D-Day Veteran: Winning WWII Wasn't Worth It

A 100-year-old veteran has said winning the Second World War “was not worth the result”.

Alec Penstone, who played a vital role sweeping for mines during the D-Day landings, questioned the state of the country for which his fellow servicemen gave their lives during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Friday.

Asked what Remembrance Sunday meant to him, he said: “My message is, I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white stones and all the hundreds of my friends who gave their lives, for what? The country of today?

“No, I’m sorry, but the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result of what it is now.”

Mr Penstone was 15 years old and working in a factory when the war broke out in 1939. He later volunteered as an air raid precautions messenger, delivering messages while telephone lines were down, before joining the Royal Navy.

He was drafted and assigned on board a submarine in 1943 before moving to HMS Campania, which swept for mines and searched for U-boats during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.

Asked by host Adil Ray what he meant by his comment, the veteran, who described himself as “just one of the lucky ones” for surviving the war, said: “What we fought for was our freedom, but now it’s a darn sight worse than when I fought for it.”

After Mr Penstone explained what he meant about the UK, presenter Kate Garraway consoled the veteran.

She said: “Oh Alec, I’m sorry you feel like that and I want you to know that all the generations that have come since, including me and my children, are so grateful for your bravery and all the other service personnel.

“It’s our job now to make it the country that you fought for, and we will do.”

Mr Penstone replied: “It’s so wonderful to know there are people like you who spread the word around to the younger generations.”

He has spoken previously about his time in the Navy, which he promised his family he would serve in rather than the army because of the horrors his father witnessed in the First World War.

In the D-Day landings, Mr Penstone spent his time three decks down on constant action stations and on-watch listening for torpedoes, mines and U-boats.

After a week in the Normandy area, his ship, HMS Campania, returned to the Arctic Convoy and made a total of 10 crossings to protect supplies headed to the Soviet Union.

Following VE Day, Mr Penstone returned to the UK to his fiancée Gladys and, after securing additional days of leave, the couple married in July 1945.

Two days later he returned to duty for a further 14 months to help the war effort in the Far East. Mr Penstone returned home to his wife in September 1946.