Hugh Cowan Aitchison

As an Able Seaman in the Royal Navy Hugh volunteered for Special Operations in May 1943. He spent most of the next 12 months in Scotland, completing his Commando training at HMS Armadillo, followed by numerous exercises and rehearsals for D-Day.

He and the rest of ‘R’ Party RN Commando were sent to Devon then Sussex where the training continued. On 4 June 1944, after 2 weeks in a caged camp, they boarded LCH269 at Southsea.

Early in the morning of 6 June 1944, under artillery and machine gun fire, Hugh came ashore on Queen Red Sector of Sword beach. His job was to secure the beach and guide in the following waves of Landing Craft.

He spent 5 weeks on Sword beach yet never spoke about his experiences until almost 40 years later when he joined the Normandy Veterans Association. He returned to Normandy every year on the anniversary of D-Day until his passing in 1992.