There are only a handful of people left in the world who remember what D-Day was actually like. Don Sheppard is one of them.

Don, 104, was a 24-year-old sapper in the highly regarded 51st Scottish Division of the Royal Engineers when he landed on Juno Beach, Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Since then Don, of Methersgate, Basildon, has devoted his life to ensuring the men and boys who didn’t make it back from France are never forgotten.

“We’d trained for the landing in Scotland, and the Royal Navy had assured us: ‘Don’t worry lads, we’ll get you right onto the beach.’ Unfortunately, they didn’t,” recalled the beloved great-grandfather.

“We had to get through 20 to 30 yards of water. The landing craft was a car with an officer and a driver aboard. They didn’t know there was a shell hole directly underneath, and they just disappeared under the water.”

Once on the beach, the hell began: “There were shells and a whole lot of people killed. Bodies were everywhere.

“The noise is something I won’t forget – the roar of a battleship discharging its guns over our heads and the sound of rocketships.”

Just a few weeks ago Don, who for years was chairman of the Southend Normandy Veterans Association – and who still goes into schools to give talks about the war to children – was on the brink of death in hospital, but he is determined to make the D-Day 80 ceremony at the Living Memorial in Rettendon.

Don and his family have thrown everything into making the D-Day 80 event at Rettendon one to remember.

“It’s really important that we remember the boys who never came back. I would love to see as many people as possible coming to the Rettendon event. Everyone is welcome.”