Doncaster WW2 veteran, 100, relives D-Day memories for BBC Remembrance Sunday service

A 100-year-old World War Two veteran has shared his memories as part of this year’s BBC Remembrance Sunday commemorations.
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Lance Corporal Fred Adamson, a veteran of D-Day, featured on this morning’s scaled back commemorations, recalling his wartime memories.

L Cpl Adamson from Conisbrough was awarded the Legion of Honour medal three years ago for his efforts during World War Two.

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He was recognised by French authorities for his role in the Normandy landings during Operation Overlord in June 1944.

Fred Adamson shared his memories with the BBC.Fred Adamson shared his memories with the BBC.
Fred Adamson shared his memories with the BBC.

The 100-year-old still has vivid memories of fighting in Belgium and France.

He described jumping into neck-deep water when his company came ashore in the operation.

In an interview in 2017, he said: “We weren’t brave, we were frightened,

“But we went with it. We didn’t have a choice.”

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“When we landed, me being a bit short, the water was up to my neck.”

Tears were in his eyes when he spoke about the fellow soldiers who didn’t come home from the battlefields.

They included L Cpl Adamson’s great mate and fellow Conisbrough resident Ronnie McGrath, who was aged just 17 when he was killed.

L Cpl Adamson was just yards away when his friend died at Tessel Wood, France, on June 26, 1944.

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L Cpl Adamson served in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in the 1/4 Battalion, A Company.

There were just over 100 soldiers in the company, and 26 were killed in action.

And if it wasn’t for a couple of cigarette cases, L Cpl Adamson might not have made it back himself.

He was injured at Poppel, near the Belgium/Holland border, and was lucky to survive.

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He felt a blow on the left side of his chest, but thought nothing of it. He was more concerned about the blood in his boot from a calf wound.

It was only when he was asked by a priest at the advanced dressing station whether he had a case for some cigarettes that he realised he’d been hit in the chest, too.

He pulled out his cigarette cases to find they had taken the shrapnel blow.

The shrapnel had gone through one and bent the other, saving his life.

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L Cpl Adamson’s AB64 pay book - part of his official record of service - had also been damaged.

He was thankful he had the items in his pocket on that day.

“I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t have those in my left tunic pocket,” he said.

L Cpl Adamson returned to England briefly for treatment, and while there, married Elsie Robinson at Southend in 1945. She died in 2015.