Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 020, folder 26: William James Charles Dadson

DADSON, Wm. James Charles Juno 2nd Canadian Box 20, #26

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

What is your full name? William James Charles Dadson

What is your present address? 1 B Home Gardens Dartford Kent.

Telephone number:

What was your unit, division, corps? HQ company 273 Batt 86th H-A-A - H-A-C ATT. 3rd CANADIAN DIV

Where did you land and at what time? We landed at Corsulles as near as I can remember just befor noon on D DAY our rondezvous I remember was a twin steepled church at La Deliverand.

What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? Age 30. My rank was gunner and I was a despatch rider to Major Clark who was in charge of recce groupe

Were you married at that time? yes

What is your wife's name? Catherine Louisa Dadson

Did you have any children at that time? yes I had a daughter born July 12 1939

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? We had a few guesses in May 1944 but were not sure until [crossed out] we [end crossed out] June 2nd that we were aficially informed

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? Our trip across the Channel was very smooth without any incidents whatever. We passed the time by playing nap, and as soon as we sighted the French coast we through all our remaining English money overboard, saying we wont want that for a while.

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 never heard any rumours whatever aboard our ship, we too busy playing cards and keeping our thoughts to ourselves

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

2

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? During the night of D day + 2 Major Clark told me he was going to the beach to see if there was any sign of our guns coming in, and he was killed by an A.P. bomb also a sgt. Wright was killed.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? I was making some soup from our emergency rations, and Major Clark shared this with my fellow D.R. gunner Whiting and myself. He told us where he was going and when asked if he wanted us to go with him, he said no, get some rest. You may need it later. We never saw him again, only when they buried him will Sgt Wright in a field behind the beachhead at "Corsulles". I dont know whether I have spelt this name right or not.

[crossed out] Were you wounded? [end crossed out]

[crossed out] How were you wounded? [end crossed out]

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? One incident which stands out in my memory was this. After we had arrived on the beach and making our way to the Rondezvous an old French lady was sitting on the beach, and she gave me a bottle of Lagar. That was the most welcome drink I have ever had in my life.

Do you recall any incident sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? To tell the truth I think that everyone was too busy looking after themselves to note any incidents no matter whether it be heroic or not.

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?

What do you do now? I am at present employed at a cement works, stoaring cement in ships and trimming coal of unloading

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

Dear Sir or Madam, I have not got a copy of the journal in my possession, but I expect you could get a copy, if you made enquiries at Armoury House City Rd London. The headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Co. You are welcome however to use this extact if it is of any use to you. Wishing your story every success I remain Yours faithfully MJ. W Dadson