A D-Day veteran's remarkable story has been shared by his son who lives in Weymouth.
Ian Brooke, a volunteer at the Nothe Fort, has a very personal connection to D-Day and has described his father’s role in the run up to the Allied invasion of Normandy ahead of the 80th anniversary of the historic event.
Mr Brooke's father Victor not only took part in D-Day, but was also part of the British Territorial Army in 1940.
Having missed the evacuation at Dunkirk the then-19-year-old was forced to evacuate from St Nazaire on the west coast of France near the city of Nantes and survived the bombing of his ship.
READ: 80th anniversary of D-Day to be celebrated in Weymouth
Mr Brooke said: “My father, Victor, was a linesman in the Royal Corps of Signals and he landed on the Normandy beach codenamed Sword.
"But his extraordinary journey to get there began early in 1939 at the tender age of 19 when he joined the Territorial Army in Glossop, Derbyshire.
"Almost immediately he was posted to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force.
“Early in 1940, somewhere north of Paris, his unit was ordered south and they missed the evacuation at Dunkirk.
"He marched, walked, stole a bike and cadged lifts all the way to St Nazaire on the Loire estuary where troopships were to pick them up and return them to England.
READ: Full schedule of D-Day 80th anniversary events across Dorset
“There he boarded an ex-Cunard liner, HMT Lancastria still with all his kit including greatcoat, blanket, rifle, helmet and all the webbing he was issued with because as a 19-year-old he was terrified of losing anything as the Quartermaster might make him pay for it.
“The ship was bombed and sank within 23 minutes with the loss of 5,000 lives. He was pulled from the water three hours later wearing one sock and a wristwatch."
Mr Brooke then went on to describe his father's experience of the D-Day invasion of northern France.
He added: “On June 6, 1944, at about 6am he went back to France near Ouistreham, Normandy, carrying a Lee-Enfield Mk4 rifle and a reel of telephone cable which was eventually connected to the airborne troops at Pegasus Bridge.
READ: Tarrant Rushton airfield remembered for D-Day anniversary
“My dad survived the carnage on Sword beach and went on to stretch military telephone cables across France, Belgium, Holland and eventually Germany, only returning home in early 1946.
“And almost a year to the day, he married Sarah Agnes Chamberlain in Ashton-under-Lyne and in July 1942, they had me.
“On his 70th birthday, I took him back to that beach where he stood, this lone older figure, seeing in his mind all his old pals and trembling with emotion. It was quite a moment.”
A spokesperson from Nothe Fort said: “The Fort would not be what it is without our exceptional volunteers.
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"We are beyond lucky to have such a dedicated community of volunteers, many of whom have long lasting connections with Weymouth and the Fort itself, such as Ian Brooke.
"The skills and passion they bring have allowed us to grow as a museum into an award-winning tourist attraction.
“Our curatorial volunteers and design team have put in an incredible amount of effort to produce the new D-Day Exhibition, which will use real stories from the local community to commemorate the sacrifices made by those who fought, suffered and died for our freedom.”
Around 70 per cent of tickets have already been allocated, but there’s still time to book a ticket.
If you have a story about a family member or friend who was part of D-Day which you would like to share, please email newsdesk@dorsetecho.co.uk
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