The daughter of a World War Two soldier has described how he was "laughed out" when he tried to join the Royal Air Force because he was too young. After he was turned away, Norman Butt, from Guernsey, was so determined to fight in the war he faked his age and signed up for the Army instead. He told the forces he was born in 1921, three years before his actual birth year of 1924. Mandy Hardman has shared memories of her father ahead of Liberation Day on 9 May. She said: "He was determined at that time he was going to join up - he was fifteen and a half. "They [the RAF] just said to him 'go home sonny' and laughed him out the door really." Butt was apart of the first Arakan offensive in Burma where the British troops faced the Japanese forces in 1942 and 1943. During this time, Butt once saved a man's life by pushing him in a barrel across a stream and carried him back to their camp for medical treatment. However, Hardman said the man was taken off her father by a corporal, who wasn't involved in the fight, but claimed a bravery medal for the act performed by Butt. Hardman said: "He was a very proud man - a very very hardworking man." During his life, before he died in 2010, Butt als
May 8, 2026 → May 8, 2026
The daughter of a World War Two soldier has described how he was "laughed out" when he tried to join the Royal Air Force because he was too young. After he was turned away, Norman Butt, from Guernsey, was so determined to fight in the war…
Read original at BBC →1 updates from 1 source.
The daughter of a World War Two soldier has described how he was "laughed out" when he tried to join the Royal Air Force because he was too young. After he was turned away, Norman Butt, from Guernsey, was so determined…
Read original at BBC →What this story stands on. Tier 0 is a primary record or the subject's own words; higher tiers must be attributed, never stated as bare fact.
The daughter of a World War Two soldier has described how he was "laughed out" when he tried to join the Royal Air Force because he was too young. After he was turned away, Norman Butt, from Guernsey, was so determined to fight in the war…
View source →Tier key: T0 = Primary source · T1 = Wire · T2 = Outlet report · T3 = Commentary
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