He climbed the town hall steps with the aid of his crutches, a small man with silver-grey beard, proud to stand alongside the Mayor in memory of the heroes of the mighty D-Day invasion of Europe 70 years ago.
He was the oldest of Marlborough’s three heroes, bowed a little with his burden of 94 years yet splendid in spirit as, seated in the council chamber with a cup of coffee, he revealed a remarkable story probably known only to military historians.
For on that great day of Operation Overlord Colonel Nielson was serving in the Royal Artillery as a pilot, a combined part of 652 Squadron, formed at RAF Old Sarum, Wiltshire in May, 1942, to play a vital aerial role post D-Day directing tank fire at the retreating German army.
And he did it all the way to victory in 1945.
But on D-Day he was awaiting with five others to cross the Channel in a tank carrier, their aim to find a suitable site where the single-engine Auster airplanes in the squadron could land and take-off again.
Then, with a signaller on board, they flew above the British troops fighting every inch of the way and revealed to the tank commanders the precise directions of where to fire their guns to hit the enemy.
“I was in an awaiting tank carrier on June 4,” Colonel Nielson, who lives in Kingsbury Street, told Marlborough News Online.
“We just had to wait a while to see if we could go out on the fifth. But we had to take our turn in the queue to reach Sword beach.
“Most of the fire had been quelled by the time we got there, except for an occasional shell crump in the distance. It was an interesting time.”
Indeed, his small task force, which had arms and explosives, as well as aircraft spare parts and fuel on board the tank carrier, had to remove obstacles from the landing site once it was identified.
The first two examined were covered with crashed gliders, parachutes and dead animals.
The chosen one turned out to be three fields of a farm at the village of Plumetot, then covered with obstacles such as anti-landing poles erected by the Germans as well wire fences, a concrete water tank and electricity pylons.
And just over the ridge was the Pegasus bridge where airborne troops had earlier bravely fought a bitter battle to keep it open for oncoming allied forces.
Wasn’t he frightened at the prospect.
“No, not in the least, not at all,” declared Colonel Nielson.
Why?
“I was so excited. I very much excited by it all and looking forward to getting back in the air. I was part of 652 Squadron as a member of the Royal Artillery and we had 16 aircraft.
“The first five came in on D-Day plus two. And the whole thing worked very well. And on D-Day plus 1 I had the task of blowing things up to enable them to land.
This was on a ridge. And if you went over it you went down to Pegasus Bridge. That was fine.
“We had this landing ground that was tucked away just to the north of the ridge leading to Pegasus. That was fine. And it worked.”
Didn’t the Germans spot you coming?
Colonel Nielson gave a laugh, and added: “I imagine so. It was, as I say, an interesting time.”
He has been back to the spot just once since then – on his bicycle.
“I had a grand tour of Normandy,” he said. “That was in 1953. I haven’t been back since then and I don’t have any feelings of wanting to return, thank you.”
But, he admitted quietly: “What happened is all very vivid still.”
During a break in the reception, Mayor Marian personally thanked Marlborough News Online for pointing out her own father’s Royal Navy role at Portsmouth on D-Day, which has resulted in her desire to carry out more research into his war-time career.
“And I must say thank you to Colonel Nielson for coming along today to take part in the parade,” she added. “We are all very grateful to the veterans who took part today. Thank you, thank you for your sacrifices.
“And let us remember too the people who actually didn’t come back. It is a very sad day for those families.”
For a detailed account of John O’Keefe’s war-time service on Arctic convoys see report last November:
A poignant D-Day moment for Marlborough’s mayor as she lays a wreath to the fallen
