VETERAN’S ACCOUNT
BRITAIN’S YOUNGEST NORMANDY VETERAN IS A RENOWNED FOLK SINGER AND PEACE ACTIVIST WHO CAMPAIGNS TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THE UNSUNG MEN OF THE TUG RESCUE SERVICE ARE NEVER FORGOTTEN. IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, JIM RADFORD TALKS TO MELODY FOREMAN ABOUT THE HORRORS HE WITNESSED.
Tugs were invaluable, supporting the invasion fleet and later playing a vital role in moving the Mulberry Harbours in place. (IMAGES VIA THE HARWICH SOCIETY UNLESS NOTED)
As the deep-sea tug Empire Larch rolled perilously upon savage waves lashing around Normandy in June 1944, a 15-yearold galley boy called Jim Radford was driving phials of morphine into badly wounded and dying men around him. “Every time they moan, stick another one into their side,” a leading seaman instructed the teenager before rushing back on deck to assist hundreds of men now floating in the treacherous waters around the Larch.
