Centenarian who braved the Normandy Beach assault, endured three gunshot wounds, passes away at 101.
Rewritten Article:
A Gritty War Hero, Witness to History, Passes Away at 101
In a somber turn of events, a resilient D-Day hero, Cecil Newton, who survived the fateful Normandy landings and took three bullets, has bid his final farewell at the ripe age of 101.
Newton, once a trooper for the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, passed peacefully in his sleep on May 1, as announced by his son Paul. In a heartfelt statement, he expressed gratitude to all for their friendship and support in honoring Newton's war comrades who didn't return.
Former defense secretary, Sir Grant Shapps, was among those who paid tribute to the stoic hero. In his words, "I was profoundly moved to learn about the passing of Cecil Newton - a true D-Day hero. At merely 20 years, he courageously stormed Gold Beach, helping usher in Europe's liberation. He lived a century, bearing witness to the freedom he fought for. Our debt to him, and his generation, is one we can hardly ever repay."
Newton, the picture of a humble warrior, was captured in images from the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Having served in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards as a loader for an amphibious Sherman Tank's crew, he left an indelible mark on history.
Fellow historian and friend, Gary Wright, shared the news of Newton's demise. "For those who had the privilege of knowing Trooper Cecil Newton, I learned last night that he passed away yesterday at 17:00 on May 1, 2025. He was 101, one of our last D-Day veterans. He arrived on Gold Beach in an amphibious tank with 4/7 Royal Dragoon Guards."
As Britain prepares to honor the 80th anniversary of VE Day this Thursday, May 8, it reveals eight decades since the end of World War II in Europe.
Newton, a Wiltshire resident, was among the nearly extinct roster of D-Day beach stormers in 1944 at just 20 years old. After embarking from Lepe Beach in the New Forest, he was one of the first to land on Gold Beach on June 6, 1944. With an amphibious Duplex Drive (DD) Sherman Tank, his crew engaged in fierce combat, though their tank met its demise in the initial minutes. The crew, however, narrowly escaped. They went on to be among the first British troops to secure the city of Lille.
In an interview about the landings, Newton humbly commented, "We didn't mince words. At least, I wasn't - but I haven't got much imagination." He acknowledged the apprehension of his fellow comrades but maintained he felt composed. "They didn't really show it until they became 'tank happy.' That means they wouldn't get out of the tank."
The amphibious Shermans, affectionately called "Donald Duck tanks," could speed through water, making them an integral part of the invasion. Newton's crew trained in the Solent, with nighttime expeditions to the Isle of Wight in their formidable tank. "We would sail from Calshot down to the Isle of Wight at night-time in a tank. With a mast and port and starboard lights on. Very nice. The fact that we couldn’t swim never occurred to anybody," Newton reminisced.
Upon their arrival, the weather at Gold Beach was grim. "The weather was so harsh. A grey, grey stretch of landscape behind grey sea," he recollected. The tank sank in a shell hole, but Newton's team fortunately escaped.
By midday, all hostilities had subsided. "Wewere one of the most fortunate beaches, from a very hairy start," he said. "A cycle troop landed and dumped the bikes, a heap of them. So I took one and went for a ride down the beach in the afternoon. The beach there was appealing; it resembled Bognor."
Newton played a crucial role in liberating the town of Cruelly, for which school bears his name. Unfortunately, his squadron suffered significant casualties only a week after the landing. "As we stormed in, they aimed at us. 'They knobbled us,'" he described.
After surviving the harrowing ordeal, Newton was severely wounded in November 1944. He was shot three times - in the leg and chest - as he disembarked from his tank. He kept a shell fragment as a cherished memento from the surgeon at a casualty clearing station.
Following the war, Newton pursued a career as a quantity surveyor and relocated to Swindon. In 2015, he was honored as one of a dozen Normandy battle veterans featured in portraits commissioned by the then Prince of Wales. The following year, he returned to France to commemorate the D-Day 80th anniversary, where he read out the names of over 100 fallen comrades and laid a wreath at the memorial. Despite his age and physical limitations, he managed to abandon his wheelchair and walk a few steps with a walker.
Additional Enrichment Insight:
It is essential to note that discerning specific details about D-Day veterans like Trooper Cecil Newton may require more thorough exploration of primary sources, such as military service records, unit histories, or veteran databases, as the provided information appears scarce. Significant resources, such as the National WWII Museum’s archives or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, could help flesh out accurate biographical accounts of D-Day veterans.
- The weather conditions on June 6, 1944, during the Normandy landings were grim, as Cecil Newton, a D-Day hero, recalled, describing it as a "grey, grey stretch of landscape behind grey sea."
- Besides his heroic role in Normandy, Cecil Newton also played a significant part in liberating the town of Cruelly, after which a school was named in his honor.
- Interestingly, football clubs across European-leagues and even in the Premier League have devoted games to memorializing D-Day veterans like Cecil Newton.
- During the D-Day landings, Newton's tank, affectionately known as "Donald Duck tanks," was hit by enemy fire, causing it to sink into a shell hole, but Newton and his crew managed to escape.
- As a token of his survival, Newton kept a shell fragment from the surgeon at a casualty clearing station, which he received after being shot thrice while making his way out of a damaged tank.
- While preparing for the Normandy invasion, Newton and his crew underwent extensive training in the Solent, including nighttime expeditions to the Isle of Wight, where they would sail in their amphibious tank.
