Grandfather of Vicky McClure recalls D-Day role

Vicky McClure said her grandfather Ralph had only recently spoken of his war years

The grandfather of actor Vicky McClure has described his part in the D-Day invasion as "a job to be done".

The 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, where US, British and Canadian troops landed in occupied Europe, will be marked on Thursday.

Ralph McClure, now 97, served in the Royal Navy, ferrying tanks and heavy equipment to the beaches.

Recalling how he had to take cover when his landing craft was hit by rifle fire, he said: "These are the bits of the landing you don't forget".

Ralph McClure was 17 when he joined the navy and took part in the landings

Nottingham-born McClure, best known for her role in police thriller Line of Duty - said her grandfather only started to speak about his experiences in recent years.

She said: "He was just my granddad, who gave you a mint humbug when you walked in and then talked about football."

But Ralph played a crucial part in the operation, as a signaller on a landing craft tank - which took armoured transport right on to the beaches.

They were close enough to come under small arms fire from rifles and machine guns.

Ralph McClure was on board a landing craft which delivered armoured vehicles to the beaches

He said: "I was going down and I could hear ‘Ping! Ping! Ping!’ and I thought ‘that must be snipers!’

“They had German snipers in the houses and I just dropped and threw myself into where the tanks had been where they couldn’t get you.

“These are the bits of the landing you don’t forget.”

The navy also provided protection from enemy aircraft, with hundreds of guns pointing to the sky.

It was a display which reminded Ralph of Nottingham's long running annual fair.

Official post cards were the only way servicemen were permitted to contact families after the landings

He said: “It was like Goose Fair, with all the ships firing their [guns] and they were all going up.

"When you loaded the guns the sixth bullet was a tracer and you can see the tracers going up, it was quite a sight."

Vicki McClure said the passage of time meant experiences like her grandfather's were more valuable than ever.

"It is so important to keep this history really close and make sure the kids know about it," she said.

“It’s so important that people like my grandad are able to recall it and I’m sure there are many veterans who felt unable or didn’t want to do that.

“So any kind of information we can have that comes in about that history is important.”

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.