D-Day 80 Anniversary - Thursday 6 June 2024

Pte John Taylor. Here is his story, as told by his Grandson James Taylor:

I would like to nominate my Grandad, John Taylor for a WW2 veteran plaque on the Telford Veterans Trail. John grew up in Wolverhampton, he joined the Territorial Army (South Stafford Regiment) on 2 May 1939, he would later transfer to the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) and serve throughout the war until 6 May 1946. He enlisted at age 18, which was 4 months before the start of the Second World War.

During his time in service my Grandad, John saw service in North Africa (Egypt), Italy, and then onto Germany as part of the BOAR, this is where he finished his Army career as a Private in 1946.

After the war John married my Grandmother - Gwyneth, they lived in Wedgewood Crescent, Ketley, Telford - until his death in 1982. They had 7 children (2 of which sadly passed young), his other five children still live in Telford, and although I have not told them I am nominating John, I know they would love to have a plaque to remember their dad and his service in Telford.

Grandad John is one (very important) part of the veteran story of the Taylor Family, which is closely linked to Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford. My Great Grandad and Great, Great Uncle both served in the South Staffordshire Regiment in First World War, the great, great uncle of which was sadly killed during the Somme. And more recently, John's son (my uncle) Anthony Taylor served in the TA for many years and finished his TA career as Company Sergeant Major of B Company 5th Battalion Light Infantry (Shropshire Light Infantry) in Wellington, Telford. I am also an Army Reservist, and have been a Trooper at D Squadron (Shropshire Yeomanry) The Royal Yeomanry in Dawley Bank for 5 years.

Able Seaman Ken Lutman, in his own words:

I joined the Royal Navy in 1943 and the first clue that my ship, the American-built lease-lend HMS Lawford, was to be involved in the D-Day invasion came when it was refitted as a headquarters ship, with beefed-up communications, at Portsmouth.

Everybody was massed in Portsmouth, and all along the coast, round the Isle of Wight and in the Solent. There were hundreds and hundreds of ships, all just waiting. We knew something was going to happen. We took all these Canadian soldiers aboard. You could not move for soldiers, all on the upper deck and lower deck. Then this great armada began to cross the Channel.

On reaching the French coast on D-Day, landing craft came to the ship and took off the Canadian troops and took them ashore at Juno beach. We were right by HMS Belfast and she was the first one to open fire with her big guns, shelling the French coast. I remember opening fire myself on a handful of German aircraft that day. Having unloaded the troops, HMS Lawford patrolled the coast and the following day took aboard wounded troops and transferred them to a hospital ship.

At the time of D-Day I was a 19-year-old Ordinary Seaman. My action station was manning the port side Oerlikon gun, abaft the funnel. On the day HMS Lawford was hit by a German missile, I was asleep and the next thing I woke up and I was in the water. I never heard a thing, I just woke up and I was in the water. I could see the ship going down with a broken back. I thought, I've got to get away from here? I'm going to get sucked down. As a result of this I sustained a fractured skull.

Last updated: 23/05/2024 10:23