Stan Ford suffered lifelong injuries when the ship was sunk by what is believed to have been a midget submarine off the Normandy coast.
D-Day veteran and ambassador for the British Normandy Memorial Stan Ford, 98, who served with the Royal Navy, meeting a pupil from Norfolk House School
Weeks later, Mr Ford, who is originally from Bristol, suffered lifelong injuries when the ship was sunk by what is believed to have been a midget submarine off the Normandy coast.On August 18 at 5.30am or 6am, Mr Ford was on duty when he said there was a “terrific explosion”. He added: “The explosion, it’s something else, the nearness you are to it, you don’t really hear it, it’s just a feeling of going through the air.“I was saved and I often ask the lord why me, when we lost 31 of the crew.”
Speaking ahead of the 80th anniversary of the landings, Mr Ford said he plans to travel to Normandy for the anniversary with the Spirit of Normandy Trust, saying he “wouldn’t miss it for the world”. Speaking of his thoughts looking back on the war, Mr Ford, who now lives in Bath, said “to take part, it was a necessary evil but it had to be done”.
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