Joe's story: Defending the Mulberry harbour
Joe was 19 when his ship was sent to protect the Mulberry harbour just off Omaha beach. These floating bases, used to defend supply ships and store food and ammunition, were critical to the success of D-Day.
Joe sadly passed away in July 2024 after he had shared his story with us.
"When we got to the North Sea, we turned right. And I’m going in my head, 'We’re going south now, towards the Channel. What’s going on?' They won’t tell you anything, you know. So anyway, I just went to bed.
"I woke up in the morning, my usual time about 6 o’clock, got up on deck. And I was absolutely flabbergasted. Wherever I looked, there were ships of all description. Hospital ships, war ships, merchant ships. I was absolutely gobsmacked.
"I looked on the upper deck and there was a guy walking along. I said 'What’s going on? What’s all this lot?' He said one word and it sent the fear of God up my spine: 'Invasion.'"
Joe witnessed the horror at Omaha beach.
"Out of the five [landing beaches], four of them were pretty successful getting ashore. But the fifth one, Omaha... it was a slaughterhouse. And, of course, we would have to be there.
"We couldn't do a thing for them, those poor devils from America. You know, in the American anthem, the words are ‘home of the brave…’. Those men were the bravest of the brave. When they landed off the ship, they got in the landing craft and went ashore with just a rifle, against a machine gun nest.
"The reason they couldn't hit these pill boxes was the low cloud. They couldn't see. They dropped their bombs five miles inland. There was many a horse and cow got blown up."
The American soldiers slept on Joe's ship.
"After the first day, what was left of them came back. They’d sent about 10 or 20 camp beds to our ship and we put them out on the upper deck, all the way round, for these guys to come back and sleep all night and go off again the next day.
"One of the Americans said to me, ‘It's absolute slaughter out there.’ As soon as the doors opened, the machine guns had gone off. Hardly any of them got out of the landing craft alive. We were really upset about that.
"There was nothing we could do, only make them comfortable, give them a meal when they came on board. After two or three weeks they got off... And then they got off the shore and onto the land and they carried on."
"A lot of good men must have died that day."
"I’ll never forget it. 6th June. I’ll never forget it. What a waste of life. That’s war."
When, later in life, Joe was registered as blind, he tried to protest.
The doctor said, "Can you read?" Joe said, "no." He said, "Can you write?” and Joe said no. "Can you watch television?" the doctor asked. He said no.
He used his cane regularly and loved the scanner he had been given. He said: "It’s brilliant. The mail, that’s the main thing. I really missed reading the mail."
You can help more veterans like Joe.
Joe served on many different ships across the world during the Second World War. His dedication to his country has never faltered. We all owe it to him to make sure he has the support and equipment he needs to stay safe and happy.
Blind veterans need your support to enjoy their lives again.
"I felt I didn’t deserve to get a Legion of Honour medal. I thought the men who suffered and got killed should have got it, not me. But a family member said, 'Without the small cogs, the big machine’s no good.'"
And finally... the story of Joe's Navy nickname
Joe had just met the man who would become the best friend he ever had and the two were boarding HMS Ryde for the first time. He climbed down the ladder first and a voice from within said "Oi, you, come here. What’s your name?"
Joe said, "Joe". He said "Joe? Joe?! We’ve never had a Joe in the Navy. No way, no way. Right from now on, you’re called Tosh. Nobody will ever call you anything else ever but Tosh. That’s your name."
Joe said, "right." He said, "Tell your mate to come down." Joe told him to come down. He was also asked his name and replied, "Sidney Malcolm." The officer said, "Oh my God, it gets worse, it gets worse! Sidney Malcolm?! Good grief. Right. No choice, you’re Tosh. You’re Tosh as well. That’s your bunk up there. Now sod off and leave us to have a game of crib. Get lost." And that, says Joe, was their introduction to their names.
From that day on, they only referred to each other by the name Tosh.
Read more
Bob's story: Shooting down the enemy
As a gunner on merchant ships, Bob's job on D-Day was to protect American soldiers on their way to Normandy.
Thomas' story: Serving on a floating bomb
Thomas sailed on a huge landing barge oiler refuelling boats around the beaches - and saw some terrible sights.
George's story: Witnessing the slaughter
As a gunner defending the convoy, George remembers the horror as the Americans he escorted tried to land.
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