D-Day 80 The Last Veterans: Arnold Salter

Arnold Salter, Age 97, Royal Navy

Interviewed by ITN 29 May 2024 

An able seaman with the Navy, Arnold Salter was on board a steamer that transported hundreds of Canadian troops to Juno Beach on D-Day.

He said: "It was at night time that we set sail, you could see vague shapes, you didn't know how many ships there were.

"Then when the dawn came and broke, we approached inland quite a bit. You could see the ships and finally we got some bangs and some gunfire and that. 

"Then they landed on the beaches.

"We were flat bottomed and we went up and the chaps said ‘Can’t you get any closer?’ I said ‘Mate if those paddles were wheels we could take you all the way up.

"They got on alright they did.

"They had to drop off from the side, three or four foot into water and up the beach. And we stayed there quite a while.

"Some were staggering, some had got shot, dropping down and that. Just had to clear the beaches and get on with it you know.

"When you saw some of the poor lads that were there, only youngsters they were. 

"I was only a youngster myself. My role was just manning guns. We had a platform up with gun turrets on. Some aircraft come over and we shot off a few rounds.

"You saw quite a few bodies and all that. To be quite honest you got a feeling you never had before. Not frightened. Surprising it is.

"I tell you what the men were absolutely magnificent. A shame really but war has never done you any good has it."

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