Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 020, folder 24: John Richmond Curl

CURL, John Richmond British HMRN HM LCT (R) 334 Box 20, #24

Ack 19/5/58

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 --- MIDNIGHT JUNE 6

What is your full name? John Richmond Curl

What is your present address? 73 Beech Road Bedfont Feltham Mx

Telephone number: nil

What was your unit, division, corps? HMRN. HM LCT (R) 334 (Portsmouth rating)

Where did you land and at what time? Ouistream? June 7th 1944 After firing rockets at 8-1 am on June 6th 1944 (sword beachhead)

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? A.B. Radar .1. 21 years Were you married at that time? No What is your wife!s name? (Now) Elizabeth Joyce Curl

Did you have any children at that time? N o When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? on or about May 11th 1944

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? We sailed from our dispersal point on June 4th 11o/c PM D day was originaly planned for June 5th, but owing to bad weather we returned to 'X' point, only to sail June 5th evening. For OPERATION OVERLORD I was on duty in the Radar Room.

Were there any rumours 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.) We had only one rumour, and that all 3 rocket craft were wrote off, as never to return. We had 1,040 Rocket in the racks & another 1,040 below H.E. - SMOKE- and others. One hit & we would be blown to kingdom come.

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No it was not allowed in the Navy.

2.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Not then. But on Nov 1st 1944 we had some as we were hit then.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? nil 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 outof-place? After we had fired our topside load of rockets we, veered off to the left and I came out as saw it all. There was an LCT (R) on the beach aflame from stem to stern, we all said it could have been us.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? One thing that I think will stick in my mind, is what one old Frenchman said to us at Duban SUR MER. (We had told him we had come from a rocket ship.) He said "you say you have come to free us, why then do you wreck my home with your rockets, the Germans didnt, you have taken all I own with your "Freedom".

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? A few days after 'D' day we went to a place to the left of the beach head. I believe it was called Franceville Plaque we had fire our salvos at the Jerry guns & left LCT (R) 331 was doing the same when we saw her funnell give a 'Smoke Ring' wich meant trouble in the engine. We called out to them to burn the mess tables to help & fired our "Oerlikon' guns at the Jerry's wich were hopelessly out of our range.

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? No I am afraid not

What do you do now? I now work at 'TECHNICOLOR' LTD BATH ROAD as a 'CINE TECHNICIAN'.

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 Now."

Cornelius Ryan Joan O. Isaacs The Reader's Digest

Mr J R Curl

After our choppy trip across & around & around the English Channel, we waited until dawn, going very slow, I being the only Radar man on the LCT (R) 334, I had been on duty all night and I was told to switch off until 7-10. I went out on the deck, and saw all the L.C.A. being lowered from their carrier ships, looked at the Capital ships & destroyer escorts & then back to the , 'Cathode Ray Tube" I said to the Coxin at the wheel, "it wont be long now, we had been given orders to secure all hatches & 'Dead lights' we were on our 'Run in 500 yards 400 yds & 20 on firing salvo after salvo, 'Hard a port' went the order we were on our way out no 'hit' on us, deck full of steam, smell of explosion all around us, we had played our first part to 'Do'. We laid off the beach watching all the LCTs going in 'British Tommies' & Canadians falling on the beach & the LCT (R) burning away to the right, one hit we thought & it was all over for them.

There was a huge pall of smoke on the town, we had hit a petrol dump near the water tower, I noticed the pill boxes on the shore, the guns were facing 'inland' I wonder why?

We went alongside the cruiser 'Black Prince' in the afternoon, for safety I suppose. Big shells started dropping near, from away in the hills to the left. We had orders to reload, & off to get them, sweaty with heat & fear we loaded up again, off, As we went on our second run, I prayed that the 'Parkman Richards' engines would be OK & get us there and back. They did, LCT (R) 331 was not so lucky she got there, & on her way back, trouble.