When an 18-year-old Reg Blake arrived in Normandy on June 6, 1944 as part of the Allied effort to liberate Europe from the Nazis, fear was not on his horizon.

The Royal Marine landing craft coxwain had just sailed from Hayling Island to Sword Beach and was about to endure months of constant machine gun and artillery fire from hidden German gunners.

But despite the obstacles, the mine fields and concrete sea walls, the now 83-year-old sprightly Sutton man does not recall being frightened.

He said: “I can honestly say as an 18-year-old who had volunteered to be there as a 16-year-old that's what I wanted to do.

“I might jump once or twice if we had a narrow squeak but mostly I was just excited to be there, I wanted to help us live in peace.

“I was used to the sound of guns anyway being from London, bombs used to fall all over particularly at that time.”

Mr Blake, a former teenage volunteer for the Local Defence Volunteers, joined the Royal Marines in 1943 aged 17 and initially trained as an infantryman.

When he left with two other men – one from Wallington – he was the youngest in his regiment and full of conviction as they sailed for their part in the D-Day landings.

Together they would rescue survivors from liberty ship SS Derrycunihy, ferry wounded soldiers and German prisoners back to HMS Belfast and HMS Rodney and then transport supplies back to shore.

Living together in their 36ft long “floating shoebox” flat bottomed boat while at Sword Beach and later Arromanches, the men would become “closer than brothers”.

There were “a few scrapes”, but all three men would survive.

“We were good friends, we used to see each other on a regular basis until they died.”

Altogether 75,215 British and Canadian troops and 57,500 U.S. troops were landed on D-Day on Normandy beaches codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

There were about 4,300 British and Canadian casualties, and 6,000 U.S.

German casualties are between 4,000 and 9,000.

The assault eventually won back control of France.

Mr Blake, married to Claire, 72, and a proud father of three sons with 12 grandchildren and one great grandchild, went to work in the gold mines in Ghana and later owned his own business.

Last weekend he went back to France for the 65th commemorations.

He said: “I have a certain amount of sadness when I go back, there are a few moments when I visit the cemeteries.

“But by and large I have got to the point where I can take it in my stride.”

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