Doug Baldwin, from Caddington in Bedfordshire, landed in northern France aged 18 three weeks after D-Day in June 1944.
A Second World War veteran who fought in Normandy 80 years ago as a teenager before becoming a prisoner of war has said the key to a good life is freedom.
The now 98-year-old said he was “always lucky” and was concerned that future generations would rely heavily on getting what they want “by pressing a button”. He enlisted for army training at Colchester and kept in reserve before being sent to Normandy on a landing craft on June 25 1944, to serve with the 6th Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers.
Doug moved with his regiment through northern France after landing and recalled the chaotic and precarious nature of life on the front line. Instead of being killed, he was taken to a car with a gun pointed at his head before eventually being transported to Germany in a railway truck, reported as arriving at Stalag 12A on August 28.
He relocated to the Luton area for work and described himself as a “jack of all trades, master of none”, working in a variety of jobs including at Vauxhall and Luton Airport.
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