Richard Pelzer

Born in Llansamlet 1924, Richard left school at 14 years to train as a stonemason which included daytime work and college attendance. During the Swansea Blitz of February 1941, on his way home from College He had a narrow escape when during a bombing raid he was leaning against a wall and the barbers shop window above him dropped. The marks in the wall from shrapnel can still be seen today.

Aged 19years Richard joined the Army and after training as a Royal Engineer was posted to port maintenance, working on underwater demolitions. This included removing explosive ordnance devices, and making sure ports and especially lock-gates were free from booby traps set by the Germans.

Richard was then posted to Scotland to work on the Mulberry Harbour project, in preparation for the Allied Invasion of Normandy. Landing first on Gold Beach on DDay and then moving on to Juno Beach, Richards task was to clear the beach and then other ports and German Military installations. Many of Richards colleagues were lost during this period. In August 1944, Richard returned to the UK and was notified he was being posted to Burma. However, upon arrival in India his unit was told to remain in Kalyan and prepare for the invasion of Singapore code named “Operation Bow and Arrow” The atom bombs droppe on Hiroshima and Nagasaki put paid to this operation.

From August 1945- May 1947, Richard was stationed in Singapore and was involved in providing ‘proper’ funerals for the many PoWs who had lost their lives under Japanese captivity. Richard remembers that the Japanese Commandment of of Changi Prison would not surrender his sword to an Allied officer of a lower rank. So the officer who was at the time a Major was suddenly promoted to Brigadier to accept the sword and surrender of the Japanese Commandant.

Post war Richard married and continued to work in construction until a fall from a great height in the 1950s left him with very serious career ending injuries. He then worked in a physically lighter job with Schools where his skills as a photographer were in constant demand. (honed by his underwater photography during the war) In 2016 Richard was awarded the Legion d’honneur by the French Government.