Although his bravery saved her father's life, Angela Williams knew little of Charles Eagles until The Northern Echo published his D-Day diaries. Sixty years on, she talks to Chris Lloyd about meeting the hero for the first time

IT is an absolute privilege to meet someone with such physical courage at the age of 19," said Angela Williams. "To think he risked his own life carrying my father off the battlefield. . . it is incredible."

Thursday night was the first time Angela had met The Northern Echo's D-Day diarist Charles Eagles. Sixty years ago almost to the day, Sergeant Eagles had slung her badly-wounded father, Lieutenant Jack Williams, blood pouring from his thigh, over his shoulder and taken him through a hail of bullets to get medical help.

"He didn't ever talk to us about the war, " said Angela, who is head of English at Monkwearmouth School in Sunderland. Born in 1946, she is one of three daughters that Jack had after the war.

"We knew he had been wounded. I remember as a very small girl touching the holes in his legs, the craters that had been made by the bullets, and seeing his scars, " she said. "He would say he had had an accident as a boy, and then he would talk about how his father had been very lucky and had lost his leg in the First World War."

Jack was born in Brandon, County Durham, in 1914, grew up in Spennymoor and, like his father, joined the Durham Light Infantry. In the months leading up to D-Day in June 1944, he was Charles Eagles' platoon officer.

"He was my hero, " said Charles. "I had great respect for him. I always wanted to be a physical training instructor like him, and I was always down the gym and we ended up in the boxing ring together."

Charles' story of the Battle of Lingevres, which was fought on June 14, 1944, to gain control of a Normandy village ten miles inland from the D-Day beaches, has featured in his D-Day Diary which has been running in The Northern Echo for the past fortnight.

Jack, who died in 1992, was one of 248 Durham men who were wounded in the 90 minutes of fighting. Another 32, including the 9th Battalion's commanding officer, were killed.

Jack's nephew, Gerry Routledge from Crook, saw the extraordinary account and contacted the three daughters who are all teachers in Sunderland.

"I saw his picture and it was exactly how I remember him and I thought 'cripes', " said Gerry. "Jack got me my first gun when I was 13 and taught me to shoot."

Jack also gave Gerry the knife he had carried in that battle, complete with French coins attached to its sheath.

Also present at the gathering at Charles' house in East Herrington was Captain John Cummer of the US Navy who had got in touch via the Internet.

Capt Cummer crewed one of the landing crafts that put Charles and the rest of the DLI ashore on Gold beach on D-Day.

"We loaded the DLIs at Southampton and sailed late on the evening of June 5, " he said. "We were standing by off the coast and they sent us in at 10.30. The place was like a junkyard when we got there.

There was a truck that could not get off the beach and the wreckage of other landing crafts - we had to open our doors on top of one so our men could get off."

Capt Cummer's presence added to an emotional evening.

"When you hear of Charles dragging my uncle out of that cornfield, it is unbelievable, " said Gerry. "He says he didn't save anybody's life and that he was probably just doing his duty, but it is a real honour to meet the guy."