This photo, I'm assuming taken outside the family home, shows David assigned to Fleet Air Arm. He went on to become part of Combined Ops, went to America in December 1942 to pick up Landing Craft (Infantry) 185 which sailed via Bermuda, Malta, Gibralta, and North Africa (Sousse and Djelli) and Italy before returning home in November 1943. Then preparations started for D-Day. LCI-185 was converted into an HQ ship becoming LCH-185 as part of Operation Overlord. It was sunk on 25th June 1944. Most of those on board were lost (including David) and the ship has never been recovered.
When the war commenced, David would have been 16. At 17 he joined the Homeguard for a period of no more than a couple of months. Presumably this was in lieu of, or in anticipation of joining up for the Navy. While the date he signed up for the Navy isn't known to me, he was definitely serving by August 1942 when he would have been just turned 19 as this is when the letters home start.
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David SaundersBorn July 31st 1923 Topics
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