TOO few of the brave heroes who stood up against the Nazi jackboot spoke about their wartime experiences in any depth.

Many of our Second World War veterans have now passed away, taking the stories of their heroism and sacrifices to the grave.

While many of us still have an appreciation of the dangers and deprivations these men faced in their pursuit of fighting the oppression of the Germans, Italians and Japanese, future generations may not be so lucky.

They will look at what is now a peaceful and civilised continent of Europe and struggle to understand how it was plunged into devastating conflict that claimed millions of lives.

That is why we should appreciate the work of Bill Gibbard, who penned his own account of his war exploits before his death this week.

He was at Dunkirk and Arnhem, before being captured by the Germans. That only prompted him to twice attempt to escape and return to the Allied lines. Reading his words about being unable to swim and having to cling to a piece of wood in a desperate bid to escape from Dunkirk brings the reality of those horrific days in 1940.

We say we shall never forget.

Thanks to Mr Gibbard and others like him, we won’t forget, but crucially we shall also understand.