ONE of the few British Second World War veterans of D-Day's Omaha Beach has just returned from a poignant trip to Normandy.

Edward Gaines, known as Eddie to his friends and family, served as a Royal Navy stoker on a landing barge during the monumental landings of June 6, 1944.

He dropped off American troops and equipment on Omaha Beach, which was scene of some of the heaviest Allied losses of the operation.

American soldiers at Omaha suffered the highest casualty rate for any of the D-Day beaches.

Yesterday, speaking from his Poole home, Eddie told the Echo about how emotional his trip back to the beaches was.

The 93-year-old, who has been back to Normandy a number of times since the war, had never visited all of the beaches before.

"I was on coastal forces before the barges," he recalled. "I did a short period on a motor torpedo boat at Lowestoft.

"We use to whizz by landing craft and say 'blimey, I wouldn't like to be on one of those death traps'.

Eddie's barge, which approached the beach under enemy fire, had been loaded with 35 tonnes of TNT, a bulldozer and American troops.

"The first waves that went in were leaving the ships eleven miles off the beach, so it was terrible conditions for the men before they even hit the beaches.

"After that the ships all closed in, can you imagine being in those landing craft, all those Americans.

"I used to feel so sorry for them, I was glad I didn't have to get off. The second time we dropped the ramp, there were just all these bodies submerged...it was terrible. I used to think that they'd come all that way from American and that's as far as they got.

"It used to affect me quite a bit, lots of nightmares. But time heals.

"This recent trip has opened my eyes to all the other beaches.

"It is a thing that never should be forgotten."

Eddie, who is now an ambassador for Blind Veterans UK, hopes to attend this year's D-Day memorial service at Poole Quay.

In 2014, as the mayor of Poole spoke at the annual ceremony, Eddie stepped forward, unannounced, and asked to address the crowds.

After speaking for five minutes he told those gathered he'd felt "moved to speak" because he wanted those gathered to understand the sacrifices made on D-Day.