Bexhill veteran commemorates D-Day

Bob Cull, 85, of St James Crescent, was 19 when he landed at Gold Beach on June 10, D-Day plus four. Attached to the Royal Signals Corps, Bob was responsible for repair and maintenance of communications equipment.

After being carried over in a tank landing craft, Bob was directed to the Operations Room. The gun sites were set up and Bob visited them to check their equipment, sending out messages with details of plans to the sites.

He said: "It was quite a magnificent feat of organisation. I don't remember a lot really. It was a bit hairy. We were moving inland, but there was plenty of muck flying about."

With a coachload of veterans from the Normandy Veterans Association Branch No 86, Bob travelled to France on June 4 for National Parades at Colleville-Montgomery the following day.

On June 6 a parade was held at Bayeux War Graves Cemetery with further presentations of badges at Arromanches.

Bob said: "It was a little bit emotional. It was a bit different now of course. It's a lovely seaside resort. When I arrived there were all sorts of obstacles. They were clearing them when I landed. There were three rows of various obstacles to defend.

"There's not many of us left now. Five years ago there were five or eight thousand and the organisation was perfect, I spoke to the Queen and Prince William. This time there were five to eight hundred. This time the organisation was pathetic."

After the landing in 1944, Bob travelled with his mobile unit up through France to Ostend, Belgium, which was opened as a port. After setting up another operations room, Bob continued through Belgium into Holland, towards the Scheldt Estuary. It was here he heard the war had ended.

"The Dutch people went mad," he said. "There were great hijinx that day."

The event was partly made possible by Bexhill comedian Eddie Izzard, who gave a donation to help veterans travel to Normandy.