D-Day veteran recalls being among first to land

On 6 June 1944 Harry Howorth landed at Sword Beach in Normandy

A soldier who was among the first wave to arrive at Sword Beach on D-Day has recalled how he avoided death on a number of occasions.

Harry Howorth, who served with the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, shared his experiences with the Blind Veterans UK charity before he died on 17 April, aged 102.

The charity has been telling the stories of servicemen it has helped on the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord.

Mr Howarth was 21 at the time of the invasion and said: "You never forget. I can even see some of the faces of my comrades who didn't make it."

He served as a signaller and said his memory of the landings was that it had been like "another training exercise" until he saw a large hole blown in side of the next ship.

"From then on, I realised this was for real," he said.

"When the hole came, I didn't hear any noise but a few seconds after, there was big noise. I don't think many survived."

Harry Howorth was 21 when he took part in the landings

Mr Howorth, who lived in Southport, was the third to disembark from his ship onto Sword Beach.

He said he saw an officer and his assistant go down the ramp first, but it broke when he set foot on it, dropping into the water.

He said he was "carrying too much in the way of arms to get out", of the water, which had become "all twisted, knotted", but fortunately someone pulled him out of the water.

He, and most of his comrades got off the beach unharmed, but he said soon after "a German tank swept the beach so there were a lot killed."

Harry Howorth visited Normandy one final time in April

Mr Howorth said: "One thing that does stand out in my mind from D-Day was, last thing at night I’d finished digging the slit trench with a comrade and the Colonel came over and said: 'Well done'.

"The next morning, he was dead."

Later, he said he remembered being strafed by a German plane on the road to Caen.

He said: "Not one bullet came near me. I thought to myself: 'I'm invincible that I survived that.'

"I was actually told off afterwards for not firing back."

Harry Howorth insisted "I am no hero"

On 6 June 1944, 150,000 troops invaded France and just weeks before he died Mr Howorth visited Normandy to pay his respects to all those who lost their lives.

Blind Veterans UK said it wanted to tell his story, and those of others it has helped on the anniversary of the invasion.

It had supported him with a talking watch and a device to scan text and read it aloud, after he lost his sight.

It said it hoped to provide similar help to other veterans.