I was put in an ambulance and taken to a field hospital and from there transferred to a hospital in Paris. I managed to escape from the hospital with the help of the French Resistance.When the city was liberated, they contacted an American liaison officer with the Free French division and I was taken to an American field hospital and then flown back to Britain.Louis Caldwell Gray, then an engineman on Harbour Defence Motor Launch 1383, Arromanches, NormandyOften it is the trivia that stays in the mind I was a pipe smoker and had broken mine. I was looking over the side of the boat when I saw a pipe floating past. Who had lost it and under what circumstances I do not know, but after retrieving it I could not bring myself to use it.But my overwhelming impression of D-Day was of the incredible degree of imagination and ingenuity that had gone into the planning the whole operation.

Perhaps the first sign of this was the impressive sight of the slow-moving arrival of the Mulberry harbour [preconstructed harbours, devised for D-Day].My second impression of detailed planning was the sight of landing craft fitted out as floating bakeries and kitchens. They served fresh bread and meals to the crews of the huge number of small craft without the time or facilities to provide for themselves.I felt that if this degree of attention could be paid to such mundane things, it must surely be reflected across the entire operation, and the war must inevitably be won.James Hill, then commanding the 3rd Parachute Brigade in the 6th Airborne DivisionAfter about 45 minutes marching along a narrow path with bog on both sides, I heard a horrid noise. I had seen a lot of fighting and knew it was an attack by low-flying aircraft dropping anti-personnel bombs, so I shouted to everyone to get down. I threw myself down on top of a chap called Lieutenant Peters.The aircraft passed over and there was the horrible smell of cordite and death hanging in the air I knew I’d been hit. I saw a leg lying in the middle of the path and I thought, by God, that’s mine Then I noticed it had a brown boot on. I didn’t allow brown boots in my brigade, and the only person who broke that rule was my friend Lieutenant Peters I was lying on top of him.

He was dead, I wasn’t – but I’d been hit and a large chunk of my left backside was gone.Only two of us were able to get up The dead and injured were all around us. I was faced with the choice: do I stay and look after the injured, or do I press on? As brigade commander I had a great responsibility, so I had to press on. Before leaving we took the morphine from the dead, and gave it to the living We set off and the injured chaps gave us a cheer That memory is as vivid today as it ever was It was a ghastly sight. Longer versions of these testimonies appear as part of People’s War on the BBC’s website (for more information visit ). This project aims to capture and preserve the personal stories of those who lived and fought the Second World War. To find out how to add your own or your family’s story, call 08000 150 950 or visit the website.