Remembrance Day: World War Two battle was like 'hell on earth'

Life on the front line during World War Two was like "hell on earth", recalls veteran Walter Nixon.

Mr Nixon, 99, from East Bergholt in Suffolk, was 17 years old when the conflict started in 1939 and two years later he enrolled into the army.

After six weeks' basic training in King's Lynn, Norfolk, he joined the 81st Anti Tank Regiment and went on to fight in Africa and during the Battle of Anzio in Italy.

"It was trench warfare, you were living in a hole or in a trench most of time," he said.

Walter Nixon died on 21 April 2024. He was 101.

Video by Stuart Howells

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.

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