大象传媒

Fred had been called up into the King鈥檚 Shropshire Light Infantry at Copthorne Barracks in January 1942 but afterwards was transferred to the Royal Engineers

Sapper Williams was with the 80 Assault Squadron, Royal Engineers, 79 Armoured Division, as a gunner of a Churchill tank which had been converted for a special invasion role. The turret housed a mortar-like weapon called a 鈥榩etard鈥�, designed to destroy pillboxes and the like, and on the front it carried a huge bundle of wood called a 鈥榝ascine鈥�, to be dumped into ditches and gaps so they could be crossed
鈥淵ou can see the French coast now lads鈥� came the cry as we looked towards the Normandy beaches in the gathering daylight of the morning of D-Day and saw frightening obstacles, emplacements and guns waiting the invading force. I wondered how the hell we were going to get through them. We had had a terrible crossing and were all that seasick but despite the formidable task we were keen to get ashore.
His vehicle, an AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers), crossed the channel on an LCT (Land Craft Tank).
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure, but think there were five of our vehicles on board. We were 3 Troop and had 3C on our tank. There was a flail tank, (used to clear mines) which was the first off, a bridge tank was second and we were the third off. The flail did a damn good job and we got straight through. We were off course and landed east of our target at St Aubin-sur-Mer but should have been at Bernieres, so instead of being on target on Juno beach were virtually on Gold beach. There were shells, mortars and machine guns moving the infantry down. We were inside the tank and never got hit that day鈥�. His AVRE rolled down the ramp and the fascine on the front of the tank meant he could not see out of the front!
鈥淲e got on the beach and then had a 16ft high sea wall in front of us, which we had to demolish 鈥� the leading tank did that 鈥� and then they dropped the two bridge tanks. With there being no prospect of using the fascine on the intended 鈥榯arget鈥�, a bomb crater on the Caen road, it was used to help create an exit off the beach, and with no suitable targets for the petard the weapon was not fired on D-Day鈥�.
鈥淚n the afternoon I reported to the Beachmaster and was tasked to clear some mines on Gold beach, but before we started we were suddenly ordered back to the tank to help out Lord Lovatt鈥檚 commandos who were being held up at Ouistreham. We went down with half a dozen tanks. We could not get across the bridge because there were two Panzers the other side. When 鈥榯hey鈥� saw all these other tanks, they must have done a bunk. It was another waste of time and Lord Lovat, not pleased, told us to 鈥淓ff off and fight our own battles鈥�!
鈥淏y the time we got back there were two exits off the beach, and were told to put our tanks in an orchard, camouflage them, and 鈥榙ig in鈥�. A Frenchman came out of his house with a bottle of Calvados, he had an un-exploded mortar bomb on the top of his conservatory that he wanted us to move but we declined explaining if moved it would blow the conservatory to smithereens! We spent the night on high alert and nobody slept. We had dug in under our 40ton tanks, not realising they could have sunk in the soft ground, and if this had been the case, we would have all been crushed鈥�.
鈥淭he following day I went into action with the petard in an attack with the 51st Highland Division on Douvres-la-Deliverande radar station, which almost claimed my life. I fired one but never saw what happened to it, I could see the pillbox and see the slit. All of a sudden there was a flash, a shell had hit the turret and blew the gun completely off, we then had another one and were hit six times in all but not one penetrated. Two other tanks had been blown up. We were on fire, our tank commander got out, I thought he was bailing out, so I followed, only to be told it was the waterproofing on fire, and to 鈥榣ay a smoke screen and we will all get out鈥�. He checked the tank and said we would have to reverse out as the tracks were only just hanging on and had to reverse all the way back to our lines鈥�.
I continued to serve during the advance on Germany and later converted to an amphibious vehicle, called a Buffalo, taking part on the landings on Walcheren. Walcheren was worse than D-Day.
Looking back on those wartime days, I was one of the lucky ones, I never had a scratch鈥�.

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