Joe Powell

Photo (posted by Pete R.) courtesy of John Martin who adds

"Joe Powell served in C troop 4 Cdo with my late uncle, Sgt Donald Martin. When 4 Cdo was reorganised and the troops were redesignated, at the time of the Walcheren campaign in November 1944, they became separated but both were involved in the capture of Flushing.

I took the attached photo of Joe in June 1984 in Benouville, Normandy quite close to Pegasus Bridge. I chatted to him for a long time about his post-war career as a stuntman and special effects arranger in films, and found him as amusing as I found him modest. (He first apologised for his deafness, brought on by causing a great many explosions!) Having run across Pegasus Bridge himself under fire, he found it quite ironic to return there in 1962, when “The Longest Day” was being made, to work on the film. One of his nicest stories was about the producer, Darryl F Zanuck, ordering an elderly Frenchman in a faded cardigan away from where the filming was taking place. Joe had to point out to him that elderly gentleman was, in fact, the legendary Philippe Kieffer who had led the two French troops integrated into 4 Cdo on D-Day.

I note that second-hand copies of Joe’s book are available on Amazon – at a price – and from a review it seems that Joe did write about his Commando experiences as well as his post-war career. I remember thinking at the time that those experiences, and his Commando training, certainly gave him a head start."