Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 2014-2015 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 digital recording and 1 file
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ken Smith was a signaller in the 43rd Wessex Division of the Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry. Ken received his conscription letter at the age of 18 and joined the army for five years. He was a member of the second wave of allied forces who arrived on June 6th at Gold Beach during the Normandy Landings. During his time in France he fought on Hill One One Two and was injured by shrapnel from Tiger Tank shells at the age of nineteen. He was subsequently sent to a hospital in Brussels before being returning to a hospital in Wales to recover further. After recovering from his injury some months later, Ken served two years in Palestine and Afghanistan, (after the end of the Second World War) where he suffered from acute nephritis caused by injury from a mine that exploded under an armoured vehicle. Ken is now a member of the York Normandy Veterans Association.
Ken Smith died in April 2020 at the age of 95.
York Normandy Veterans Association
See Also - Normandy Veterans Association
Repository
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Oral history recording and full printed transcription of an interview with Ken Smith undertaken as part of the York Normandy Veterans Legacy project under the York: Gateway to History project during 2014-2015.
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Material is available subject to the usual terms and conditions of access to Archives and Local History collections.
Conditions governing reproduction
Images are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Language of material
- English