Live ChatCorporal Daniel Harrison was drafted into the Royal Artillery in February 1943 as part of the 103rd Anti-Tank Regiment. He was in Germany when he was told the war in Europe was over. Now 97, he recounts his war years.
“I was doing an engineering apprenticeship before I was called up. I did my training in different parts of the country, including Bradford and the Brecon Beacons and then I was sent to Ashford ahead of the D-Day invasion.
“I was put on a fishing boat with my company. I remember sitting in the Channel for hours, waiting for our moment. We landed on Gold Beach. It was my job to keep supplies flowing, and to assist with transport, and I did that for the rest of the war.
“I remember working in Dresden. It was a ruin; the whole place had been flattened. It was hard to take in.
“I hadn’t been away from home aside from on holidays, but in the Army, we became a family. We looked after one another, so there were some good times.”
VE Day
On VE Day, Daniel had been out with his squadron camouflaging ammunition and repairing roads in a forest for access, alongside Canadian troops, when he was told the news the war had ended in Europe.
“Our officers and Sergeants were at our base, which was a ten-minute walk away from us. We came back from repairing the road, and after our meal they told us, 'you won’t be going out again, Germany surrendered'. I don’t know how long they’d know before we were told. We didn’t have newspapers or anything like that.
“We didn’t know it was happening… we saw what was going on, but you don’t believe everything they tell you.
“It was gorgeous. There were tears and everybody was happy. I went to have a tot of rum somewhere. It was a celebration of a kind.
“But it was a bit surprising how long it took before we had a chance of going home.”
After the war in Europe was over, Daniel spent time in Hamburg to help with the rebuilding of the city. He was sent home on leave and was then posted to Denmark where he was tasked to recover bodies of men who had died and identify them for their relatives back home. He spent six months in the role, using items such as markings in shoes, earrings and photos to find out the identities of more than 50 men, who had died during the six years of war.