Sapper Peter Guard, son of Harold and Marie Guard, of Streatham, London, served with the Royal Engineers and was attached to HQ 6th Airborne Division. He took part in the D-Day landings to Normandy, during Op Overlord.
On the night of 5-6 June 1944, Sapper Guard flew to Normandy onboard Short Stirling EF 295 with a parachute stick of Airborne Royal Engineers. The aircraft crash-landed near the village of Grangues, in Normandy.
Four men died as a result of the crash, but seven others survived before being disarmed and taken prisoner by German forces in the area. Although the circumstances are unclear, at some stage during the night Spr Guard, along with Cpl Kelly, L/Cpl Fraser, L/Cpl Branston, Spr Wolfe, Spr Wheeler and Dvr Thompson, all of 591 (Antrim) Parachute Squadron, were shot.
The victims of this incident are now recorded on a memorial, close to the village where the shooting took place.
Sapper Guard died on 6 June 1944, aged 20 years old. He is now buried at Ranville War Cemetery, Normandy.
Compiled with assistance from Fred Gray
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