Another British Beach - Phil & Jill

Pierre certainly plied us with facts and figures; landings which went astray; timings missed causing havoc. He was a real student of World War II. My brain was starting to strain to take in all the detail of the fortune and misfortune. On Gold Beach the mission was led by General Douglas Graham of the 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division, an experienced combat division and the 5th East Yorkshire led the way. The unit comprised battalions from the counties of Northumberland and Durham. Its insigna comprised of two superimposed 'T's that combine to form an 'H' represents the three rivers that run through these counties, the Tyne, the Tees and the Humber. This particularly caught my eye as Tristan, our son-in-law comes from near these areas and it may have some significance to his family or friends.

As I noted above I was flagging with all the input of information. On the other hand, Phil was relishing it all. Listening intently and often asking questions to which Pierre gave a comprehensive response.

However two things stand out in my memory. First - Company Sergeant-Major Hollis. They have made a statute to him because of the work he did as part of the Green-Howards. He was instrumental in taking out 2 strong points with his Sten gun and grenades. He forced the surrender of a German garrison. He took control of destroying an armed position west of Crepon. After he thought he could hear crying, he entered a farmhouse intrepidly in case of Germans being inside and found an 8 year old boy alone after his parents had been killed. He created a diversion to reach two men who had found themselves surrounded. For all this he was the only British soldier on D-day to be decorated with the Victoria Cross. What a hero!!

The second thing to amaze me at Gold Beach was the use of Mulberries. This was the building of an artificial harbour. They used Phoenix caissons which are huge blocks of concrete with compartments and towed them across the English channel. When in place they were filled with water to ensure they rested on the sea bed. In 8 months there were 112 Phoenix caissons, 23 platforms and over 9 miles of floating roadways. For weeks/months the platforms acted as artificial docks and men and vehicles carrying supplies used the floating roadways to get supplies such as food, clothes, medecines to support the Allied troops on the grond. What an amazing feat and ingenuity!!

This completed our tour of the British beaches. Exhausted but well satisfied we went back to our B&B and had a salad in our room. We had much more than we had anticipated. It was terrific and I personally learned si much. It left Phil with much to mull over. We fell into bed and slept solidly.