Legendary D-Day veteran, 103, vows he 'would do it all again' to protect Britain
Hero D-Day soldier John Duke, 103, has vowed to do it "all again" to protect the country he loves as he saluted his fallen brothers in arms.
Exactly 80 years ago this fearless warrior landed on Gold Beach as all around him comrades fell amid a hail of gunfire.
Today he is one of the last men standing.
And as one of Britain’s oldest D-Day veterans he marked the momentous milestone by paying his own solemn tribute to the 22,442 brothers in arms who gave their lives in the mighty battle for freedom.
John was 23 and serving with the Reconnaissance Corps when he washed ashore amid scenes of pandemonium and slaughter which have left an indelible and lifelong mark.
Eight decades after their finest hour the highly-decorated Normandy braveheart held his own two-minute silence to honour those who perished during the greatest air, sea and land operation in military history.
Head bowed, he said: “I feel very lucky. I was always thinking, ‘if I am going to get it, please let it be quick’. I was thinking about it all the time, constantly. I never expected to survive it - and I never expected to live so long.”
Operation Overlord was the largest and most complex operation by the Western Allies of the Second World War.
An enormous force was assembled to storm the heavily fortified Normandy coast - known as the Atlantic Wall - as part of an audacious assault to blast Nazi-held France and Europe.
D-Day - the first stage of the invasion - saw 156,000 soldiers, 7,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft launch a raid on five beaches codenamed Gold, Sword, Juno, Omaha and Utah.
Soldiers like John, many of them teenagers leaving Britain for the first time, raced into the unknown as hellfire and fury was unleashed from machine-gun posts lining the cliffs of Normandy.
Despite facing overwhelming firepower the bravehearts leapt off landing craft and into the swell before hauling themselves, burdened with equipment and supplies, along blood-splattered golden sand and scampering up steep hillsides to overrun defence posts.
It was a day that shaped history forever.
As part of the Recce Corps John’s daring job was to provide intelligence for advancing infantry divisions and was fraught with danger.
JOHN DUKE - IN HIS OWN WORDS
In 1933 when Hitler led the rise of Nazism you could see that ultimately his intention was to build a German empire that would include all of Europe including Great Britain.
D-Day, the greatest invasion in history, was necessary to stop the German takeover of Europe.
After fighting in the army through the battle of Normandy and seeing action in Belgium, Holland and Germany itself you could see first-hand the death and destruction caused by aggression from one state to others in its lust for power.
This had to be stopped at all costs.
Now 80 years on, and at the age of 103 and as a veteran who was lucky to come through it unscathed, I can only look back and think of the 22,442 brave comrades who gave their lives for us to enjoy the freedoms that we have to this day. We should always honour them and the sacrifice they made for us.
The greatest tragedy today is that humanity has not learned the lessons of time. There is now another war in Europe which has been waged in similar circumstances to 1939.
The Second World War came at a terrible cost in military and civilian lives and we hoped that when the war ended we would never be involved in such conflicts again.
But we have had many actions involving British personnel since and some still ongoing where we have pledged help for those in need.
War experiences are shocking and unbelievable but should not be forgotten.
The younger generation must be told that war consists of killing people in an unnatural way, it’s horrible, ghastly and a nightmare to be involved in.
I sincerely hope that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will never be involved in any wartime engagements.
The Second World War was a necessary evil which I am proud to have played a part in.
I can only hope that future generations will benefit from a more peaceful international existence.
However, the country should always be prepared, and indeed be able, to defend itself and our allies from unprovoked aggression.
Yet in a display of courage and defiance unique to the Greatest Generation, he said: “It turned boys into men. I don’t suppose you realise just how valuable life is until you reach my age. "Eighty years doesn’t seem possible, but the memories are still so vivid.
“I sometimes think it’s all planned. I am a believer and I do say prayers. Some of my comrades were standing next to me one minute...and the next they were gone.
“It wasn’t pleasant but would I do it all again? Of course I would.”
D-Day was only the start for John. He fought in Caen, a city that took a bloody six-week battle to capture and liberate, throughout Normandy, at the Battle of the Bulge in The Ardenne and Nijmegen, Holland. By the end of the war had reached the Baltic coast of Germany. It was January 1946 before he returned home.
Like the warriors he served alongside, John was unaware of the task that awaited him on that day of destiny but saw it as a job that had to be done.
He signed up with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, the same as his father John had done years earlier. John Senior fought at The Somme during the First World War and died on his 95th birthday. His brother Harry, John Junior’s uncle, was killed in action in 1916 aged just 21. His body was never found and the family has no grave at which to mourn.
He sailed across the Channel on a steamer, starting a frenzied 19-months of action on the European mainland.
Pride of place in the collection of gleaming medals that proudly adorn his chest is the Legion D'Honneur, France’s highest distinction for bravery, which was awarded to him in 2017.
He was personally thanked for his heroism by French President Emmanuel Macron during commemorations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, singled out for distinguished service and told: “France will never forget your valour and that of all of those who fought alongside you to liberate it.”
Nearly 25,000 men landed on Gold beach on D-Day with the objective of capturing the town of Bayeux and the Caen-Bayeux road, and to link up with the Americans at Omaha.
High winds caused the tide to rise more quickly than expected, concealing the beach obstacles underwater. By the end of the day British troops had advanced about six miles inland and joined with troops from the Canadian 3rd Division, who had landed on Juno Beach to the east.
Croydon-born John, who still lives independently, was born just three years after the end of the First World War when Lloyd George was Prime Minister.
He married Rosaleen in 1949, but has been widowed since her death on Christmas Day in 2015. He has children Timothy, Christopher, Richard and Felicity, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Continuing a life of dedication, duty, and sacrifice John joined The Met after the war and gave 30 unblemished years’ service as a police officer.
He said: “It was an honour and a privilege to serve the British Army during the liberation of France and [those who served] would do it all again, despite the huge personal sacrifices.
“The things you had to do, you just did. It was hard, it was very dangerous, but we would all do it again.”
