Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 023, folder 23: Patrick Allen John Ward

WARD, Patrick Allen John

British 115th Minesweep Flotilla

Box 23, #23

Ack 27/5/58

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY

D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 — MIDNIGHT JUNE 6

What is your full name? Patrick Allen John Ward

What is your present address? 65 Crystal Palace Park Road S.E. 26

Telephone number: Sydenham Y261

What was your unit, division, corps? 115th Minesweeping Flotilla Ship M.M.S. 22

Where did you land and at what time? —

What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? Lieutenant R.N.V.R. 34

Were you married at that time? Yes

What is your wife's name? —

Did you have any children at that time? Yes

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? 1st June 1944

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? Quite good - sea moderate Personally I felt very pleasantly tensed up. Together with my CO I was on the bridge for about 36 hours We had already been half way over on the night of 3/4 June but were recalled due I believe to the weather.

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.) —

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? —

2.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? —

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 out- of-place? —

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? I have never really been given to feelings of patriotic fervor but as dawn broke on that day I felt intensely proud of being British particularly when the bombarding force opened up shot on time having come over at varying speeds (iebattleships, cruisers & a monitor). Planes laid a smoke screen & then all hell was let loose.

3.

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? Phlegmatic I think describes my ship's company (I hope that is the right way to spell it.)

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? Lt Cdr John Latron Redd DSC RNVR was Senior Office of the 115th M/S Flotilla.

What do you do now? Nothing unfortunately

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

As the bombarding force took up position the 115th M/S proceeded inshore & dropped radar deflecting balloons at prearranged points. Each ship carried 3 of these balloons with sinkers attached to the mooring wires. The mooring wires were of different lengths and this enabled the balloons to fly at varying heights. The reflections given by the anti-radar units were those of battleships, cruisers & destroyers. The German shore batteries opened up on these false bearings & rangers and I may add that we did not stop to admire the view when this happened. No head of state has ever had an opportunity of reviewing a fleet as large as that which we saw on that & subsequent days. I would not have missed it for all the tea in China. Bombarding force was Warspite, Ramilles, Roberts Arethusa, Mauritius, Danae, Dragon & Frobisher