´óÏó´«Ã½

D-Day Memories
page 1/3 by Jack Nicholls
The first inkling that I had that the Invasion was imminent and that my Unit was going to be involved was two or three weeks before June 6th. At the time I was a corporal in a General Transport Company of the R.A.S.C, doing both Motor Cycle Despatch rider duties and Convoy Control, stationed at Barrhead in Scotland. There, we were operating a Drivers Training Centre, retraining as Drivers men who had previously been in the Ack Ack in this Country and were no longer required for that duty after the German Air raids virtually ceased in 1943 and 44. Incidentally a number of the men we trained became Drivers of the DUKWs, the amphibious vehicles that were used to bring supplies ashore, before the Mulberry Harbour was constructed at Arromanches and they did sterling work in very rough seas. To see them scrabbling for grip with their front wheels at a gap blown in the sea wall whilst the back end was still bobbing and weaving in the rough sea was a sight for sore eyes. They did a marvellous job although quite a few were overturned and sank. However, I digress. It was two or three weeks before D Day when I was ordered to report to the C.O. who gave me orders to make my way to CRASC Headquarters at Guildford in Surrey, pick up some sealed orders and from there to rendezvous with the rest of the Company, who were moving South at a place called Wansford in Northants, picking up petrol and grub at any convenient Unit on the way.
I spent the rest of the day working out my route - in those days most of the road signs had been taken down as a precaution against any German invasion. It was quite a journey, - about 450 miles South to Guildford then about 100 miles back North to Wansford and I naturally made sure that the route went via Sheffield, my home town, so I would have at least one night at home. I had a good bike, found my way to Guildford without any difficulty, collected the despatches then made my way back North to Wansford. There my Platoon vehicles (ERF Diesels) were leaded with Somerfeld tracking (Mesh) and Iron stakes and we were left in the dark having no idea of where the load was destined for» We had already waterproofed the engines of our vehicles and tested them in 4 ft. deep water in a loch in Scotland so we realised this was it, - we were booked for the Invasion. From Wansford we first filled the vehicle tanks to the brim and then went to a camp, simply designated R8, in the wilds of Norfolk. This was completely sealed off with Barbed wire and guarded with M.P.s so that, once in, no one could get out.
On the Thursday evening before D Day, the Officers and N,C.O.'s were called to a meeting to be briefed and told we were to land on “Gold Beach" the first Platoon to land being our Platoon, A Platoon, on the day, and our, loads were to be delivered at all cost to a Map reference on the map of the Normandy coast with which we were provided, where a Pioneer Company would be waiting to use the material for the construotion of a temporary Runway for the RAF, the first in France B Platoon would follow four hours later with petrol and C Company .four hours after that with ammo for the planes. If we didn’t succeed to deliver, then a second Company would come in four hours later and If they were lost then a third Company with the same loads would follow. This didn't do much good to our morale, and the Officers wore told privately, I heard afterwards, that casualties were expected to be very heavy, but we had to get through with our loads at all costs. :
Friday morning come and we went to the Hards, a sloping concrete ramp down to the sea, at Felixstowe, loaded our vehicles on to an American L,S.T. boat which was waiting for us there. Once loaded we put to sea, then went down the coast for a while and finally anchored in the mouth of the Medway and the waiting began. A lot of the Drivers hadn’t seen any action before and didn't know what to expect, but there was a nucleus of us, from our previous Company, who had been at Dunkirk and we knew it was going to be no picnic. However, in for a penny, in for a pound and I am sure everyone was determined to do their best.
D Day Memories
by Jack Nicholls
page 2/3

It was most uncomfortable on the ship there were no berths at all. Drivers were able to sleep in the cabs of their vehicles but for the others, it was make yourself as comfortable as possible on the mesh or iron stakes or under the lorries on the steel deck. However the food was good American style and there was coffee on tap the whole of the time. Saturday and Sunday passed, Monday was the day, hut the Invasion was postponed the weather being too bad and Tuesday was then set as the day. Late Monday night we set sail, went through the Straits of Doer, fully expecting to be shelled by the German batteries at Calais but nothing happened. They must have been asleep As we went further and further more and more ships appeared until as far as the eye could see, the Channel was packed with Shipping, whilst a continuous stream of aircraft was passing overhead making for the invasion beaches. As dawn broke the thin line of the French beaches appeared studded with flashes from burstlng shells and looking like a firework display and there was continuous noise from the guns. Shells from Battleships stood out to sea passed overhead, sounding like express trains and every now and then the beach would erupt as every now and then a flail tank with its clanking chains detonated a mine. Fortunately the tide was out when the ship benched arid the ramp was let down into only about two feet of water and the Iorries were quickly driven off over the beach and up through a gap blasted in the sea wall to a marshalling point. All the time the noise of gunfire, shells exploding and aircraft diving on to their targets was stupendous. We had landed at a little place called Le Hamel near to Arromanches and all our vehicles had got through safely. The N.0.0.s quickly got their motorcycles from the backs of the lorries, a convoy was formed and we were off to our destination. As we left the Beach an unkempt column of German P.0.W.s were being shepherded into a compound and they locked as if they had been stunned by the volume of fire directed at them even though they had been in prepared emplacements, Sadly we also passed & number of British bodies piled up, awaiting burial, so obviously there had been some fierce fighting there earlier in the day.

At this point I should be telling you that we started to be shelled and vehicles were being blown up left right and centre but in fact we were hardly fired on and reached our destination without too much incident. The Pioneers were waiting for us but were having trouble with 'Snipers and a party was sent out to try to locate the Snipers and finish them off. Our main fear was setting off German mines. There were German warnings all over the place "Achtung Minen" obviously for the benefit of German troops but they didn’t have time to remove the signs and we benefitted in that at least we knew the area in which the nines had been planted. The drivers were to some extent protected from mines as this danger had been anticipated and sandbags had been placed on the floor of the Drivers’ Cabs to minimise damage to the occupant in case of a mine exploding.

The vehicles Were unloaded safely and the Pioneers immediately began to construct a Runway whilst we returned to the beach and harboured up in a wood nearby and camouflaged our Vehicles. There we took cover in a dry ditch, heated up our 24 hour Ration pack and tried to pet a bit of sleep as it was already dark and we were starting again at first light the following morning hauling supplies from the beach to supply dumps established inland.

A strange thing happened during the night. Near the ditch where we were taking cover there was a patch where huge Bull Frogs were gathered. They were making a terrific croaking when no firing was going on but at the first explosion they stopped obviously frightened to death by the noise. During the night German planes came over and tried, by dropping oil Drum Bombs on the sea to set it alight and by this means set the Invasion fleet on fire All the ships there had Ack-Ack guns and as the planes came over every ship opened up with every available gun. The noise was stupendous There was in fact more danger from falling shrapnel than there was from German bombs and what with the gunfire and the loud crooking from the frogs, there was very little sleep. At first light we moved to a

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.