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LEE, Arthur William British 55th Flotilla BOX 21, #37
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Ack 21/5/58
THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 -- MIDNIGHT JUNE 6
What is your full name? ARTHUR WILLIAM LEE.
What is your present address? 1. SAVILL HOUSE, RODENHURST ROAD, LONDON, S.W. 4.
Telephone number:
What was your unit, division, corps? H. M. L. C. T. 564 55th L.C.T. FLOTILLA
Where did you land and at what time? Ver - Sur - Mer Arrived at beach-head in early morning, but owing to congestion on beach were unable to beach craft until about mid-day.
What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? ABLE SEAMAN 22 years of age.
Were you married at that time? No.
What is your wife's name? DOROTHY IRENE.
Did you nave any children at that time? No.
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? I had taken part in the landing in Italy and after the Salerno landing when I came homeit was abvious that I should be part of it.
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? Very quiet most of the trip. Apart from midnight on 5th to 4 a.m. on 6th when I was steering I spent most of the time asleep.
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.) No.
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No.
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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 outof-place? No.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? No.
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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? No.
What do you do now? Local Government Officer
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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17th July, 1958.
A.W. Leo, Esq., 1, Savill House, Rodenhurst Road, S.W. 4.
Dear Mr. Lee,
I felt that I should personally write to thank you for the wonderful contribution which you have made in the preparation of the D-Day book which I am writing. The material in the questionnaire you sent me has been a great help in filling in many of the details of the work done in Normandy that day by members of the British Services.
It will probably be a full year before the book is completed and on its publication in The Reader's Digest under the story "The Longest Day", it will give us great pleasure to send you a copy.
Yours sincerely,
(Cornelius J. Ryan)