Last surviving member of D-Day battalion shares journey from Normandy to Hamburg

Paul Crone spoke to Richard about his memories of D-Day, and his journey through Europe.

A 100-year-old D-Day veteran has shared his journey from storming the beaches of Normandy to being one of the first British soldiers to witness the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.

Richard Brock, who is believed to be the last surviving member of his battalion, was 20 when he made the trip from his home in Lancaster to Portsmouth for the D-Day assault.

He said: "You go in as a boy, but you come out a man. It did shape your life. I’ve seen things I never thought I’d see in my lifetime."

One of the most harrowing sights came in April 1945, when he entered the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

He said: "It was a horrible sight, and the smell…I said to my co-driver at the time, I said ‘where’s God to allow all this death and destruction?’"

During the Second World War, it is estimated that at least 70,000 people were killed at the Bergen-Belsen Camp.

Richard said: "There was death and dying and all the inmates were cowering if you went near them."

Ten months earlier, the D-Day landings saw 156,000 Allied troops arrive for a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France.

Richard was 20 when he first set off for Normandy. Credit: Family handout

At least 4,414 troops were killed and another 5,900 were listed as missing or wounded during the operation, which was the largest amphibious invasion in military history, and marked the start of the long campaign to liberate North-West Europe from Nazi occupation.

Among the dead were many of Richard's fellow soldiers. He said: "There was about 130 of us on D-Day… and when the war finished in Hamburg there was just 19 of us left."

On one occasion, a fighting patrol made up of from Richard's battalion were sent out to scout ahead.

Their bodies were found the next morning, all killed by German Schmeisser machine guns.

Richard said: "With the Schmeisser's they put the empty magazines on the body, so when we advanced we saw them there."

80 years on, Richard is the only surviving member of his battalion.

Richard and his battalion advanced through France, before entering Belgium, Holland, and eventually Germany.

As the invasion of Normandy is commemorated on its 80th anniversary, Richard believes he is the only member of his battalion still alive.

He said: "I don’t think you’re proud, you’re just sad for your pals that you’ve missed. All your mates were getting knocked off. I think I’m the last one.

"But I’ve been very lucky in life, I’ve had a very wonderful life and I wouldn’t change it."

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