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First in, last out

Harold Cunliffe
16/ 6/2005

AN UNSUNG hero who stormed the beach at Normandy during the Second World War is the subject of this week's Bygone Days.

Middleton man, Fred Simpson, along with countless others fought for their lives and for our freedom in the 1939-45 war.

The grandfather of five who calls himself, "No hero", grew up in Alkrington and joined the army in 1942, being stationed at Westcliffe-On-Sea.

He applied for the Royal Naval Commandos soon after and was accepted into the special services. Following a difficult training period in Scotland which consisted of assault courses, swimming fully clothed, scaling down walls and completing midnight marches, Fred was prepared to do battle.

Kitted out in khaki and given a rifle, Fred was now part of Section T3.

When the invasion order for France came, Fred and his team embarked for the Normandy Coast which was overrun with Germans determined to stop them.

Standing on a beach with bullets flying past their ears, the men swept the land for mines while others tried to take the beach from the enemy.

Fred was then given the dangerous job of holding a lamp to guide the landing crafts on to the beach, which he now says was just part of the job.

He said: "I am no hero, we went in to do a job and got on with it. We had been trained, we knew what to expect, training in Scotland toughens you up."

When Fred returned home from the War he married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Boardman, whose wedding dress was made from an American silk parachute which was a lasting reminder of how the War affected them all.

Click on the pictures below to read all about them ...