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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Paul Newton

RARE PHOTOS: Cecil newton obituary | Rare Historical Photos

Cecil Newton, bottom left, with fellow members of 4th Troop B squadron in Brunssum, the Netherlands, before their advance into Germany in November 1944
Cecil Newton, bottom left, with fellow members of 4th Troop B squadron in Brunssum, the Netherlands, before their advance into Germany in November 1944 Photograph: none

My father, Cecil Newton, was one of the last surviving British Army Sherman amphibious tank soldiers who landed in Normandy in the first assault on D-day, 6 June 1944.

Two years previously, he had joined the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards as a gun loader, training in the innovative and top-secret Duplex Drive (DD) “swimming” tanks. On 3 June 1944, they sailed from Lepe Beach in Hampshire for France. Wading ashore on Gold Beach at dawn, they attacked the target blockhouse and the crew surrendered.

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