One of a series of twelve portraits of D-Day veterans commissioned in 2014 by His Majesty King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales, following his attendance at the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. The series of portraits pay tribute to some of the extraordinary men that played a role in the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War.

Cecil Newton was a Trooper with the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. On D-Day he was a DD ‘Swimming’ Tank gunner, landing as part of the first wave on Gold Beach, code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion in Normandy. After destroying a German defensive position, Cecil’s tank became swamped and he was required to evacuate onto the beach.