He was commissioned into in the 2nd/4th Battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI). Following arctic warfare training in Iceland he returned to the UK as a full lieutenant. For a short while he was posted, at his own request, as liaison officer to the 42nd Armoured Division then applied to join the Parachute Regiment in order to have a better chance at seeing action. He was accepted and after training was posted to the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion as part of the British 6th Airborne Division. On 6 June 1944, as a captain, he participated in Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings. He was among the first British soldiers to land in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord. His battalion parachuted in after glider-borne forces had landed to capture the Pegasus Bridge near Caen. During the operation he met John Howard on the bridge and was involved in helping to repulse counter-attacks by the Wehrmacht forces in the area. Todd played Howard in the film "The Longest Day", recreating these events.