Lessons in war (and peace) from the heroes of D-Day
BRITAIN must not forget the lessons of the Second World War if it wants to avoid another one, Normandy veterans warned yesterday.
‘If you want peace, prepare for war,’ said Mervyn Kersch, 98, who took part in the liberation of France in June 1944.
He added: ‘There’s no point just wagging a finger at Russia. We have to spend more on armaments and avoid appeasement.’
Mr Kersch was part of a group of nine Normandy veterans who gathered in London to announce plans for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in June. They had also come to lend their support to the Winston Churchill Education Centre, which is nearing completion, alongside the new Normandy Memorial above Gold Beach at Ver-sur-Mer.
Built with the support of generous Daily Mail readers, the memorial honours all 22,422 servicemen and women who lost their lives while under British command during the threemonth Battle of Normandy.
Creating a national memorial had been the dying wish of so many veterans.
Following its opening in 2021, the education centre remains the priority for the dwindling band of those who were there in 1944. A group of schoolchildren were invited to meet them yesterday at London’s Union Jack Club.
Asked what it had been like to be part of a tank crew in Normandy, Richard Aldred, 99, who served in 7th Armoured Division driving a Cromwell tank, replied: ‘You all stick together like glue and the main thing is: “How soon can I have a cup of tea and a bully beef sandwich?”’
As all the veterans were quick to point out, there is no point erecting a memorial to the fallen if future generations do not learn why it is there. ‘It’s a beautiful memorial and we can’t wait to see that education centre opened,’ said Mr Kersch, who arrived in Normandy with the Royal Army Service Corps.
Of the ten men in his unit’s advance party, nine were killed when their ship was torpedoed early on D-Day.
Mr Kersch fought right across Europe and into Germany where he remembers meeting concentration camp survivors at Belsen.
The veterans were also guests of honour at last night’s ‘Bon Voyage’ dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club, attended by the Duke of Gloucester. It was organised by the Normandy Memorial Trust and by the Spirit of Normandy Trust which will be taking several veterans back to France in June.
While there is no official figure for those who served in the liberation, and any Normandy veteran would now need to be at least 98, forces charities estimate that there are still several dozen of them in Britain alone.