'I found myself in a war I hadn’t understood'

Lt Richard Willis painted a self portrait of his time in uniform

A 100-year-old veteran who was injured during the D-Day landings said he had found himself "in a war which I hadn’t understood".

Lt Richard Willis, from Wellington in Somerset, was 20 years old when he served as second in command on a landing craft at Utah Beach, transporting US tanks and soldiers to Normandy for Operation Overlord.

On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, he said his "real and frightening" experiences made reflecting on the conflict something he would "rather do without".

"The lives that were lost were innocent. They weren’t there to fight a dangerous war, they just got into it, like me," he added.

Lt Willis was injured during the D-Day landings

Some of his worst memories include the time he witnessed a ship being "blown apart", as well as suffering injuries when his leg was hit by shrapnel during the landings.

A photograph was taken of Lt Willis in the aftermath, showing him being carried away on a stretcher.

It appeared in a national newspaper in the UK, which is how his family found out that he was still alive.

"They hadn’t really been aware of where he was or what he was doing," his daughter Tilly said.

"Seeing a picture of him on a stretcher obviously must have been a delight for them to know that he was going to be alright."

Lt Willis turned his D-Day memories into artwork

The French government awarded Lt Willis its highest national decoration, the Legion d'Honneur, for his service.

Later in life, Lt Willis turned his D-Day memories into paintings depicting what happened 80 years ago.

Over the years his pacifist beliefs have grown stronger and he said he feels "scared" to still be seeing "more and more wars being invented".

"We need to stop this pretend entertainment - it isn’t entertainment at all.

"It’s always death."