British on Juno

George Tuffin sent this note in May 2004:

Together with the Canadian fighting soldiers that landed at Juno Beach, a number of British DUKWs landed to support the assault troops on the beach and in the field.

My Dad, Victor Percy Tuffin, a corporal with the RASC (General Transport Company) at the time commanded two DUKWs and landed with the troops near Berniéres sur Mer. The Brits dropped ammo and other stuff on the beach and at specified dumps in the area of the beach head so that the fighting could continue.

He and his men went up and down the beach and the sea returning for more loads of ammo, fuel and food. Victor remembered camping in the orchard of the mayor in Berniéres and having a short party with the Canadians and the locals.

A few days after D-Day he got reassigned and ran a "beach garage" for DUKWs and stayed near the beaches until Caen fell and then they traded their DUKWs for trucks to head inland, ending up in Brussels and Antwerp,  Belgium. There he met his Belgian sweetheart and my mother and so they got hooked for life.

My Dad died last year at the age of 79—and missed the 2004 celebration of D-Day.