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Trooper Jim Smith was in the Westminster Dragoons. He was a tank gunner and landed on Gold Beach around 7:25am.The two Churchill tanks in front of Jim edged their way off the landing craft onto the beach but were hit by shells and exploded, killing the crews. Jim spotted a German defence bunker firing shells over the top of him towards many others landing further along the beach. Jim was in one of Hobart’s Funnies — the Flail Tank — sweeping mines out of the sand to clear a path for the invasion. His gun was facing out towards the sea to keep the way clear for the fast turning chains. Jim stopped the swirling chains and turned his gun in and towards the German bunker. The first two shells fired at it just to bounce off, so he loaded an armour piecing shell and in his sights he saw the barrel of an 88mm gun turn towards him as he fired. The shell shot straight through the opening of the bunker into the interior destroying everything in its path. Jim progressed into the town and was soon asked to assist in taking out a German sniper who was hiding in the belfry of a small church. He soon spotted him and took out the side of the church belfry with one shot. To this day one can see a slight colour difference in the stonework where the church belfry was repaired after the war. On June 6th, 2004 Jim made an emotional visit back to where he landed on D-Day for the first time in 60 years. He eventually found the graves of his lost comrades in a war cemetery, and after some searching he also found the remains of the bunker. It is situated on the sea wall next to a path upon which hundreds of tourists and people going to the beach pass every day,
Jim is now the Treasurer for the Association for Veterans of Foreign Wars
www.avfw.org.uk

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