hostilities, he was denied entry in a devastating blow, but didn’t let the news stop him from pursuing a job in the armed forces.  Upon discovering that the Navy was short of signalmen, David decided to concentrate on his knowledge of semaphore and Morse code. He took quickly to life as a signalman and decided to try his luck in the Navy, where he found himself aboard HMS Foudroyant, at the time the oldest warship afloat.  In 1944, as part of D-Day preparations, David joined a crew of 11 and experienced his first journey on board a Landing Craft Tank. Arriving at Gold Beach, Normandy, the role of David’s crew was to provide assistance up and down the coast; despite being a young man at the time, he kept his calm throughout the invasion, even when his craft was hit by an 88, which he considered to be nothing more than a temporary shakeup.  During D-Day, death didn’t occur solely as a result of gunfire. Although David and his crew were lucky, other men were sadly lost amidst the chaos of the operation. 

Ted Baker joined the navy in January 1942. After basic training at Skegness and qualifying as a telegraphist, he deployed on patrol craft to Halifax, Nova Scotia. There, he joined a T-Class trawler for local defence, engaging in anti-submarine patrols and mine sweeping. He returned to Europe in time to take part in the D-Day landings, escorting convoys from Wales and Plymouth. After commissioning, he was on the way to the Far East when the war ended, so was subsequently involved in the repatriation of POWs from Hong Kong. Reflecting on his naval service, Ted valued comradeship, especially on smaller ships, and recalled vivid memories of working with Canadian and Newfoundland seamen, especially one for whom he had to correspond with his girlfriend because he could not write. Post D-Day, Ted's ship collected bodies from Omaha beachhead, a grim task that left lasting impressions. The noise from naval barrages was overwhelming. While a positive experience, like most veterans, he wishes it had never happened.

Bernard Howell joined the Royal Navy at 16 and underwent four weeks of training at Portsmouth barracks. He was then drafted to HMS Faulknor, a battle destroyer, where he participated in several convoys to Iceland, Russia, and the Mediterranean. The ship was later recalled to England and anchored off the Isle of Wight, awaiting further orders. On June 4th, they were directed to Juno Beach, but due to rough weather in the channel, they were recalled several times. Eventually, they were sent back out with the Canadians, with orders to shoot at anything that moved. By lunchtime, they had exhausted their ammunition firing at a small French town and returned to Portsmouth to resupply. After picking up General Montgomery, they headed back to Normandy but ran aground too close to the shore. They were rescued by two American Landing Crafts and remained in constant combat for another three weeks. Bernard, having been prepared by his time in the Russian convoys, faced this combat without fear.