World War II D-Day Accounts from the Cornelius Ryan Collection

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? ONE THING SHOOK ME. WAS HOW AFTER ONLY FEW HOURS MEN WENT ABOUT THERE JOBS SOMTIMES STEPING OVER THE BODIES OF THERE COMRADES WITH OUT SO MUCH AS A CLANCE. AND BODIES LAY AT THE WATERS EDGE COVERED IN DIRTY SHIP'S OIL FOR WHAT SEEM LIKE HOURS. NOW IT SEEMS HOW COULD WE HAVE BEEN SO CALLOUS.

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? EDDIE FLETCHER, TRENT VALLEY HOTEL LITCHFIELD STAFFS. A TRUE PAL WHO ONCE STOPPED [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] "MONTY" CROSSING OVER A WINCH ROPE. SO MONTY HAD TO GET A "BUNK" OVER THE EDGE. THE PLACE.: "MONTY'S" H.Q AT BLAY, NEAR BAYEAX. " JOB THE TRANSPORTION OF THE "TIGER TANK" CAPTURED INTACT. SENT BACK TO ENGLAND.

What do you do now? AIRCRAFT FITTER.

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

Cooksey Sword

FRANK COOKSEY

R.E.M.E. Heavy Recovery section. Worked on D.A. Caterpillar tractor, waterproofed up to 9ft. high. Landed R.E.M.E. tanks from LCT, carrying 100 men, mostly infantry.

Crossed the channel with Eddie Fletcher. He was the same age as me and had a Caterpillar. We were briefed together at Warminster, so well briefed that when I landed I felt I had been there before.

We were sea-sick most of the way over.. both of us were happy-go-lucky types. I carried a piece of coal for good-luck -- came from Newcastle on Tyne.. Spent most of the time losing all my money playing Brag. Found the cook came from the same town as me, Chester-le-Street , so I got some special priveleges.. slept in the galley and instead of eating iron rations got the sailors' food. Didn't do me any good, though, cause I was sick pretty soon after!

Most of us were pretty confident going over, thumbs up sign.. but mood changed a bit when we started to rev up machines. Blokes had different look on their faces, lips tightened.. those who normally took no notice of you offered their fags, others who never spoke to you, came across and chatted. Some began talking too much from nerves, others quietened down. Everything seemed so big we couldn't grasp we were part of it.

Coming over thinking about home, etc., I fell in love with "Dot" (Dorothy)..... Back home used to go out with a friend of mine, Peter Humphreys, with two sisters, Peter liked one and I the other... never thought much about her until D-Day, though. She was the first girl I send a card to later in the afternoon from the beach.

One little incident happened lust offshore as we were coming in. There was a little boat about 50yards off the beach - a rowing boat - bobbing up and down on the waves (it was quite rough) with two men in it: one had a bren gun, the other was lying in the bottom of the boat. They were being systematically machine-gunned from a house on the shore... machine-gunner getting closer and closer until it was only a matter of time before they got hit... Suddenly out of nowhere an American gun boat appeared: pointed its naval gun.. fired and the house disappeared. "By God," cried the bren-gunner, "this is a bloody marvellous gun!" Didn't see American ship, thought he had pooped Gerry himself!

As we came up to beach there was a concentration of fire from the houses on the front.... My sergt., Jock Patterson, was driving an armoured bulldozer.... we cameein in two landing craft, neck-end-neck... He was meant to plant a flag (green and yellow, Cooksey thinks) at a pre-arranged spot... He waved to me just as he was about to beach: then jumped into sea... suddenly a sniper got him and he crumpled up. The whole scene was so unreal, even the people seemed unreal too.. . Later somebody came over to me and said "Pat's up there." He was lying high and dry, wrapped in blankets, with a note pinned on his chest by the medical people. We buried him on the beach temporarily but later he was taken to the cemetery at Bayeux..

My job was to have been with Patterson. He was my friend... He was very upset before we left England because he had lost the [crossed out] engagement [end crossed out] [inserted]signet[end inserted] ring his girl had given him. He got a NAAFI girl to go out and buy him another.

As we came in we could see POW's on the beach, some on their knees praying.. We had been told that initial resistance wouldn't be from first-class troops. They were right.. for these POW's were 'Ruskies'.. prisoners came in like drifters all during the day. They were completely demoralised.

2

There was no need to worry about them, nobody was truculent or difficult. When they saw the millions of craft about it must have seemed like Mars to them; it certainly did to us...

But there was one little group in a pillbox on the crossroads.. They wouldn't come out and were obviously going to fight to the last.. So up came abulldozer, turned in their direction, piled up earth, rubble, etc., and buried them alive!

Our job on beach was to recover as many damaged verhicles as possible... and then get them off the beach. Two men manned a caterpillar, and if anything was in the way, you had to move it; if you couldn't move it, then you had to crush it out of the way... Our instructions were that we had to keep the three outlets from the beach clear... Our caterpillars could go anywhere, could shift anything.. They were like huge monsters.. mine had "Jordie" painted on side (name for all Tynesiders)... Blokes would say "That's a great thing you've got there, Jordie; how do you manage it?" I didn't have to dig a trench to keep myself protected.. the cat was far safer..

Work really started when the tide went out... left yards of thick tacky mud... Verhicles came in and sank .. they were carrying stores, radios, ammunition, hospital and medical equipment..everything, and if we couldn't get them off the beach, they were just a dead loss.

Churchill tanks floundered, Ducks operating off shore got into trouble.. in the mud and on beach obstacles.. If a, vehicle came in at low tide it would probably need a "snatch" - a haul... You'd hear "Give us a snatch with this, mate." .. "It won't take a minute." Useless vehicles were snatched then dumped out of way of road. I can remember a brand new Churchill tank got stuck in a hole.. Officer asked us how long it would take to remove it.. it was blocking a beach exit. "How long?" he said. "About half-an-hour." "Too long." R.E's came up with their own caterpillar, dropped blades, piled sand all over it, buried it, then proceeded to make roadway over it. There was no haggling, decisions were made in a minute... We all knew exactly what had to be done.. we were getting on with the job as fast as we could.. If orthodox methods failed, and they often did, we used our savvy - did things that were never in the manual.... We seemed to be "galvan ised into action."

Nobody worried about us. It was a dirty filthy job amongst mud and oil. We were under shell fire from Le Havre, but just out of range. Blokes on next beach were in range though and got the lot.... Began to feel I was really important, we were doing a vital job... I was the senior N.C.O. on the beach now that Patterson had gone.... Nobody could move on the beach unless we were there to help him.. nobody could dig himself out of the mud... We felt we were carrying everybody on our backs that day.... There were huge concentrations of stuff landing on the beach... Nobody in authority to give me orders.... officers who normally told me what to do came to me for my help ... I had to make the decisions. Began to feel like a King.. I was shouting and bawling out all day.. I was the guvnor.. Knew the caterpillar wouldn't fail me..

We were physically in good shape.. we [inserted] were [end inserted] friends and liked working together. Worked like a team.. things gathered momentum.. we were carried away by the atmoshphere... we did things that day we never thought we could, we worked at speeds we had never worked before, would have thought at one time impossible.. We were working like madmen.. About 11.0 a.m. Fletcher, who had other cat, came up to me when I'd got stuck myself, said. "If you can't do job better than that, why don't you go home?" He helped me out, then when he got stuck in mud it was my turn to help him.

3

The idea of being killed or wounded didn't occur to me.. I had my littlepiece of coal. Around us were heaps of dead bodies, with marvellous equipment lying about.. "If you were that kind you could have made a million." - pilfering... In the morning we saw four frogmen carrying one of their comrades... each took a leg, an arm. The dead man was still wearing his goggles and web rubberfeet... They casually slung him onto heap with other dead men.. It wasn't being callous..... it was just that that was how things were on that day.... You had a job to do and there wasn't time to think of anything else..

About 11.0 a.m. we were joined by a Brigadier.. (think he must have been a Brig. cause he was wearing crossed swords on his tunic.) He offered to help us.. turned out to be "one of the greatest I ever saw"... He was about 50 and had a marvellous complexion, but he got on with the job like the rest of us... Called me "Jordie"... "What shall I do?" he asked.. I can remember telling him what to do, if he hooked on to a vehicle wrongly, I soon told him... He was wonderful with the winch, carrying it over his shoulder, and worked like a navy.. Seemed to have been with us ell day. He was really one of us. "a mucking-in type." He was "real keen".

We never let up, can remember working, stopping only for a second or two to light couple of fags, one for Ford, one for myself. Ford was working with me on Caterpillar... Later he would do the same for me.. We weren't relieved all day. We were together all that day, it gave us confidence to work one with another. We were cursing and swearing all day!

Clothes got wet in and out of the sea... changed battle dress several times, mostly, though, my socks... dozens of times. At one point gave up my boots, just wore gymn slippers. There was plenty of food and spare clothes... And there was plenty of fuel to keep the cats going. We lived on self-heating soups, green pea, and tomatoe. I liked tomatoe best.. Bit later on we pilfed some NAAFI stores... opened crates of fruit.. threw pears away but ate tinned peaches... All the time, though we kept on working.... Felt like man possessed... didn't notice what was going on around...... Saw the wounded being given first aid, morphia inhjection, wrapped in blankets, then first aid people would move on to other wounded. Later more first aid people would come in and give blokes more attention...

Can remember seeing a naval padre (a lieutenant) covered in blood carrying wounded to boat on shoe.. Loaded up boat, away it went, then whoosh, suddenly struck mine... all went down...

About 4.0 stopped to send field cards to my Mum, to "Dot" and to three or four other girls I knew...

I was trying to save an RAF transporter, an Albion, which carried a crane... cussing and swearing I tried to hook the winch on to the hook it carried in front... but only succeeded in pulling off the bumper bar.. Eletcher came along at that moment, looked at me, looked at the Albion stuck in the mud and then remarked. "What are you doing, pulling it out by installments?"" I gave it up in the end... the sea came in and it was lost. Thousands of pounds of stuff was lost that day........ vehicles, equipment, etc.., but it didn't seemed to have any significance.

4

Sometimes we stopped to pull wounded in from damaged tanks and vehicles. I can remember one body flapping at water's edge asthe tide came and went.. must have passed it a dozen times. It was covered with black oil and mud, but nobody bothered about it... We were too busy..

Can remember the allies dropping smoke screen to cover navy activity bringing in stores and evacuating wounded...

The only conversations I can remember of that day are men shouting out "Where's so and so, where's he supposed to be working." "There's a Churchill stuck up there... can you pull it out.." "You are wanted up there.." "You are wanted over there.." Couldn't get away from the job. "You've got to get us off, mate.. have another go.." There should have been a hundred bulldozers on the beach that day........

About 6.0 an American came up to us. He was wearinga camel-haired coat and a fur collar. Said his jeep got stuck in the mud... We weren't supposed to bother with jeeps..other vehicles - tanks, ducks, lorries carrying urgent stores, equipment, medical supplies et., had priorty... We didn't bother with NAAFI stores, for example. We couldn't cope with them all.. though they all cried "Come on mate, give me a pull...." But the American chap was a nice guy, had some rum with him... poured some into my little stone jar, I didn't bother with Army mug... I had Ford's share, he didn't drink.... It was like a drug.... after that I had nerves like ice... was twice the man.. Work became more and more urgent... felt I could have fought entire German Army single-handed.."

As it was getting dusk a rumour started about evacuation... "Prepare to evacuate beach"... we heared, but nothing happened, and we went on working like madmen... keyed up to tremendous nervous pitch.. Felt whole world was on our shoulders..

As it got dark, we worked with great American torches and the moonlight helped us.. Horns were blowing, lights flashing, we were going "like hammers in hell."... we didn't think about easing up.. We didn't think of sleep. Couldn't leave vehicles alone... It could be real dicey if you didn't [inserted] know [end inserted] about your caterpillar... It was the most valuable bit of equipment the British Army had that day. Protected us from everything... on and off during the day men got blown up by odd mines.. They were dead unlucky, even in afternoon they went up... dead lying all around us.. caught by mines..

When it got dark we did job just the same as if it were daylight. All stuck together.. didn't notice the time.. Gerry came over later and machine-gunned the beach in a straight line.. men working on adjacent beach caught it, but they might have been a thousand miles away.. we didn't let up.. time passed like wildfire.. Kept hearing "You're wanted here... Your'e wanted there..."

Midnight came and went, didn't think about it.. All we thought about was the job.. getting these vehicles off the beach and keeping the lanes (exits) cleared..

F. COOKSEY 84 SUMMERFIELD RD LUTON BEDS. 28MAY1958 QS 28/5/58

Sir

Would be pleased to Help You.

Served as CPL in a Beach Unit Landed on KING-RED-BEACH at H. HOUR. LUC-SUR-MERE. Already [?submited?] to Army Record of Recovery Operations. insofar what must have been the some of the [illegible] conditions.

Wishing You the Very Best in Your Effort, knowing

Interview

Dear Editor

First I would like to thank You for allowing Me to write to You of my experiance. Secondly I must apologize for my awful writing. I hope You dont have to much trouble understanding it all. there seems to be much more to say but I find it difficult to express it in writing

Normandy means much more to Me than most people because at this very Moment. In the [?FALIAS-GAP?] a scene of some of the most savage action is My Daughter

SHIRLEY COOKSEY I visited her last Year and I received a letter from Her last Month. Thats one reason Why the Normandy Landings means so much to Me.

Yours faithfully. F. Cooksey.

17th June, 1958.

F. Cooksey, Esq., 84, Summerfield Road, Luton, Beds.

Dear Mr. Cooksey,

Further to my letter of the 2nd June, Mr. Ryan is now in London and would very much like to meet you in connection withiis book on D-Day.

I wonder, therefore, if you would very kindly telephone me at the above address, reversing the charges, so that we could arrange a mutually convenient meeting.

Yours sincerely, (Joan Ogle Isaacs) Research Editor

26th June, 1958.

F. Cooksey, Esq., 84, Summerfield Road, Luton, Beds.

Dear Mr. Cooksey,

Mr. Ryan has asked me to write and thank you very inuch for coming to London the other evening to see him in connection with his D-Day nroject. He is quite delighted with the material you gave him and I can promise you will figure largely in his book.

I am enclosing a postal order for 15/- to cover the expenses you incurred on that evening.

Very many thanks for your kind co-operation.

Yours sincerely, (Joan Ogle Isaacs)