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2nd Lieutenant Gordon Campbell Wilson was barely 19 on D-Day when he found
himself heading across the Channel [inserted]as one of 3 off[end inserted] in charge of a troop of 60 men. that is
two full sections, of the 47 Royal Marine Commando who were to land on Gold
Beach and force march across to a point known as Hill 72 overlooking the
little French [inserted](fishing)[end inserted] village of Port on Bessin which they were to capture on D+ 1.

Their instructions were that the entire 47th Royal Marine Commando was to
take the hill and link up with the Americans. The point about 2nd Lt. Wilson
is that he was convinced that he would die on D-Day.

On the way over he and a few other officers were billeted in the small doctors
cabin of an LSI. It was hot and stuffy in the cabin. Everybody was drinking
gin and there was nothing to cut it such as "cordial or vermouth". As
the night of June 5 wore on everybody began drinking hard and soon young
Wilson who was not mucy of a drinker found himself scoffing large glasses of
gin. The liquor and the stuffiness of the room added to his predicament
which to say the least had become slightly maudlin as the hours rolled by.
His Commander, Captain T.F. Cousins in charge of the entire troop (there
were three officers and 60 men) of A Troop had the lower bunk while Wilson
had the upper. Wilson said to him "I know I am going to die tomorrow, I'm
sure I am". "I agree with you" said Cousins, "but I'm convinced I won't."

In a way this was not young Wilson had expected to hear. He was just a
little mad that Cousins whom he hero worshipped didn't say "Oh no, you won't
old boy". Annoyed at himself and Cousins he climbed out of his bunk to
get some air on deck. He walked outside on to the deck and the fresh air
felledhim. He fell flat on his face, out. He was poured back into his
bunk.

On landing A Company's boats got hung up on obstacles and nearly all
of the men had to swim for it losing much of their equipment. They came
in under fire from the Battery at Longues but although none of them were hit,
one man was drowned. They were told incidentally that this battery had been
knocked out by the RAF.

They got up onto the beach which was a very narrow strip of sand and
sheltered for the moment behind a wall. They moved on and passed between
deserted pillboxes just behind them. Wilson felt rotten but the tension
which everybody felt helped to clear his head very quickly. Suddenly
as he passed a pillbox hesaw a dead German officer sitting outside. "Oh,
Jesus," he said, the dead German looked exactly like him! This worried
him no end for it was further proof to his way of thinking that he was
destined to die that day.

Nothing much happened to A troop in the forced march. They were sniped
at and mortared but by the afternoon they reached Hill 72.

He remembers the marines overrunning the German casualty clearing centre
built into the side of the hill. He remembers the German doctor having
a "squirrel like face". In the bunker there were five people all German
and wounded. One German lay on a stretcher moaning and died during the
night. The other four were not quite so badly wounded but were in pain
just the same. The German doctor kept insisting that he needed more supplies
but the Commandoes didn't have any to give him. At midnight Wilson
remembered thinking about Cousins' remark of the night before and was
agreeabley surprised to find that he was still alive. He was beginning to
regain his confidence when Cousins told him that A company would lead the
assault into Port en Bessin. He didn't know at that time that he would
live out the war but that Cousins would be killed in the assault a few
hours later.

He remembers realising that the Americans had not shown up and that also the
Germanswounded in the bunker seemed quite ordinary people just as he felt
he was too.