THIS is one of the most iconic images of the Second World War, taken during the D-Day landings that ultimately proved decisive in the conflict.

It shows the First Bucks, a territorial battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, landing on Sword Beach, Normandy, on June 6, 1944.

Pictured on the right, organising troops, is Bill Adams from Bicester.

Mr Adams and his comrades had to disembark into the sea a quarter of a mile from the shore then wade up to the beach holding on to a rope.

Last year Mr Adams and his wife Cynthia attended the D-Day ceremony in Southsea, not far from the point he left England for France on that day 70 years ago. Mrs Adams died last year aged 86.

He recalled how looking back at the battle on the beaches made him feel “queasy”.

The 90-year-old veteran, from the Kings Meadow estate, urged people to give generously to the Poppy Appeal.

The former fitter and welder at the former Upper Heyford airbase said: “I will be 91 next week – I will never forget what happened at Normandy.

“I have been a poppy seller in the past and although I have never needed financial help from the Royal British Legion I wouldn’t hesitate to ask if I did need support because I know that the Legion would step up to the plate.”

Mr Adams is now a member of the Woodstock branch of the RBL and is planning to lay a wreath for the branch at the Remembrance Day service in Bicester.

The D-Day veteran added: “There are lots of veterans and their families who are a lot less fortunate than me and donations to the Poppy Appeal could make a big difference to them.”

After the war Mr Adams was a stoker on the railways, based at Arncott, near Bicester, before moving to Oxford Radiators in Woodstock Road, where he worked for 20 years. For 10 years before he retired he worked as a fitter and welder at Upper Heyford.