D-Day Bomb Disposal with Wilfred Grice Marland and HMS Ajax with Joseph Grice Marland

Wilfred Grice Marland (Carol's father) served with the Royal Engineers throughout the Second World War. Born in Liverpool, he signed up to the British Army in his early twenties. He was both technical and practical, as well as good with his hands. This made him a natural fit to trade in bomb disposal. The bomb disposal badge was worn on his arm. Wilfred used to tell his children that he only had to go into a pub wearing the badge and he would be inundated with free beer.

He was reportedly one of the first to land on the beaches on D-Day, where his skill would be used to clear the beaches of bomb threats. He landed with a mine detector, but lost most of his kit in disembarking from the boat. He spent the first night sleeping on the beach. When he woke, he realised that the majority of the bodies around him were not themselves sleeping. Having lost his kit, he collected nearby pieces including a shaving brush which he used for the rest of his life. After landing in Normandy, Wilfred continued with the advance into Germany. He returned to the beaches on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day in a trip organised by the Royal British Legion.

Joseph Grice Marland (Carol's uncle) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He had grown up in Liverpool. He served on HMS Ajax during the Second World War, a Leander-class light cruiser that became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete and the Battle of Malta. Joseph's time on board the Ajax included Christmas 1942, when the menu included roast turkey or pork, Christmas cake and tinned pears. In the later part of the war, the family lost touch with Joseph. Efforts to trace his whereabouts via the Salvation Army came up empty.