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A war hero celebrated his 98th birthday by handing over £800 to charity from the release of his memoirs.
Ernest Slarks, who was born in Milton Regis, Sittingbourne, was a trooper in the 23rd Hussars, part of the 11th armoured division, which landed on Golden Beach in Normandy on D-Day.
His 200-page paperback, Onward Christian Soldier, highlights his experiences of fighting through France, Belgium and Holland in a Sherman tank.
On Friday, he presented two £400 cheques to Action for Children and Cancer Research UK from the proceeds.
The latter is a cause close to his heart after his daughter, Jennifer Wooley, died from cancer in 2016, aged 68.
The book was originally meant to be published last year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, but this was halted because of the pandemic.
Undeterred, Ernest worked alongside the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne to get the book published online.
Ernest, who preached at Sittingbourne Methodist Church for 70 years, has been awarded the Legion de d’honneur by President Francois Hollande, and in 2019 was one of 250 veterans who returned to the beaches as part of the Royal British Legion’s D-Day 75th Anniversary.
He said: “I have done nothing special. I am not a hero. I was simply one of more than a million British men called on to help free Europe from the scourge of the Nazi regime, but lucky enough to come through it largely unscathed.”
Ernest was a part of Operation Bluecoat, a British offensive to advance in Normandy. However, he opens up about how he suffered exhaustion and what, in hindsight, was probably PTSD.
He recalls: “Those six days were for me the worst six days of my time in Normandy. A few of the men’s nerves had been severely tested, I being among them.”
Richard Emmett, chairman of the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne, added: “We are absolutely delighted to help Ernest tell his story and assist him raise this money for charity through the sale of his book.
“We wish him a very happy 98th birthday, and words cannot thank him enough for what he and his generation did for us.”
You can buy the book online at www.hrgs.co.uk for £15.
