Ted Thurston, aged 83, who lives near the New Forest, was a sniper with the 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, in the battle for Normandy. He is now chairman of New Forest Veterans of Normandy. These are his words...
“I was 17 when I joined the Army in 1943 and found myself in Scotland alongside soldiers from Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester, quite a colourful bunch I can tell you.
“During my training I was picked out on the rifle range as being a good shot so I became one of the battalion’s snipers.
“The sniper is one of the most hated and feared men on the battlefield, his presence could have a severe mental effect on the enemy and he could bring an attack to a complete standstill.
“A sniper made sure he was not captured wearing his specialist kit and carrying a weapon as few were given the opportunity to surrender by the enemy.
“I crossed the Channel on an infantry landing craft and we were given a new invention to use on the trip. It was a can of soup with a special ring which, when you pulled it, would heat the liquid. The only trouble was the can gave off thick clouds of smoke so I went out on deck and lashed myself to a ladder for the crossing.
“We waded ashore and landed on Juno beach soaked to the skin. It was D-Day plus seven and once off the beach we undertook a 14-mile forced march to an area close to Carpiquet airfield where we joined up with Canadian soldiers.
“The first thing we heard was that German SS troops were in the area and that they had crucified one of our soldiers. It probably was only a rumour but you can imagine it went round the battalion like wildfire.
“We had not really been trained to deal with Normandy’s countryside which was full of small fields, thick hedges and narrow lanes which limited our visibility.
“Later we moved on but came across German Tiger and Panther tanks dug in together with a force of Panzergrenadiers.
“As we took cover in the orchards we came under horrific artillery and mortar attack which lasted for nine hours. Under the cover of darkness wounded soldiers, who feigned dead amongst the nearby cornfields were able to scramble back to our lines.
“By the time the war ended I was in Germany near the Baltic. Of the original 800 men in our rifle companies only 20 of us remained who had not been injured or killed.’’
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