Flying debris, falling coconuts, horizontal rain and no lights.

This is how a Huddersfield army officer described the scene that confronted him as Typhoon Haiyan – the strongest tropical storm to reach land since records began – hit the Philippines.

Major Dax Godderidge from Meltham was leading an adventure training expedition with others from the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield, East Yorkshire, when the disaster struck.

The soldiers were based at an island dive centre near Coron Town in Busuanga.

In their village six people have died and one is still missing.

The group had been diving to explore Second World War wrecks belonging to the Japanese fleet. Maj Godderidge said the area they were in experienced “exceptionally high winds” which devastated trees and buildings – but did not inflict the destruction seen elsewhere.

Maj Godderidge said the group likened it to a scene from Band of Brothers, the Second World War TV mini-series.

He described how military personnel escorted people through the winds and flying debris into accommodation further up a hill.

He added: “We couldn’t see a great deal of what was going on. It was very, very noisy with horizontal rain. The storm struck at night so we couldn’t see a great deal.”

The group faced “flying debris, falling coconuts, horizontal rain” and no lights as they worked to secure the safety of as many people as possible.

Maj Godderidge said: “Everybody chipped in different ways” and in the process “some pretty short, sharp snap decisions” had to be made.

He added: “It was quite hairy, a real experience for everybody with memories that will last for a long time.”

And he praised the “resilience of the local people”, saying they quickly went out on to the street to start the clean-up.

He described them as “exceptionally proactive.”

Maj Godderidge described how they helped rescue a young baby girl at what he described as “probably an exceptionally dangerous time to be out and about.”

He said every route they took to get to the baby was blocked before they finally made their way through.

“The baby slept through the entire thing,” he said.

Summing up the experience, he said: “We are just really relieved. We got a real hammering from the typhoon.

“It was an amazing experience in one way to go through the eye of a storm like that.

“It will never happen again, but we do feel so relieved and lucky compared to a lot of people on the eastern seaboard”.