D-Day 80 The Last Veterans: Don Sheppard

Don Sheppard, Age 104, Royal Engineers

Interviewed 17 July 2023

Died 6 September 2024

Landing on Juno Beach on D-Day, Mr Sheppard was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers who’d already served in Africa and Sicily.

As a motorbike dispatch rider, he was part of the 151 Brigade Highland Division supporting Canadian troops. 

Mr Sheppard said: "We left from London docks on an American liberty ship and joined a convoy through the Straits of Dover.

"It was tough. We were being shelled from both sides and the boat behind us got a direct hit from German artillery and they lost a lot of men."

He transferred onto a landing craft to the assembly area south of the Isle of Wight which was known as Piccadilly Circus.

At that time some vessels were strafed by German fighters. On 6 June they made the journey to the French coast.

"We had all the battleships firing over our heads and the Germans returning the fire," he said.

"We couldn’t get right up to the beach and the first car off was a staff car with an officer and a driver and it completely sank - the two of them got out.

"I was in a scout car - just me and the driver. And a Bren gun on the turret just in case. He hit the water and we got soaking wet. The beach was covered with Canadian dead.

"The most important thing was to get off the beach as quickly as possible because they were hitting the beach with fire.

"We made our way towards the Canadians, their target was Caen. They didn’t need our help and we made our way to Pegasus Bridge.

"It was a rough time, we took some casualties there. We were in a wood and the Germans dive bombed us. I got wounded with shrapnel in the leg. We had morphine to stab in for the pain.

"And we were hiding under a half track and someone said we better get out because it was loaded with explosives.

"We were all scared but when you are that age you are all macho and don’t show it do you?

"I sit here now and say ‘Why? Why did it happen?’

"Young fellas didn’t get off the boat and they were dead. The first thing you learn when you go in the Army is how to kill someone. Why? You didn’t know them.

"The Germans were just human beings like us. Over the years that’s what I have thought about."

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