大象传媒

6th June 1944

Memory of T.G. Baker (late Lieutenant, Royal Corps of Signals)

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In the very early hours of 鈥淒鈥� Day, as a young Officer in the Royal Corps of Signals, I was standing in a field in the picturesquely-named hamlet of Toot Baldon, two or three miles south-east of Oxford.

This was the site of an isolated searchlight whose exposed beam was, unusually, motionless and pointing vertically upwards into the night sky. There was a constant roar of aircraft passing overhead which, from time to time, could be seen in the glare of the light. There were towing gliders behind them and I knew that the Invasion had commenced.

This searchlight was one of many extending in a straight line from Oxford northwards to well beyond Rugby. There was a similar line of searchlights further westwards, both parallel to each other. Each had its light exposed vertically, the effect of which was to form a corridor of lights down the centre of the Midlands pointing towards Normandy. This acted as a rough and ready navigational aid to assist crews of the many British and American aircraft taking part and who had, at that time, limited night flying experience.

I was in command of a Signals detachment given the task to lay and maintain, at very short notice, field telephone lines connecting each searchlight site (most of which were in isolated positions) in order that, when the time came, the code-word for exposing the lights would be certain to be received.

The work was long and hard, sleeping and eating where one could and with no time for relaxation. We had only map references to work to and since these were spread over several different maps, the juxta-position of these sites were not apparent, neither were we aware as to the use to which they were to be put. Indeed, we were puzzled why it was so urgent to provide communications to these searchlights which were most unusually situated well away from any anti-aircraft gun defended zones which they normally complemented.

It was not until the searchlights illuminated the sky in the early hours of that fateful day did I realise that I and my men had played some very small part in the preparation and start of the Invasion.

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