Salford D-Day veteran calls for respect to war dead

A FORMER RAF serviceman and D-Day veteran has called for more people to observe the two minutes silence during remembrance services in the UK.

David Teacher MBE was a member of the RAF Beach Units, specialist troops of the air force whose job it was to repair damaged vehicles and direct the main assault troops trying to gain a foothold during the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War.

D-Day was one of the most ambitious invasions of the war. It allowed allied forces to gain ground in Nazi-occupied Europe and signalled the beginning of the end of World War Two.

Over 150,000 allied soldiers, sailors and airmen were involved with 10,000 becoming casualties.

David was one of the first ashore at Juno beach, one of five beaches, on the morning of D-Day and served in Western Europe for most of the war.

Recently, the 92-year-old Salford resident has called for more people to attend remembrance services.

Speaking at the Imperial War Museum North he said: “On the 11 November the country used to stop. For two minutes no matter what or where. It doesn’t today. It hasn’t done for many years.”

Attending commemorative events annually in the UK and Normandy, Mr. Teacher said he was “absolutely astonished” at the lack of remembrance in Manchester and that very few people observed the two minutes silence compared to previous years.

David hopes that by speaking about his experiences, he will encourage more people to observe remembrance events

The two minutes silence has been observed at 11:00am on November 11 in Britain since the end of the First World War. A silence is also observed on Remembrance Sunday, the closest Sunday to November 11.

David has volunteered at the museum since July last year, giving talks to people of all ages about his experiences and views on war.

He hopes that by speaking about these experiences, he will encourage more people to participate in acts of remembrance.

He added: “It’s disrespectful. If it hadn’t been for that loss of life, we wouldn’t be here today doing what we want to do.”

After the war David became a member of various veterans associations, including the Bolton Normandy Veterans Association and the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women.

In recent years he has helped many families trace the graves of loved ones killed in war, with some being as far afield as Sri Lanka.

As well as having been awarded campaign medals for his service in Europe, David has recently been awarded France’s most prestigious award, the Legion d’honneur.