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THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 —MIDNIGHT JUNE 6
What is your full name? Joseph Arthur Collinson
What is your present address? 3 Westbury Street Leeds 10 Telephone numbers
What was your unit^ division, corps? 2nd Bn Lincolnshire Regt 9th Brigade 3rd British Inf Division 30th Corp?
Where did you land and at what time? Le Breche at approx 1230 pm
What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? Lance Corporal 26 yrs
Were you married at that time? No What is your wife's name? Now- Vera Did you have any children at that time?
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? July 1943 What was the trip like during the crossing of the Channel? Do you remember, for example, any conversations you had or how you passed the time? Uneventful but the sight of all the ships was awe inspiring Part of the time spent sorting the operational maps into groups for issue to sections Remember thinking I would not have much chance if the ship went down quickly as my bunk was in an awkward corner
Were there any rumour aboard ship? (Some people remember hearing that the Germans had poured gasoline on the water and planned to set it afire when the troops came in) No Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? yes but not very detailed
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2. Were any of your' friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? No Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Were you wounded? No How were you wounded? Do you remember what it was like —that is, do you remember whether you felt any pain or were you so surprised that you felt nothing.
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it may not have seemed amusing at the time? Or anything unexpected or out- of-place? The very old Frenchman standing at his garden gate waving his arms in the air + shouting "drive en Anglais" seemingly oblivious to the shells which were falling
Do you recall any incident sad or heroic or simply memorable that struck you more than anything else? The comforting sight of one of the many boys holding a rope to assist us wading from ship to shore Being bowled over twice by waves + losing the CO map case + my bicycle The confusion on the beach The utter dejection of two German POW one in great pain from a shoulder wound they were the first persons I saw on the beach The sight of a young calf with a broken leg due to presumably shrapnel of one of my friends asking permission to put it
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out of its misery + the speed with which it disappeared into the cooks truck after he had done so
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3. In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self-reliance\ others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either?
Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours (midnight 5 June to midnight 6 June) either as infantry, glider or airborne troops, whom we should write to? The intelligence officer in command of my section Mr J Harrod 70 Ruskin Avenue Lincoln ------------------ What do you do now? Occupation- Engineering draughtsman Spre time- Secretary of local Baptist Church
Please let us have this questionnaire as soon as possible, so that we can include your experiences in the book. We hope that you will continue your story on separate sheets if we have not left sufficient room. Full acknowledgement will be given in a chapter called "Where They Are Wow." Cornelius Ryan J oan 0. Isaacs The Reader1 s Digest