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THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 -- MIDNIGHT JUNE 6
What is your full name? STANLEY FORTNAM
What is your present address? (constantly moving, here with overseas permanent address) 9 LARKDENE MOORE GROVE MOORE ROAD, DURBAN, S. AFRICA Can be contacted [illegible] my Mother at: No. 1Bungalow, Princes St, Sutton Bridge, Lincs.
Telephone number:
What was your unit, division, corps? Unit 2nd Btn Oxf. ad Bucks Lt. Inf. Div. - 6th Airborne Div. (Gliders)
Where did you land and at what time? Normandy, June 6th at 9 pm.
What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? Driver/Mechanic Aged 30
Were you married at that time? Yes
What is your wife's name? Mary Eileen Elizabeth Fortnam
Did you nave any children at that time? No
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Rumoured for months, but knew when we were not allowed contact with anyone outside the Airforce camp where we wew moved about 14 days before D-Day. Armed guards patrolled our area.
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? 3 hours in the air (glider) while getting formation. Wonderful view of invasion fleets down below. Conversation not a lot as only 2 of us in tail part.[inserted]Glider held my jeep, trailer full of ammo, motorcycle and 8 men. (6 in front and us 2 in rear.) [end inserted] Wondered what it would be like to be ditched in the channel. Rather excited more than worried. I had couple of naps.
Were there any rumours aboard [crossed out] ship? [end crossed out][inserted] glider [end inserted] (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 rumours and I think most of us were proud to be in on "D Day"
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? Started one on "D" plus one, but it fell away. Too much to do.
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Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Not immediately (close friends)
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 outof-place? In England on training we used to take about 2 hrs to dig a hole to get in for protection. As soon as we landed I dug one 4 feet deep in about 2/4 hr. As soon as I finished it we moved on.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? Most things happened after D - Day. One old man (French) kept worrying us to let him join the British Army to fight the "Bosche". This was during darkness of the 6th.
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In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self-reliances; others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either? I found that being troops that had not been in action before we were not so much afraid, [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] rather we were keen and really didnt know what to expect. It was later, about 2 days or more, that reaction set in and then we knew the meaning of being afraid.
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? Yes. One Company of the Oxf. and Bucks L. I. took off in about 6 gliders on the night (midnight) of June 5th/6th. Their intention was to hold, with the paratroops the Orne Bridges, which they did it was supposed to be a moonlight night but thick cloud and gliders had to crash land in dark. Some stopped couple feet from farm - houses, another about foot from canal, and other collided with trees. Casualties I think were about 1 Officer and 1 man. We came in 9 pm on 6th to reinforce them as they were being strongly mortared and shell. Enemy pulled away when we came in. The Company stood up and cheered when they saw us coming
What do you do now? Compositor working with Daily Paper in Durban, S. Africa. In England at present on short holiday. Have given up above situation to came over, but should be easy to get another when i get back.
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
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When we went down to land on the 6th, our glider seemed to be coming in rather low. I could see a tall hedge in our way and thought the pilot would pull up over it. But of course, without power we could not do that and we crashed right through it. I thought those in the front had been [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] killed as they were very quiet, but anyway I started to unshackle the jeep. There was movement after a few seconds and they came round to the tail to see how we were. We realize then that the under carriage had been smashed and that we could not drop the tail piece off to allow[crossed out] e [end crossed out] the jeep, etc., to be driven out. However I was left on my own unshackling the jeep. Just finished when there was a terrific crash and [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] the tracks of a [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] tank appeared. It was a tank crushing the tail of the glider. I knew nothing of this at the time and thought it was an enemy tank, until I saw the markings. It was an airborne one. Lucky I was not further down the tail. As I got the jeep out a Jerry came out of the hedge near where we went [?thru?]! He was as white as death. Don't blame him. Taken prisoner. Wire that was cut from the anti - invasion posts caught around the jeep wheels as I drove off to the given position. Had hectic time trying to get it off, expecting to "catch" it any moment. Further information might be got from the Oxf and Buck L. I. Cowley [crossed out] Back [end crossed out] Barracks Oxford.