大象传媒

THE INVASION FROM JUNE 6TH 鈥� JULY 3RD 1944
D-DAY
Written on the Beaches by Leading Signalman Norman G. Craft from Hull

FORWARD:- This diary was found amongst Norman鈥檚 papers when he died in 1998. The original Diary written during the first days of the D-Day landings by Norman who was only 20 years old at the time is now kept in the D-Day museum in Portsmouth 鈥� we donated them along with a photograph as we felt they should be shared by everyone.

鈥淚鈥檓 afraid to say I am a bit adrift in writing about it 鈥� but I can remember it only too well. After being on the landing craft for 4 days lying just off the Isle of wight 鈥� we set sail at 0015 hrs on Monday 5th of June to Where? We just didn鈥檛 know (or cared). Our landing craft was LST 613, on board were 60 odd vehicles and men of every regiment and service. We had the Rum issue on board, also cigarettes but seeing as I don鈥檛 smoke it didn鈥檛 matter. There were 4 LSTs in line ahead when I came up on deck the following Morning (June 6th) each one towing a Rhino that is a pontoon affair with the floating Jeep or Duck as they are called onboard. We still didn鈥檛 know where we where going to finish up until 12 o鈥檆lock June 6th.

The Captain spoke here is the exact words as I can remember 鈥淵our port of call is Luc-Sur-Mer, halfway between Le Havre and Cherbourg, the first party were landed this morning at 0725, parachute troops landing six hours previous, we are timed to arrive at 4 o鈥檆lock this afternoon, so be ready to embark by then and good luck to all of you鈥� Soon after the captain spoke the grandest sight of all was witnessed, those grand old ships of the navy, Nelson, Rodney, Warspike, Sirus and Norfolk all passed us going the same way. Our fighter protections was pretty tight consisting mostly of the double finned lightning fighter bomber.

The voyage was pretty good but did she roll, for they are flat bottomed the card game of Brag was played all day and night and I did very well including French money as well. Round about 4 o鈥檆lock we came in sight of the French coast. The big ships were there bombarding like hell with swarms of fighters strafing the Germans as they retreated inland. By then we were ready, rigged and ready for the off, but a very high sea was running and the weather wasn鈥檛 too good, and we lay off the beach all night with constant strafing and bombing by German fighters, but they all caught a packet before they could fly off.

The next day (June 7th) they tried to land again but failed owing to high seas. It was at 2 o鈥檆lock that afternoon a pontoon came right out to the LST and started taking off the transport. We were the first of the heavy mobile units ashore. We touched down on French soil at 3 o鈥檆lock Wednesday the 7th of June. We should have landed 24 hours previous but owing to the conditions of tide and weather this was practically impossible. The scene on the beaches I am not going to write about, all I can say is if people at home could have seen the way in which the first assault troops landed and how they took the beach they deserve all the credit in the world. It鈥檚 good to watch but a hell to be in. The Germans were now 6 miles inland and still going back 鈥� it was about 5 o鈥檆lock when German formations of fighters came Machine gunning the beaches 鈥� talk about duck 鈥� you fling yourself down in anything or owt. During round about seven that night German prisoners came trooping back to the beaches 鈥� long lines of them onto the ships and away to England. About the same time gliders were coming over with the airborne. It鈥檚 cute to see thousands of coloured parachutes all coming down together. It was dusk they started sniping from a house on the beach (down we go again) but a Churchill tank went right up close and blasted away at this particular house Ha! It soon stopped them sniping. That night bombers were over as we had expected, I slept in a hole just dug out with a tarpaulin over fully dressed.

Next morning rigging of the signalling gear began. It was during the afternoon I had another attack seven solid hours under cover before it quieten down. The Germans had started shelling now from batteries inland and my how they whistled over (down again) but things went on in spite of strafing, bombing and shelling.

I will now skip a few days for it was the same day after day stores coming in 鈥� an hour of shelling, warships always bombarding, so it was always a constant banging somewhere or other. Prisoners arrived day after day from the front. They were never any casualties or damage from this shelling but it kept you ducking. The worst damage it ever caused is related thus;- During the unloading a coaster had been beached about 100 yards from the signal station, she was loaded with ammunition waiting to be taken off then he started shelling and he had two hits on the ship which was set on fire. The area was cleared around except the station. Inside the station where the telegraphist, telephone operator, also vhf operator and 2 S.D.O. ists one of which was yours truly. The coaster by this time was beginning to blow off her ammunition and how ! You could hear it splattering around the station outside. The Lieutenant Commander was talking to us all the time over the phone. We had permission to leave if we thought the coaster was ready for the high jump but nobody went. One of the lads only 18 been in the navy 6 months just sat writing a letter all the time it was going on. When the next watch came on at midnight the ship was still burning but not so much explosions this time 鈥� and to this day she still lies at anchor burnt out. But it is one of the things I will not forget in a hurry 鈥� the troops were still pushing inland but Caen was and still is the obstacle. The civilian population in the nearby village are half and half. Some all for you the others no. The damage done on shore is considerable by the bombarding ships 鈥� today July 3rd exactly a month since D-Day 50,000 tons have been landed an average of nearly 2,000 tons a day despite shelling, bombing and machine gunning.

Here I must come to a close, things are just the same 鈥� but it will take a lot of forgetting

THE BEACHES FROM 4TH 鈥� 6TH JULY

The last 3 days has brought a complete change to this particular beach 鈥� on Monday all mobile units returned to England leaving only Sub Lt. Francis, C.Y.S. Everest, Leading Sigs Hanlin, Joyce, Goldring, Craft and Sigs Clarke, and Glen. We had 2 planes brought down one 100 yards from the station, it was a Junkers 88, the occupants one being killed, the 2nd plane was a US army co-operation plane it crashed out to sea. The shelling still continues from German batteries Last night being very severe. As I write now in the concrete dug-out they are coming over, a whistle then off it goes, fighters were driven off yesterday by spitfires talk about nip across the sky. The weather today has been grand real summer鈥檚 day

THE BEACHES TO JULY 9TH 1044

The principal point of interest that has happened during the past two days has been the attack on Caen. The bomber formations that came over as the prelude to the attack were 450 strong consisting of Stirlings and Lancasters. As we could see only 2 were damaged by flack which was intense at first. This was followed by the artillery and up to now the attack has gone extremely well. There has been a human torpedo scare in the harbour 鈥� shelling and bombing of the beaches by night continues, the weather is bleak with occasional rain and the wind has dropped (written in Luc-Sur-Mer)

July 6th 鈥� on the beach it鈥檚 very lonely here now without the usual crowd of lads, still our time will come when we go back over there.

July 15th 鈥� During the past few days nothing startling has occurred but bombing and shelling of the beaches by German batteries continues. The shelling of late seems to be concentrated towards the ridge south west, the artillery is there. A Flying bomb, V1, doodle bug or call it what you will was seen 2 mornings ago, the best part of it was it was flying inland towards the German lines.

Fighters are circling overhead, the German fighters have been up there as usual hit and run type of raid, nothing becomes of these type of raids thought. Stiff resistance is meeting the Americans for the town of St. Loe. Well that sums up the situation right now smoke laying has started in the harbour just like a foggy day.

July 17th 1944 鈥� During the past two days same as usual 鈥� shelling commenced this morning at 0545 for an hour. Then again at 1230 hrs for an hour and a half. At 4.50 this afternoon fighters (German) were in evidence. One British Lightning crashed about 3 miles inland to the south. At this moment British guns are bombarding the German Batteries to the south east of us. We are proceeding to JUNO beach this coming Friday.

Saturday July 22nd 1944 鈥� Well this will be the last phase of this varied account of the invasion. A lot has been missed out for obvious reasons. I am aboard LST and at this moment we are just in sight of the Isle of Wight. Shelling was still happening during the last couple of days we were over there, but no casualties of damage. 0n board we have 250 casualties from the Aaen area and we that is the 17 of us left and sick berth attendants already onboard have dug in and helped looking after them. Well I don鈥檛 think there is much more to say from my point of view without any sentimental reasons I prayed I would be back and I did so it makes you think. Some of the lads were not so lucky. Today the casualties of the Roger and Fox commandoes lie in a small churchyard with a wooden cross with a steel helmet on top. This is a civilised world or is it? What will be the next operation who knows, Scilly, Normandy?
It leaves only one thing to say;-

They all went over on that day
Into a battle that was really hell
some have lived to stay
but others lie where they fell.鈥�

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