THE 60th anniversary of DDay, one of the most daring and decisive events of the Second World War, took place on Sunday with veterans once again taking to the beaches of Normandy to pay tribute to fallen comrades.

For those who took part in the invasion of Hitler's fortress Europe the memories are still raw, but for one Waltham Abbey veteran the anniversary was a chance to pay tribute to fallen colleagues.

John Nickerson, 82, of Quendon Drive, served in the 76th Highland Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery during the Second World War and landed with his unit on Sword Beach at about 10am on June 6, 1944.

His memories of the landings, like those of every man involved, are extremely vivid right down to the rough sea conditions which left his Landing Craft Tank (LCT) driver, Ernie, sea sick.

Mr Nickerson recalls the moment the Royal Navy bombardment of German positions on the Normandy coastline began in the early hours of DDay.

"Shortly after 4am the Navy began shelling the French coast. It was a hell of a racket, you have never heard so much noise."

Within hours his regiment was preparing to land at Sword Beach, close to the the French town of La Breche. "The skipper told us to warm the engines up and as we were approaching the beach I was standing on top of the LCT observing. I could see the gunfire on the beach.

"At that point we had about six or eight shells strafe the boat. One hit the Oerlikon gun and I got drenched with water from one of the shells. I was literally told to 'get down before you get your head blown off' which I did immediately.

"I think the tide was going out as we landed."

He added: "The foreshore was very congested. There were sunken ships, blown up tanks and vehicles, dead and wounded on the beach and floating out to sea. It was bad but not quite as bad as Saving Private Ryan."

After disembarking safely onto Sword Beach, Mr Nickerson's unit progressed inland while braving sporadic gunfire and the occasional pot shot from snipers. The first village inland was Hermanville which was still sustaining heavy shelling forcing soldiers to take cover in road-side ditches.

It was at this point that Mr Nickerson met his first native.

"There was heavy shelling and we needed to take cover in the ditches. Here was the first French person I saw. It was a young girl who was hysterical because her mother was lying on the verge. I didn't know if she had been hit or had suffered a heart attack. She was obviously dead."

The unit continued to regimental headquarters and beyond later in the day but when they had the first chance to stop next to a small wood, Mr Nickerson was told to make a cup of tea by a senior officer.

"Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I thought 'Oh no'. I turned round and it was a German. I grabbed my Sten gun but he had no helmet on and no rifle. He said 'I'm not a good soldier, I have no rifle' and kept repeating this. He looked as frightened as I was."

The POW was immediately taken back to Sword Beach for transport back to England but while Mr Nickerson was waiting on the sand a fellow English soldier was hit by sniper fire.

Mr Nickerson said: "He went down on the sand right next to me. He had been hit on the calf of the upper leg almost between the legs. We put a dressing on it to stop the bleeding.

"He was still joking and said 'have they got my you know whats?' The bullet had just nicked his scrotum so he was alright. Typical British soldier really."

On the evening of D-Day he recalls seeing airborne reinforcements in the skies.

"It was a really warm evening and at 9pm we saw the gliders of the 6th air landing brigade fly overhead. There were hundreds of them and the sky was literally black with them. What an exhilarating sight it was for us but what must the Germans have thought."

On his return to Normandy for the 60th anniversary celebrations Mr Nickerson took time to visit the grave of fellow artilleryman Captain John Nickerson who died during the invasion.

His namesake said: "His tank was knocked out at Chateau de la Londe. I helped bury him. He was no relative of mine but we often joked about the fact we must distantly related somehow."

As is typical of so many veterans of D-Day, Mr Nickerson does not consider himself in any way heroic but what transpired on that day in 1944 was a truly heroic undertaking and one we should all be eternally grateful for.

The Queen paid her own tribute to the veterans in a speech at the French port of Arromanches.

She said: "What for you is a haunting memory of danger and sacrifice one summer long ago, is for your country and for generations of your countrymen to come, one of the proudest moments in our long national history.

"I take it upon myself to express the immense debt of gratitude we owe to you all. I salute you and thank you on behalf of our whole nation."

Fitting words indeed.