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WREN Doris Hayball, 23

‘We knew D-Day was coming because we were inundated with young midshipmen. Shoreham harbour became so full of ships you could walk across it on the landing craft. For at least a month before 6 June I couldn’t get home from Hove to Worthing without a pass. On the night of D-Day I was on fire duty but when I came off at midnight I was told not to bother to go to quarters. They wanted me to help cook breakfasts at 2 a.m. So we knew this was it. We had a hotplate ten feet long. It was a very sustaining breakfast but I learned later many of the sailors who left from Shoreham were awfully seasick.’

Allied Nations Represented On D – Day

Australia

Virtually all 11,000 Australian aircrew participate in Overlord. Most of the 1,100 officers and men of the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) serve aboard British cruisers HMS Ajax, Enterprise, Glasgow and Scylla, or as commanders of several flotillas of landing craft and MTBs. On Ajax, a RANVR officer commands the 6-inch gun bombardment of the German Naval Battery at Longues-sur-Mer on cliffs 200ft above Gold Beach. Australians also serve aboard destroyers HMS Ashanti, Eskimo and Mackay.

Czechoslovakia

310, 312 and 313 Squadrons (Spitfire IXs), 134 Wing, 84 Group, 2nd TAF, and 311 Squadron (Liberator Vs), 19 Group, RAF Coastal Command.

Belgium

Two corvettes, three merchant ships and three Congo boats. 350 Squadron participate in aerial defence of Gold and Sword Beaches. 349 Squadron provide covering fire for US 82nd Airborne Division.

Canada

About 15,000 troops of the 3rd Infantry Division. RCAF commit 39 strategic and tactical squadrons, who fly 230 sorties of the 1,200 mounted by Bomber Command. Nearly 10,000 officers and men aboard 126 Canadian fighting ships, 44 landing craft among them.

Denmark

800 Danes mostly serve aboard ships.

France

329, 340 and 341 Squadrons, 145 Wing (Spitfire IXs) and 88 and 342 Squadrons, 2 Group, (Boston IIIAs) in 2nd TAF, Allied Expeditionary Air Force, and 345 Squadron (Spitfires) in No.11 Group, ADGB. Light cruisers Montcalm and Georges Leygues, Western Task Force off Port-en-Bessin, and the destroyer La Combattante, Eastern Task Force off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer, take part in the naval bombardment. Five frigates, four corvettes, and four submarine chasers perform escort duty. The elderly battleship Courbet is towed across the Channel and sunk off Ouistreham to act as a breakwater for the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches.

Great Britain

Second Army composed of two corps (including three British divisions with auxiliary units and services – some 62,000 men). Provides about 80 per cent of the warships. RAF flies 5,656 sorties.

Greece

Two Royal Hellenic Navy corvettes escort convoys to Juno, Gold and Sword. A number of Greek soldiers, sailors, and airmen serve in Allied Forces.

Norway

Ten warships of the Royal Norwegian Navy in exile and 43 ships of the Norwegian Merchant Navy (two of the cargo ships are scuttled to create a breakwater for landing craft) and three fighter squadrons – 66, 331 and 332, 132 Wing, 2nd TAF, flying Spitfire IXs.

Netherlands

Cruiser, HMNS Sumatra and two sloops, Flores and Soemba, (The latter two fire in support of the landings on Utah and Gold. On D+3 Sumatra, its armour dismantled, is intentionally scuttled near the shore to form part of the breakwater for Mulberry harbour. Nos. 98, 180 and 320 Squadrons, 139 Wing (Mitchell lls), 2 Group, and 322 Squadron (Spitfire XIVs), 141 Wing, all from 2nd TAF.

New Zealand

By June 1944 more than one-third of New Zealand’s overseas manpower, about 35,000 men, are serving in Britain. Of these, about 30,000 are in the RAF or in the six RNZAF Squadrons and they take part in every phase of the operation. 4,000 officers and men of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve are in the Royal Navy. Junior officers of the RNZNVR command scores of landing craft and flotillas of New Zealand-manned MTBs.

Poland

302, 308 and 317 Squadrons, 131 Wing, 84 Group (Spitfire IXs) and 306 and 315 Squadrons, (Mustang Ills) 133 Wing, (all from 2nd TAF) and Lancasters of 300 (Polish) Squadron, 1 Group, RAF Bomber Command. Destroyers Krakowiak and Slazak take part in the Eastern Task Force’s naval bombardment of the coast. Four other Polish warships and eight merchant ships play various roles.

United States

First Army composed of two corps (five divisions with auxiliary units and services – about 73,000 troops). Navy provides 16.5 per cent of the Allied warships and hundreds of landing vessels. 8th and 9th Air Forces (6,080 tactical and strategic aircraft) in Allied Expeditionary Air Force.

Lieutenant Abe Dolim

a navigator in the 94th Bomb Group, recorded in his diary at Rougham:

‘There have been all sorts of rumours about an imminent invasion of the enemy coast.’

Vera Lynn

Forces Sweetheart, who in June 1944 was homeward bound and exhausted after a gruelling tour of Burma and the Middle East when her plane touched down in Jerba, Tunisia for a night stop over.

‘We had been told just before we landed that there was a whisper something was afoot. I was therefore hoping that there wasn’t anything going on that would stop me from getting back. We freshened ourselves up and then we went into this little tent where there was just a handful of officers. We said, “Right, let’s turn the radio on.” There was this little wireless in the corner. And that’s when the news came over that the boys had started and the operation had begun. We all gave a little toast in that tent. And we said we hoped that this was the beginning of the end.’

‘Neptune’ Factfile

May D-Day is set for 5 June, a time of favourable moon and tides, conditions which would still prevail on 6 and 7 June but not thereafter. Naval units are required to be in their designated assembly positions by 29 May, a directive which involves shipping movements at almost every southern British port from the Mersey to Harwich as well as at Belfast and a number of Scottish locations.

Majority of 300+ large cargo vessels are of the American-built Liberty type, many of them carrying vehicles (mechanized transport) and their attendant troops. Over 1,500 craft and barges are required as ferries between the anchorage position of the larger ships and the shore. After completing their initial task, the LSIs are to head back to the UK to reload.

23 May Because of their slow speed, being old or damaged ships, the section of the Corncob (blockship) fleet which had assembled in the estuary of the Forth set out to be scuttled or ‘planted’ off the French coast.

30 May First of a fleet of coasters, which have been waiting in the 20-mile stretch of the Thames, sail to take their places amongst over 500 ships in an anchorage, extending from Hurst Castle in the west to Bembridge in the east. 362 coasters are to help maintain a continuous flow of supplies to the beaches.

2–3 June From their anchorages in the Clyde or Belfast Lough, the battleships of the bombarding fleet sail.

5 June Landing craft with the longest crossings set out. HMS Scylla, flagship of the Eastern Task Force, leaves Portsmouth Harbour at 13:40 as the first assault forces pass through Spithead Gate. The US HQ ship Ancon leaves Plymouth so as to reach her assigned anchorage at Omaha. Troops joining their Utah-bound LSIs at Torbay anchorage are ferried to their ships in landing craft from Torquay. Troops embarking in Weymouth Bay, where over 80 ships are anchored, and Portland, are similarly transported from Weymouth Quay.

21:30 During the night the biggest invasion force the world has ever seen sails from British ports across the English Channel to France. The two Naval Task Forces total 672 warships for assault convoy escort, minesweeping, shore bombardment, local defence, etc., and 4,126 major and minor landing ships and craft for initial assault and ferry purposes: a total of 4,798. They carry the force of 39 army divisions – 20 American, 14 British, three Canadian and one Free French. To this ship total can be added (A) Home Command for follow-up escort and Channel patrols, plus reserves: 1 RN battleship; 118 destroyers and escorts (108 RN, 4 US, 1 French, 5 Allied); 364 other warships including coastal forces (340 RN, 8 French, 16 Allied). (B) Western Channel Approaches A/S Escort Groups and reserves: 3 RN escort carriers, 55 RN destroyers and escort vessels. (C) 864 Merchant ships (mainly British liners, tankers, tugs, etc) to supply and support the invasion and naval forces. Grand Total, 6,203 vessels. The armada converges on an area south of the lsle of White code-named Area Z but known unofficially as ‘Piccadilly Circus.’

6 June 05:00 First of the bombarding ships open fire. The heaviest bombardment takes place during the first 50 minutes after the sun rises at 05:58. Task is to silence, with saturating fire, not only the 13 main coastal artillery batteries but also the beach defence forces and then, after the assault has gone in, to engage other targets assisted by ground and air spotters. Destroyers assist the larger warships in these tasks.

09:00 German 84th Corps informed of seaborne landings.

09:30 Announcement of Overlord released to the press. British troops one mile inland on Gold. British capture Hermanville. Tactical surprise is total. Ship casualties are less than anticipated. (Naval action occurs early at the eastern extremity at 05:30 when three German torpedo boats on patrol, finding themselves unexpectedly confronted by an enemy fleet, fire and narrowly miss Warspite, Ramillies and the Sword HQ ship Largs but sink the Norwegian destroyer Svenner, 12 miles west of Le Havre, with the loss of one officer and 33 crew. A delayed-action mine sinks US destroyer Corry in the western sector while, just inside the northern limit of the eastern assault area, HMS Wrestler suffers a mine strike and has to be taken in tow.) Casualties to landing and small craft prove higher than allowed for, although 75 per cent of these are attributed to the weather. All told, 59,900 personnel, 8,900 vehicles and 1,900 tons of stores are landed. By D+50 631,000 personnel, 153,000 vehicles and 689,000 tons of stores, plus 68,000 tons of fuel and oil, are delivered to the bridgehead.

Plaque on the wall of Norfolk House, commemorating Eisenhower’s first London HQ.

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Norfolk House, Eisenhower’s first London HQ in St James Square.

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Civilian George Jackson II

‘Along with hundreds of other children I was at the Odeon Cinema at Bury Park, Luton. We were practising for a concert when a man walked on the stage and told us that the Allied Forces had landed in Normandy and it was the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany. We all cheered and clapped even when most of us did not know where Normandy was. I ran home to tell my mother. She said, “Well it looks like your brother did not die in vain.”’

Civilian Mrs J. Charlesworth

‘I was living with my parents in an old pub in Gosport. A lot of noise and commotion woke me early and I went down and opened the door. There were soldiers and army trucks, all making for the harbour. I put my six-month-old daughter in her pram and walked the short distance to the seafront. Little boats were bobbing waiting for the troops to climb aboard. One American boy said he was so afraid. I said to him, “You will be all right, I know it.”’

Nurse Helen Pavlovsky USN

The Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley.

‘It seemed to me that it took at least a week for all the ships to gather just outside our hospital in Southampton Water. The Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley was a very cold and damp monstrosity and certainly not conducive to treating patients. The Seabees [US Navy construction battalion personnel] remodelled the whole thing to make it usable. We could go outside and sit on the waterfront and watch. One day it seemed like the whole area was full of ships and the next morning there was not a single one. We were on duty 24 hours a day but we didn’t know what we were waiting for.’

Civilian P. MoElhlnney

‘I was 12 and old enough to understand what was going on. At breakfast the radio announcer gave out a carefully worded message to the nation saying our troops had made a landing on the beaches of Normandy, and were fighting for them inch by inch. I sensed that I was witnessing history being made. I lived in Portsmouth and the streets were filled with equipment. I will always remember a young soldier stopping me and putting his hand in his pockets. He pulled out all his money and cigarettes, pushed it all into my hands and said, “Here kid, take this. I won’t be coming back from where I’m going.” I still wonder if he ever did.’

WREN Jean Irvine

Serving on the planning staff of Admiral Ramsay.

‘Once I arrived at Southwick House in May, I was sealed inside the gates until after D-Day. I was working in a Nissen hut adjoining the house and my job was to file, type and organize secret documents. We were under terrible pressure. We worked 80 hours a week for more than four months. It was so exciting to know everything that was about to happen. On 5 June we played cricket, but on the night of the invasion itself I stayed up all night. On the morning of D-Day I fell asleep at my desk – there was such a relief of tension.’

Countdown

April 1944

All leave cancelled for troops destined for Overlord. Eighteen Allied air forces begin pre-invasion bombing of France. US 9th Air Force begins bombing targets in the Pas-de-Calais, railway marshalling yards and important bridges. ACM Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory remarks that the US 9th Air Force is by far the most effective force in knocking out these types of target. (From the beginning of May, the 9th dispatches more than a thousand aircraft each day, weather permitting, against targets in Normandy and the Pas-de-Calais).

10 April 1944

Naval Commander in Chief, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, responsible for Neptune, issues orders for the naval involvement on D-Day. The document stretches to 1,100 pages.

22–29 April 1944

Operation Tiger, realistic US rehearsal for Overlord at Slapton Sands between Plymouth and Dartmouth. On the night of 27/28 April two German E-boats in the English Channel find eight LSTs, sink two and damage others, and kill 441 soldiers and 197 sailors.

An Army Field Kitchen Unit is driven onto LST 506 of Force B that loaded at Falmouth and Plymouth and arrived in the Western Task Force area on 6/7 June.

National Archives

Major Tom Normanton, 27

intelligence staff, Southwick House.

‘There was a complete hush in the room – a cool, calm atmosphere and one of quiet confidence. Everything had been thought out but we all remembered the old adage that the finest of plans comes to an end when the shooting starts. The weather was blowing a gale. The wind was howling and the rain was lashing down but inside there was almost complete silence. There was only a handful of people in the map room itself. There were no raised voices and no raised tempers. And there was none of the normal backslapping or laughing. In our hearts we all knew this was it.’

Phantom Fleets

5 June 21:30 First aircraft take off from British airfields. (More than 10,000 aircraft are involved in the invasion.)

By midnight 1,333 heavy RAF bombers drop 5,316 tons of bombs on radar stations and the ten most important German gun batteries in the assault area. In the 24 hours between the night of 5 and 6 June. The RAF drops 15,000 and 20,000 tons of bombs.

5/6 June Operations Taxable and Glimmer, both devised by Wing Commader E. I. Dickie, create ‘Phantom Fleets’ on enemy radar screens. Taxable involves 16 Lancasters of 617 Squadron and is a joint RN/RAF operation aimed at making the Germans believe that an invasion force was attacking the French coast between Dieppe and Cap d’Antifer. Attacks on enemy radar installations had all but destroyed their effectiveness, but care had been taken to leave enough operational to allow the Germans to deceive themselves that their radars were showing an invasion fleet. The RN uses 18 small vessels as tugs to tow balloons, which would show up as large ships on the German radar screens. This ‘convoy’ occupies an area of sea that measures 14 miles by 15 miles and appears to move at seven knots towards the coast. It is known subsequently that the German High Command has plotted three invasion forces arriving on the French coast.

Six aircraft of 218 Squadron, and a few boats, mount Operation Glimmer, whose ‘convoy’ is aimed at the beaches of Boulogne. German searchlights are turned on and guns open fire on the convoy. Luftwaffe night fighters are directed towards the jammers and spend hours in the area, as do E-boats searching for a fleet that never sailed.

15 aircraft of 138, 149 and 161 Squadrons, giving the impression of a much larger force, drop dummy parachutists called ‘Ruperts’ between Rouen and Le Havre. At 04:00 the 915th Regiment, General Marcks’ LXXXIV Corps reserve, abandons Omaha and sets off to intercept them. It takes hours before the German reserve can be re-grouped and brought back to the beachhead.

16 aircraft of 90, 138 and 149 Squadrons, flying tracks 15 miles south of that taken by the invasion forces, simulate landings at Maligny and Villers Bocage. The Maligny decoy serves to relieve some pressure on US airborne forces around Ste-Mere-Eglise.

24 Lancasters of 101 Squadron and five B-17 Flying Fortresses of 214 Squadron, carrying 82 radio jammers between them, obliterate the German night-fighter frequencies for more than five hours.

16 Stirlings of 199 Squadron and four Fortresses of 803 Squadron USAAF establish a Mandrel screen from Littlehampton to Portland Bill jamming all but 5 per cent of the Freya radars between Cherbourg and Le Havre.

The Allies fly 14,674 sorties on D-Day. Losses, chiefly due to flak, are 113 (0.77 per cent). The Luftwaffe flies 319 sorties.

D-Day map, Southwick House.

Royal Navy

Ena Howes

Duty Petty Officer.

‘I was Duty Petty Officer on the night of 5 June. It was remarkably quiet and after the previous night’s cancellation because of adverse weather conditions, the operation was under way. For once the operators had time to chat amongst themselves, wondering if their boyfriends had sailed off to France too? Would we get any leave beforehand? Would the invasion succeed? How bad would the casualties be? All of these thoughts were bandied about, helping to pass the time – it was a very long night. Because of the use of scramblers we could only anticipate what was happening, but a call from General Omar Bradley at about 02:00 gave us cause to hope that everything was going to plan. The RAF had bombed the coastal batteries between Le Havre and Cherbourg and gliders had landed Airborne Divisions behind the coastline of Normandy. By the end of the Middle Watch we received news that everything was going well and at 06:30 the first seaborne troops were landing on the beaches. I finally went off duty at 08:00 and then came the BBC announcement of the landings. The Mess echoed to an almighty cheer. After all the planning the beginning of the end was in sight. Our lads were in France and we had been part of it! I walked down the tree-lined drive at Southwick House very tired but very happy.’