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Friday" from the crew. (We had been told that if things went well we
would be going back to England on the P.J.C. on the following Friday!)
The first part of our run ashore was peaceful enough, the boys standing
up and singing. I might say that I was [underlined] not [/underlined] included in this choir!
Weighed down by the W.T. set on my back I was content to sit cramped up
under the side of the craft and wonder how the dickens I was going to
get on my feet when the time came. However, when we came in sight of
the beach it was found that conditions there were not suitable for a
landing as it was not completely cleared of enemy, and it was not our
job to do this. So our craft turned left and proceeded along the
coast to an alternative beach. By now we are under fire from enemy
shore batteries which put a stop to the vocalising efforts our blokes
had been indulging in. One of our boats received a direct hit and sank.
Three of the others hit submerged obstacles and were holed. The craft I
was in was one of these, the water starting to come in a lot too quickly
for my liking, I wondered if we'd get to the beach before it sank. As
it happened we didn't go right into the beach, but had to get out in a
hurry on to another craft alongside, walk along it, get on to another one
which was aground then into the water up to our armpits to wade the last
100 yards on to the beach. All this happened in a very short space of
time and I was unable to think very clearly. In a sort of daze I staggered
up the beach, which was covered with large boulders and on to a road at
the top where our crowd were assembling. During the ensuing check-up to
find out who was missing I was able to collect my wits a bit and take in
something of what was going on around us. Arthur turned up, minus JEEP
and equipment. The jeep sank when coming off the L.C.T. and he had had
to swim for it. Joe, Burt and myself were glad to see him for we had
heard that he hadn't got ashore. Andy and Haggis are OK too. The O.C.
hasn't shown up yet (Col. C.F. Phillips) and the 2nd I/C (Major Donald)
taken over in his place. Having got more or less organised we move off
inland to get to the point where our attack on Port-en-Bessin is to
commence. (Point 72). There is no large scale resistance, our worry
being snipers who cause us to go to ground frequently. It takes us all
day to get to Point 72. This is because we are not supposed to do any
fighting en-route, but to conserve men and ammunition for the real job
to come. A lot of ammunition and arms had been lost in the landing, this
adding to the need to avoid the enemy until the right time. We capture
some 20 prisoners on our way across the country. The intelligence reports
were correct. There is hardly a German among them. Russians, Poles and
Czechs mainly with little or no heart for fighting. We hand these over
to an army unit we come across. Our advance is covered by tanks firing
over our heads. We do not see many civilians, it seems as though the
coastal area has been evacuated. Thoses few that we do see appear to be
glad to see us and run up to us to shake hands. We arrive at Point 72
late at night and straightaway dig in to wait for the next day when the
attach [sic] on Port-en-Bessin is to be made. There is now no sign of any
enemy and all is quiet. Now that the panic and excitement of the landing
is over and a day in the sun dried our clothes I find it hard to realise
that we are in France and not on a routine exercise in England. We have
our first chance to dig in to our ration packs, and having stopped the