ryan_box024-tld_f17_03

- for Cornelius Ryan 2-
Your name CCL Gammon

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to
you that day?
No

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during
landing or during the day?
Yes,quite a number both dead and wounded.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before
they became casualties:
I specifically remember a conversation with Major Archie Mac Naughton with
whom I tented with, in the concentration at Chilworth. Major MacNaughton who
was a veteran of World War 1 commanded A Coy of the Bn and had done his
landing job of clearing our right flank and making contact with the
Queens Own, was [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] marching along the road with his Coy and going on to
Tailleville, a village about four miles inland. I remember saying "Well Archie
you made it and we chatted for a few minutes,he was all smiles,an hour later
I cursed as I looked at his dead body.He was killed with three others while
making a recce in the village.

Were you wounded?
Yes

Do you remember what it was like--that is, do you remember
whether you felt any pain or were so surprised that you
felt nothing?
I was knocked unconscious in the attack on Carpiquet by shell blast and
distinctly remember how nice and quiet it was and thiught I must be dead, I
thought how nice it was,no noise,no shells landing,no burning wheat fields
and no worry.When I came to,a member of the Chaudiere Regt who were on our
right flank,had my tie loosened and was nearly drowning me by pouring water
down my throat. [crossed out] (over) [end crossed out]

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny
now, even though it may not have seemed funny at the time?
About the funniest thing I remember was my batman coming to me about
1700 hrs the day we landed and asking me what he would do with a
bottle of scotch he had carried around all day.This bottle had been
given to him by one of the ship's crew for me.He had carried it on the
landing stuck in his tunic.Of course we put it away for medicinal
purposes.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic or simply memorable,
which struck you more than anything else?
A very sad sight was four riflemen lying face down across their
rifles [insert] THEY [end insert] had been killed charging a house,about 100 yds from the
beech They had run into a machine gun post.
At another point I ran past a piece of machine gun swept path and
noticed one of "D"Coys Sargeants whom I [crossed out]knew[end crossed out] had known all my life
lying there dead with the grass burning around him.