WW2: I saw action on D-Day as a 16-year-old stowaway

Don Duffield-Adby stowed away on a Bren gun carrier, landing on the beaches on D-Day as a 16-year-old cadet. His presence among the invasion force was only discovered by chance after several days in Normandy.

He had befriended the crew as they prepared near his home in Oxfordshire, and they hid him in the footwell when they set off. He went ashore with them and found himself as part of an anti-tank unit after their vehicle broke down on the beach.

When a senior officer came to congratulate the unit a few days later, he spotted Don and remarked that he looked very young. Don admitted to being only 16 and not even in the Army.

Keen to avoid a potential scandal, the Brigadier-General had him sent back to the UK on a hospital ship with a promise not to say anything about where he had been.

We Were There aims to collect as many first-hand accounts as possible by 2025, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, to preserve veterans' accounts for future generations.

The BBC is currently working on the project with a number of partners including the Normandy Memorial Trust and Royal British Legion. Some of the stories collected may be shared with our partners and used on BBC News platforms.

If you have a story to share, or know someone who does, please click here to tell us a little bit more or use one of the methods below.

Do you or someone you know have memories of World War Two? Please share these experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external.

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