Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 022, folder 09: William James David Moore

MOORE, Wm. J. D. 3rd Division Box 22, #9

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 — MIDNIGHT JUNE 6 What is your full name? William James David Moore What is your present address? 31, Castle Park Rd, Burton on Trent Staffs. Telephone number: None What was your unit, division, corps? 2nd. Bn. Royal Warwickshires 185 Infantry Bde, 3rd British Infantry Division Where did you land and at what time? Lion sur Mer - Hermanville sector. What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? L/Cpl. 21 on 3rd June 44. Were you married at that time? no What is your wife's name? Did you have any children at that time? When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Generally speaking, at least a year before, but at the time of actual embarkation at Newhaven, I believe it was 5th June. 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? Sea was rather choppy, conditions were not too good for landings we were told. Most troops were not allowed on deck, which anyway were crammed with equipment, and all gun platforms manned. The general method of passing the time was in cleaning weapons and ammunition, "beefing" about the cramped quarters etc; others played cards and wrote letters. 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.) I do not recall any particular rumours such as above at all, though before the landings actually took place we did hear a rumour that German Units had been holding, by absolute coincidence, anti Invasion exercises the previous day (5)th, and up to the real landings. (This rumour proved to be quite true.) Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No. Diaries were banned, in any case no one expected to have the opportunity to keep them. I did hear of a R.E. office who took a miniature camera

[ continuating from previous page] the results of his labours! It was, of course unofficial; it was a offence under Army Regs.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? No, my particular unit was very lucky, but other Rifle Companies suffered severely from Sniping from ruined houses just off the beach head. There was little cover on the beach. Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Were you wounded? Not until 29 July, and later in Germany. 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 out- of-place? I recall we all expected a "wet" beaching; but as luck had it our port landing ramp was slab away, and the starboard ramp rested on a pontoon which was at the beach - sea edge. We just stepped ashore!! Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? A few yards to the side of the pontoon was a wrecked Sherman tank, and its ? driver lay behind it, smoking a cigarette. His right leg was blown off and two other men were obviously trying to look after him. There were few casualties actually at the beach, most had been brought to cover behind blockhouses and the sea

3 . In times cf 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 ? yes, in the early stages many sailors were seen trying to "get in" the battle; though "full of beans" for a fight they caused some confusion and were ordered back whenever possible. (The above applied of course only to beachhead area.). 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? I cannot recall any for certain; I may be able to check up with a few ex-members of my Regt. What do you do now? Orthopedic charge nurse, SRN, General Hospital, Burton on Trent 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 0. Isaacs The Reader's Digest

JOTTINGS

weather was dull and a grey sky. Bright sunshine later in day. As I recall, the orders we received after landing were slow to come through which meant sitting tight in slit trenches. This, I always felt, was bad; better to keep moving, than sit still and be sniped at! Resistance people were met out of the beach area; they guided us for a few hours. Most had, if I recall correctly, yellow armbands. My first dead German I saw at a curve of a lane; he lay face down, almost touching a dead commando who lay in front of him. They were the first dead men I had ever seen, and I remember how quiet and still they lay. Afterwards, one never glanced at bodies except on the advance, in case of "shamming". What few civilians we saw waved frantically from cellar-openings; I think they were half hysterical from the preliminary bombardments, which must have damaged countless homes, and injured many.