Sheffield WWII hero who described D-Day as 'a bloody nightmare' dies aged 96
Bert Holmshaw, from Jordanthorpe, was just 19 when his landing vessel moored at Sword Beach barely two hours into D-Day.
But, just as the lads were about to disembark, the craft was attacked by Nazi fighter bombers with machine guns and bombs.
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Hide AdHe remembered D-Day as ‘a bloody nightmare’ and returned to Normandy many times to pay tribute to the friends he lost.
“My memory of D-Day is of the shells raining down, the sand erupting all around, and burning tanks and bodies everywhere,” he told The Star for the 70th anniversary in 2014.
“We saw bodies bobbing in the sea, washed up on the shore, and the beach littered with broken down trucks.”
Bert served in the 3rd British Infantry Division and his Landing Ship Tank had been scheduled to arrive for the assault on Sword Beach at H+2 Hours – 9.25am.
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Hide Ad“But due to bad weather we were laid off on the Isle of Wight longer than expected,” Bert remembered.