大象传媒

I was a driver of a Canadian battle wagon. We loaded at Tilbury docks on Thames on Sunday 4th of June 1944 unknowing to us the invasion had been put back 24 hours, we slept rough that night near the docks. We loaded on Monday 5th June. We set off after midnight down the Thames and through the straights of Dover. We were fired on from Calais and I think we were a decoy to make the Germans think we were landing at Calais. The British also landed aeroplanes and dummy paratroops in the area. At least one ship was sunk from the from the Calais guns. We arrived at Juno Beach at about midday 6th June. We were on an American liberty ship called the 鈥淲ill Rogers鈥� we were transferred with our vehicles to landing barges and headed for the beach. There was quite a lot going on. The enemy firing big guns and our battleships (one being the King George V) firing back at them. The tide was out so we landed quite well, I only got my tyres wet. This after training how to waterproof my vehicle and driving up to my chest in rivers and on beaches. Eventually we caught up with our company who had landed on foot. The first night was really scary that first time under enemy fire.

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