Royal Navy D-Day veterans "honoured" to have their story told at new portraits museum exhibition in Portsmouth

Cyril Stanley (Stan) Ford, 99, and John Dennett, 100, were among the personnel whose stories are on display at the The Lucky Ones Grow Old exhibition at the D-Day Story Museum in Southsea.

Portraits of nine veterans were unveiled to the public, each featuring the backstory of what they did during the Normandy Landings and their life after the Second World War. Mr Ford, who received the Légion d'Honneur for his service, said his portrait was “true to form”. Standing next to the picture and looking towards it, he said “Well done Stan, you made it”.

He told The News: “This is my first time at such an occasion, but I do recognise myself. I’m very happy to be here. My service is true and worth listening to. It has left me with iron legs, but I cope. I cope and I’ve got a nice family I’ve seen grow up. I’m a very happy family man.”

Mr Ford, from Bath in Somerset, was serving aboard HMS Fratton when it was sunk off the coast of Normandy on August 18, 1944. Stan was blown off the platform he was on and went into the water. He was pulled from the sea and taken to a field hospital in Gold Beach - with him walking with leg callipers for the rest of his life.

Describing the experience, he said: “The explosion was right under the platform. I didn’t stand a chance really. I was so lucky I wasn’t strapped in, otherwise, I wouldn’t be sitting here today. The ship was sunk in four minutes.” Mr Ford was medically discharged from the Royal Navy due to his lasting injuries, but was determined to have a normal life and not be defined by his war experience. He added that the exhibition makes him feel like a whole person, not just a sailor.

“I was determined to meet a lady and start a family, and for my family to be a normal family and do things normal people do, and for my children would not suffer in any way,” he added. “They wouldn’t go without, and they knew what I endured. When I left the forces, there was a bit of a restriction of what I could do due to my disability. They were good and eventually found something I could do, and live a normal life. For that, I’m incredibly grateful.”

Mr Ford would go on to become a quality inspector at Stag furniture company. Mr Dennett, currently living in the Wirral in Merseyside, joined the Navy when he was 17 in March 1942, with his first active service coming in November of that year on board RMS Queen Elizabeth. After making a transatlantic voyage to the United States, he would go on to join the Landing Ship Tank (LST) 322. He took part in Operation Torch - allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942 - and Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943.

During the Normandy Landings, he was on LST 322 during several voyages across The English Channel to Sword Beach, carrying British X Corps and US VI Corps alongside military equipment. Wounded soldiers were transported back on return journeys. Mr Dennett, who received the Légion d'Honneur for his service, said he doesn’t regret fighting for his country at all. After the war, he working as a building contractor in the construction industry.

Speaking about the exhibition, he added: “I’ve enjoyed coming here. It’s a wonderful thing. It’s called The Lucky Ones Grow Old, and they’re right. When you get to my age, you’ve got to be lucky. When you see yourself in a photograph, it gives you a funny feeling. It’s an honour to be a part of it. When you have a portrait like that, you’ve got a wonderful still of yourself. With the museum here, D-Day will always be a focal point. Long may it reign.”

He said the exhibition is carrying on the story of D-Day, which the younger generation need to be informed about to learn of the sacrifices of those who came before them. “I appreciated the lads who didn’t come back,” he added. “I didn’t realise we lost that many, and the memorial they built over there is a lasting memory.”

Portsmouth hosted the memorable commemorations of D-Day’s 80th anniversary this Summer, with King Charles III and other royalty praising the sacrifice of those who served. Matt Sills, from Portsmouth, took the portraits for the exhibition on June 3. He said he was blown away when he first walked in and saw the images on display, with the most moving moment being when the veterans saw them and “stopped in their tracks”.

Mr Sills said: “Just to see what it meant to them is amazing. These guys have lived for 100 years, and D-Day was an incredibly significant part of their lives, but timeline wise, it’s quite small. There are many days in 100 years. I really wanted the exhibition to show what they did with their lives with the freedom they fought for and we all enjoy.”

Mr Sills said all of the veterans he spoke to felt gratitude and considered themselves lucky, which is why the exhibition is named as such. He added: “It’s really important the exhibition is here. Portsmouth played a huge role in D-Day. I’m from here, and being able to do something here is so meaningful.”

The exhibition officially opens tomorrow (December 19), and will be open until January 18, 2025. Cllr Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: “It’s very moving. When you look at the way Matt has captured these portraits and you look into their eyes and you see the emotions behind them, you can see what must have been in their thoughts when the photographs were actually taken. It’s very poignant.

“The real addition is that on the backs of the portraits, we’ve captured their full stories. It’s not just about that momentous moment in time, but the lives they went on to live. The fact there are some of them still with us is absolutely incredible. These are people like you and I, and they’ve gone on to live full and amazing lives. It's phenomenal they played the part that they did in the single greatest military operation of all time, but they are also real people. For them to be able to come back and remember, in an appropriate way, is magical.”