Page 6

- 5 -
On way over Hollis had said to his old friend Lieutenant Kirkpatrick as
he admired the new army issue watch he had got. "When you've stopped
quivering if you get it, Lieutenant, I'll have that watch." "If that
happens Stan", he said, "its yours".

At 2 minutes past five that evening the Lieutenant and his batman,
Youngs, were killed by mortar fire. Hollis knew theexact time because
the watch on the Lieutenants 's rist was smashed and it had stopped at
5.02. He took off his identity bracelet, his rings and his hat badge,
Hollis hadn't the heart to take the watch. Youngs died in his arms.
Hollis felt bad about Youngs. "Write my mother, Sarge" he said.

(Kirkpatrick was a platoon (IC) in D Company).

Kirkpatrick had walked about all day with a broken arm which he received
during the attack on the gun battery.
. . . . . .
H Company was moving far over on the right, but D Company never saw them
again after the landing.

. . . . . .

They went through Crepon. Everything was shuttered and closed up.
Dead cows lying in fields, smell of cordite everywhere. Saw no civilians,
and continued down to town of Creully. Hollis figures that his Company
bypassed Creully.

. . . . . .

When Kirkpatrick was killed D Company hadadvanced across a grass field in
open order with some Bren gun carriers which had caught up with them
and as the road was reached they encountered their first real counterattack
by shell and mortar fire. These were more seasoned troops - the harder
core. Kirkpatrick, Youngs were killed and Lieutenant Fitzwilliam of a
Bren gun carrier platoon was wounded and sent back. Two or three men lifted
him on the Bren gun carrier, unconscious. The counter attack lasted about
half an hour (5.45 over).

Avanced in open formation in this manner until they reached a point about
8 miles from Bayeaux. It was getting dark. They sent out recce patrols
into the town that night. At the end of D-Day, D Company had been joined
by C & B Companies with A abreast to
That night they dug in in an orchard. Private Ian Headley (one of the Bren
gunners who had been left behind) shared the dug-out with Hollis. He was
the runner. Hollis thought back over the day and told Headley the mistake
the 17 & 18 platoons had made in bypassing the pillbox in landing. "It
could have been fatal", he told Headley. "Might have caught B & C Companies
when they landed, in the next wave." That night as he made the rounds of his
Company he discovered for the first time that his friend Pat Mullally had
been killed on the way up to the battery. It never dawned on him that he
might have been killed that day. But he did wonder why he hadn’t killed
the Germans in the battery. The truth was that he couldn’t have done so
even if he’d wanted to. Hollis didn’t go to sleep that night. For the
first time that day, he remembered that he was hungry. He had a can of
self-heating soup and sitting on the step of the dug-out, hewaited for
the counter-attack which he was sure would come.

. . . . . .

Beside him was a loudspeaker from the "listening posts" ahead with the
patrols. "We can hear some voices ahead". "Sounds like tanks ahead".
Finally came a voice "It’s all quiet". But Hollis knew that they would
attack. The first D-Day had gone well, he flet satisfied, he felt proud
of his regiment, but just the same he knew they’d attack. "They had done as
well as anybody". "They’ll come", he told Headley, "They’re sure to come".