June 6th 2024 was the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy. This exhibition reflects on the lead up to D-Day and the impact this had on the local area and the residents of Emsworth.
In Emsworth in the weeks leading up to the landings there were Canadian, Free French and British troops camped in the surrounding woods and movement by the local population was strictly controlled with check points to pass in and out of the area.
The exhibition includes material from Emsworth residents who participated in the landings – some of it dates back to 2014 when the 70th anniversary also was commemorated by an exhibition in the Museum.
This on-line exhibition uses the material developed for the exhibition held in the Emsworth Museum from 6th July to 18th August 2024 and includes many revealing photos and some video footage taken in Emsworth kindly made available from the Imperial War Museum.
Credits: Jane Kidd
Click on + to open sections
The Longest Day
Rommel in 1943 on inspecting the beaches of France remarked to his adjutant, Helmuth Lang:
”The war will be won or lost on the beaches. We’ll only have one chance to stop the enemy and that’s while he’s in the water. Believe me, Lang, the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive for the Allies as well as Germany – it will be the Longest Day.”
D-Day 6th June 1944
D-Day was a turning point in history, the beginning of the end of World War II. Three years from initial concept and one year of detailed planning and preparation; solving colossal logistical problems. The success of the D-Day landings were by no means a forgone conclusion, indeed, General Spaatz, commander of the US strategic bomber forces in Europe, said in March 1944 “This ‘bleep’ invasion can’t succeed, and I don’t want any part of the blame!” However, it did succeed due not only to the reconnaissance, information gathering and complex planning, but also the cover plans, codenamed Bodyguard, of multiple decoys and disinformation to lay a false trail and retain the element of surprise. It also relied on the army, navy and air force working together under one commander, a lot of courage and bravery, plus an element of luck.
The Allied Campaign for Invasion
Operation Overlord – overall plan, incl. build-up of troops, landing and the initial stages of the Battle of Normandy.
Operation Neptune -naval operations, under Overlord, to convey and land the assault troops and their weaponry on the Normandy beaches. Involved almost 7,000 vessels of all sizes, the largest fleet ever convened.
Operation Bodyguard – years of diversions and deceptions to ensure the time and location of the landings remained a surprise to the German defences, increasing the chance of success and reducing casualties.
Operation Fortitude – part of Operation Bodyguard. The creation of phantom field armies (based in Edinburgh and southern England), to threatened Norway and Pas de Calais to divert German attention and to delay reinforcement by convincing the Germans that the Normandy landings had been purely a diversionary attack.
German Defence Strategy – Fortress Europe & The Atlantic Wall
Since Dunkirk, in 1940, the Germans and Italians had occupied most of Europe. The expectation was that Great Britain would be next; but failing to gain air supremacy in the Battle of Britain, Hitler invaded Russia instead. Recognising the Allies would eventually invade Europe, the ‘Atlantic Wall’ was constructed stretching from Denmark to the Bay of Biscay.
In November 1943, Rommel ordered a massive strengthening of the fortifications, adding pillboxes, gun emplacements, beach obstacles and millions of mines. Defences extended inland to cover possible access routes and glider landing areas.
By June 1944 five infantry divisions manned these defences. Troop reinforcements in May 1944, largely undetected by Allied intelligence, would oppose the American landings on Omaha. The British and Canadians sectors (Gold, Juno and Sword) were also reinforced in late 1943 with experienced officers and NCOs.
On 6 June German reaction to the landings was slow and confused, the bad weather caught them off guard. The Allied deception plan, Operation ‘Fortitude’, convinced them that Normandy was a feint, and the main Allied landings would come later in Pas de Calais. Such was the success of ‘Fortitude’ that many units were kept away from Normandy until July.
On D-Day the German 352nd Infantry Division inflicted heavy casualties on American forces storming Omaha beach. Elsewhere, many of the reinforced bunkers and gun emplacements survived the initial air and sea bombardment and held out for several hours. German resistance was enough to prevent the Allies achieving many of their first day objectives and most crucially, the defence by 21st Panzer Division stopped the British seizing the city of Caen.
Major Events Leading up to D-Day
1940
June 1940 – Dunkirk
Largest evacuation in military history. 338,226 British & French troops rescued by a fleet of 1,200 naval & civil craft.
July – September 1940 – Battle of Britain
After the fall of France victory for the Luftwaffe in the air would have exposed Great Britain to invasion by the German army
1941
June 1941 – Hitler Invades Russia
Rather than push home their advantage by invading Britain Hitler invades Russia. Britain joins hands with the Soviets.
Autumn 1941 – Canadian Forces arrive in Hampshire and Sussex
From late 1941 to early 1944 defence of the UK, particularly the Sussex coast, was largely in the hands of the 1st Canadian Army. Local resident Arthur Jones’s diary entry of 1st March recorded: Watch Canadians tanks going through Havant in the dark tonight.
October 1941– Admiral Mountbatten appointed to Combined Operations
Mountbatten appointed to the newly formed ‘Combined Operations’, a joint/combined fighting force (land, sea and air). Churchill’s orders were: “The South Coast of England is a bastion of defence against Hitler’s invasion; you must turn it into a springboard to launch an attack”. Mountbatten begins formulating plans for the Allies to gain a foothold on the continent.
7th December 1941 – Japan attacks Pearl Harbour
11th December 1941 – Germany declares war on the USA
22nd December 1941 – 14th January 1942 –Washington Conference
Two weeks after Pearl Harbour Churchill meets Roosevelt in Washington. “Germany First” strategy is re-affirmed. Stalin continued to push for an immediate second front in Western Europe in-order to relieve pressure on Soviet troops.
1942
August 1942 – Dieppe – Operation Jubilee
The ill-fated Dieppe raid taught the Allies how difficult it was to capture a well-defended port by direct assault from the sea. Some 3,367 of the 6,000 Canadian and British troops were killed, wounded or captured. Lessons learned were applied in planning for Overlord, including the choice of Normandy and the strategy of using Gooseberry and Mulberry harbours
November 1942 – Morocco & Algeria – Operation Torch
Operation Torch, British and American assault on northwest North Africa under command of Eisenhower. To put additional pressure on the Axis powers and introduce American soldiers into combat on the European – African arena.
1943
January 1943 – Casablanca Conference
Casablanca conference – British and Americans resolved to continue buildup in Britain for a landing in France, possibly 1943, no date fixed. Immediate priority Sicily. British and Americans started working together in planning for D-Day.
April 1943 – COSSAC Formed
Planning for Overlord starts in earnest. Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan (British) was appointed Chief of Staff Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), despite the Supreme Commander not yet being appointed. Churchill’s view was the Commander should be American as the US would ultimately provide the largest number of forces to be landed in the Normandy campaign.
July 1943 – Invasion of Sicily
The Allies landed on Sicily with 160,00 men, 600 tanks and 18,000 guns. The operation offered many lessons for the amphibious landings the following year in Normandy.
July 1943 – Operation Bodyguard
Top-secret group of military officers known as the London Controlling section began planning a huge deception operation encompassing all aspects of deception relating to the invasion of France. The initial plan outlined three key objectives: to make the Pas de Calais appear to be the main target, to mask the true date and time of the invasion, and to keep German forces in the Pas de Calais region, and elsewhere in Europe, for at least 14 days following the initial landings.
August 1943 – Senior Staff Appointed
Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory (CiC Fighter Command, Admiral Sir Charles Little (CiC Portsmouth) to be Air and Naval Commanders for Overlord respectively. Little was subsequently replaced by Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay in October as His role as CiC Portsmouth was felt to be central to the plans.
1943 – US Soldiers Arrive in Number
The major influx of American troops was from 1943 to 1944. By May1944 it is estimated that some 2 million US military personal were living in Britain.
November 1943 – Tehran Conference
At the tri-power conference in Tehran (USA, Russia and UK) date for D-Day set as May 1944 with the coast of Normandy being agreed as the landing site. Eisenhower appointed as Supreme Commander after the Conference.
1944
January 1944 – Eisenhower Arrives in London
SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) is formed, which replaces COSSAC. The initial plan for the invasion is widened, and D-Day delayed to at least 31st May due to shortage of available landing craft.
January 1944 – London
First United States Army Group formed as part of “Operation Fortitude”, based in South-East England under the command of General George S. Patton, one of the most well-known American generals of the war. Decoy for an invasion of Pas de Calais
May 1944 – Operation Fabius (Dress Rehearsals for D-Day and Normandy)
Fabius Exercises I to IV, practices for the initial assault troops on their designated beaches.
- Fabius I resulted in the deaths of 700 US soldiers at Slapton Sands when German’s torpedoed two landing craft.
- Fabius II, III and IV were held on Hayling, Littlehampton and Bracklesham Bay.
- Fabius V was for follow-up forces and Fabius VI for the build-up forces.
June 1944 – Rome Captured
Rome was captured on the 4th June 1944.
6th June 1944 – Invasion of Normandy
Delayed 24 hours due to the weather. Further delay would have resulted in secrecy being lost with too many people knowing the destination. Next window for the assault when the moon and tides were next aligned was two weeks later. On D-Day:
- 129,400 troops landed on the beaches with an estimated 4,900 killed,
- 23,400 airborne troops dropped with a further 4,000 killed
7th June – 30th June 1944 Build-up of Forces
By 30th June some 858,000 troops and 150,000 vehicles had been landed in Normandy.
19th June a severe storm hits the Channel
One of the two Mulberry harbours was destroyed, the other damaged. This temporary disruption had a crucial impact on the build-up of Allied men and equipment.
Battle of Normandy
Between D-Day and the end of August almost 16,000 British, Canadian and Polish troops were killed, with a further 67,000 casualties. The US forces reported 29,000 killed and 106,000 wounded or missing. Around 20,000 French civilians were killed, largely from Allied bombing of French villages and cities.
These losses were a reflection of the nature of the Normandy campaign.
The Phoney War September 1939 to April 1940
Although war was declared on the 3rd September 1939, initially very little changed for residents locally, despite the earlier anticipation of bombing and poison gas attacks. Gas masks were issued, as were personal “Identity Cards” on the 30th September 1939, both were supposed to be carried at all times. Conscription, which had started as 20 & 21 year olds in April 1939, was widened in October 1939 to 18 to 41 year olds. Emsworth also saw an influx of evacuees from more vulnerable areas.
Perhaps the most noticeable change was the blackout. No street lighting, ‘hooded’ headlights and torches, and no light allowed from house or shop windows. On moonless or overcast nights visibility was zero, and people took to wearing white clothes, arm or hat bands in order to be seen. It is estimated that some 4,000 people died across the UK in blackout accidents.
Air Raid Shelters were constructed, and important buildings and Air Raid Precaution (ARP) Posts were sandbag protected. Many people volunteered and trained for “War Work”, e.g. ARP Wardens, ARP Rescue Teams, Red Cross, Ambulance Services. However, many volunteers lost interest, gas masks were left on the hall stand and many evacuees returned home because, except for the war at sea, nothing happened for 7 months
Invasion Imminent!
The phoney war ended with Dunkirk. Arthur Jones, secretary and estate manager to Sir Dymoke White the local MP and local landowner, records seeing trains travelling though Havant carrying troops and injured returning from Dunkirk, as well as wagon loads of sheep being moved from Romney Marshes to prevent them becoming food for any invading army.
The sense was there would almost certainly be an invasion and every household on the South Coast was issued with a leaflet on what to do “If the Invader comes”.
It brought many changes to life in Emsworth and Havant with restrictions to movement in many areas, police roadblocks and restricted access to beaches which were protected with barbed wire and mines.
Civil Defences Built
Concrete bunkers were constructed at strategic positions including two at the junction of Horndean Road with Emsworth Common and another in Bartons Road in what is now the grounds of the Spire Hospital. Each had slits for Machine guns and rifles covering all approaches and were manned by regular army units and, despite their shortage of formal weapons, the Home Guard.
Arthur Jones also records in his book Front-Line in Havant 1939-45, that two underground guerilla hide-outs, each designed to hold six men, were constructed secretly in Southleigh Forest, the existence of which was known to only four people.
Following Dunkirk, the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) was formed. This later became the Home Guard (Dad’s Army) with Sir Dymoke White the commanding officer.
The Blitz and Bombing Raids
The first bombing raid on Portsmouth was in July 1940 and the city suffered significant damage. German dive bombers and high-level bombing attacks on Thorney and Portsmouth were common, with air battles overhead resulting in crashed aircraft in the area.
Emsworth suffered limited direct bomb damage in comparison to Portsmouth and Southsea. The most destructive raid was in 1941 when two parachute mines were dropped, one landing in the grounds of a house in Tower Street and the other landing just south of the sea wall in King Street. These mines damaged most of the houses and shops in central Emsworth. In 1943 a bomb destroyed houses in Bath Road but did not explode.
The end of the, so called “Battle of Britain” did not end the hit and run attacks and there were several low-level strafing attacks on the Brighton to Portsmouth railway line, which killed at least three local residents. One of the strafing aircraft was brought down and crashed in a field on Stanstead Park Farm.
Following the heavy bombing of Portsmouth, in 1942 many Admiralty, government departments and military units were relocated to requisitioned properties in the slightly less vulnerable area of Havant and Emsworth. Many armed service camps were also constructed, and buildings taken over as billets. As a result, the whole area was packed with service personnel from all three armed services and many nationalities. Portsmouth residents also sought night-time refuge in the area. Arthur Jones recalls in March 1941 following several days of heavy raids; “one evening I heard a knock at the door. I found a woman with her two young daughters [she lived near Fratton Station]. Nervously she asked if they could sleep here that night as the previous nights had been so terrible, with deaths of near neighbours. Next morning they left and came again the next night.. the pattern continued for two or three more nights”
A total of 220 aircraft fell in the District of Chichester. In February 1944, a Mosquito night fighter crashed in Brook Meadow after a midair collision with a Wellington bomber, the Wellington crashing into a field in Southbourne.
To learn more about the Mosquito crash, watch this video:
Women! Farmers can’t grow all your vegetables – you must grow your own. Farmers are growing more of the essential crops – potatoes, corn for your bread and food for cows.
It’s up to you to provide the vegetables that are vital to your children’s health.
Grow all you can.
If you don’t they may go short.
Get the older children to help you.
Dig for Victory”
Rationing, Dig for Britain
In 1939 Britain was dependent on 22 million tons of food imports a year. It was not just U-boats that were a threat to food supplies, however, but a lack of shipping space. Within a year, as ships were diverted to troop-carrying duties and transporting industrial raw materials, food imports fell to 11 million tons.
As soon as war was declared the government took over food supply to ensure that every member of society was able to access sufficient food. The Ministry of Food was determined not to repeat the mistake of the WWI, when rationing had been introduced only after shortages had already become a problem.
By the summer of 1940 meat, fats, dairy products, eggs, sugar and tea were all rationed. For the first eighteen months, however, the government lacked a clear food supply strategy, and found itself solving one food shortage at a time. The recommendation to eke out the meat ration with oatmeal, for example, created a secondary shortage as it failed to take into account the limited facilities for milling oats.
By 1944 one week’s ration for an adult was 8oz of sugar, 2½oz tea, 2½ pts milk, 3oz beans, 4oz butter, 2oz cheese, 2oz margarine, 4oz bacon and 3oz sweets. Meat was rationed as 1 shillings worth of carcass meat and 2 pence of canned meat and each person was allowed only 31 eggs a year.
“Points” rationing, introduced in January 1942, covered nearly all previously un-rationed foods. Only bread and vegetables were not rationed, although even bread and potatoes were rationed post war in 1946/7. By 1945 points per person had been reduced to 24 points per month.
Potato consumption soared by 60% as people were encouraged to eat potatoes rather than bread due to the shortage of grains. Cheese production took decades to recover due to the ministry enforcing only one type of ‘Government Cheddar’ being made, thus setting back indigenous cheese-making for years.
One positive of Americans swamping the South Coast prior to D-Day was their almost endless supplies of chocolate and candy bars. It would be another 9 years before sweet rationing ended in 1954!
Clothes Rations & Mend and Make Do
Clothes were also rationed. By 1944 this had been tightened to 36 coupons per year. The coupons needed per item depended on the amount of material and were also needed to buy dressmaking fabric or household textiles e.g. towels. With 36 you might buy, for example: 1 Woolen Dress (11pts), 1 Blouse (8pts), 2 x knickers (6pts), 1 pr stockings (2pts), 1 pr shoes (8pts) = 37
The new austerity fashions were designed to use as little material as possible and limited the lengths of women’s skirts and number of pleats. Shirts for both men and women were simplified with no more double cuffs or puffed sleeves. Double breasted suits were out, as were turn-ups on men’s trousers. Buttons were limited to three for any garment and elastic was only permitted for women’s knickers.
Ralph Cousins of Warblington, who was six years old in 1944, remembers boys’ trousers were short, “resulting in chapped legs in winter!”
Everyone was encouraged to remake old clothes. A new campaign of remodelling old clothes was introduced in 1942 under the title of ‘Make-do and Mend’. The campaign was supported by the Women’s Institute, together with promotional booklets and leaflets featuring ‘Mrs Sew and Sew’ explaining sewing tips. Old blankets were transformed into dresses and men’s suits became their wives’ skirts and jackets.
Entertainment
Entertainment played a vital role in boosting morale. Dancing of which there were many, became one of the main distractions.
Eileen Cummingham (nee Purches) who lived in Richmond House, Havant Road, was a keen dancer and attended many dances held in the British Legion Hall in North Street (now flats and public car park behind Tesco). According to Eileen there were no shortage of partners from the service units stationed locally. She also attended dances in Cosham where the men were mainly GI’s. Special buses were laid on for the Thorney Island troops but others had to come on foot.
The cinema was also very popular and the local cinema, the Pavilion Theatre in the square (now the Greenhouse Café), changed films twice per week.
In her diary, Valarie Bacon of Queens Street, often recorded several trips to the cinema in a week, to Emsworth, Havant and Portsmouth cinemas, as well as going to the Kings Theatre in Southsea.
The radio was also very popular and a key source of entertainment as well as information.
With strict petrol rationing the local population relied on trains, local buses, bicycles or hitch hiking to get around.
Read additional information about Eileen Cunningham – Eileen Cunningham Teenage Memories
As early as 1941 Emsworth and surrounding areas became dotted with military establishments. Properties were requisitioned to house various military establishments following the devasting bombing raids on Portsmouth. As preparation for D-Day approached the concentration of military increased with the establishment of additional transit camps. Most of the manufacturing locally was geared to the war effort including; building sections of the Mulberry Harbours, sections of the Horsa Gliders, and repairing landing craft. The landscape at that time was still a series of villages with rolling green fields between, the roads lined by large trees, which made it an ideal location for camouflaging the vast volume of troops, tanks and trucks.
The map below indicates the key military locations – find the description of the numbered items below.
1. Southleigh Park – 1942
Used by Emsworth Hospital as its maternity hospital.
2. East Leigh House – 1941
East Leigh House and adjoining farm buildings requisitioned by the Admiralty to accommodate the Dockyard Electricity Department (possibly experimental work).
3. Helmsley House – 1941
Helmsley House adjoining East Leigh House, together with its garden and paddock, was requisitioned by the Royal Marines, and a hutted camp was built in its grounds.
4. Leigh Park Mansion – HMS Vernon -1941
Leigh Park Mansion, with its grounds and park, along with neighbouring West Leigh House, were taken over for the Underwater Weapons Establishment. Staffed by civilian engineers and scientists, they were involved in developing the Dam Busters bouncing bombs. Ravensbury House, Emsworth housed their unmarried staff.
5. Woodlands House – 1944
Woodlands House, on Southleigh Estate requisitioned as convalescent home by Emsworth Hospital.
6. Denville House – 1942
House was requisitioned and huts erected to accommodate several hundred soldiers.
7. Warblington House & Lodge – 1941
House requisitioned for the Admiralty Pay Department. Warblington Lodge was a Royal Marine training camp.
8. Langstone Towers – Airspeed
Airspeed Ltd used the house as a drawing office and built Mosquito and Horsa aircraft parts in the grounds.
9. Mill Rythe – Landing Craft
The wooded shoreline of Mill Rythe provided ideal cover for construction of the specialist landing craft vessels needed to transport troops and vehicles across the channel.
10. Operation Fabius- D-Day practice exercises
Fabius II took place at Hayling Island on 4th May ’44. Fabius III at Bracklesham and IV at Littlehampton. The exercises were made under similar conditions to the anticipated landing, Hayling was Assault Force “G” for Gold beach.
11. West Hayling Island – Mulberry
Harbours
Close to the Ferry Boat Inn, was a construction site for four of the Mulberry Harbour caissons. The local builder employed 600 civilian workers for the job.
12. The King’s Stones
On 22nd May 1944, King George VI walked from Rowlands Castle to Horndean to inspect the troops who lined the road and were soon to be deployed for Operation Overlord. The King’s Stone was erected as a memorial to the event.
13. Rowlands Castle / Stansted Forest
Embarkation Camp A1. Capacity – 2,000 troops in tented camp with 200 vehicles. Troops incl Canadian and Free-French. Canadian troops were also at Stanstead prior to the Dieppe raid August 1942.
14. Stansted Forest
Trees from Stanstead were felled to create matting for the landing beaches.
15. Sandpit Roundell
High security hutted camp for soldiers, purpose not known
16. Gravel Pit – Southleigh Forest
Used as a testing ground for amphibious vehicles. Gravel was taken to Langstone Harbour for building Mulberry cassions.
17. Southleigh Forest & Emsworth
Common
Embarkation Camp A2. a large area south & smaller area north of Emsworth Common Rd. Capacity 2,100 in tented camp with 210 vehicles. Land requisitioned in Summer ‘42.
18. Ben Hakeim Camp – 1942
Large hutted camp for Free French Navy. Named “Bir Hakeim” after battle in the Libyan desert by French forces.
19. Southleigh Farm
An anti-aircraft battery in a small field at Southleigh Farm, adjoining Southleigh Road. Locals remember that when fired on a low trajectory over Emsworth, or Havant, the noise of the battery as “ear splitting”.
20. Northlands House – 1941
Northlands House, near the station, was a hostel for the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF), based at Thorney. The house was demolished to make way for the A27.
21. Royal British Legion Hall
Multiple uses incl. volunteers making camouflage netting.
22. HMS Northney
Hayling’s holiday camps become HMS Northney for landing craft crew training. With its open sea and surf it was ideal for training crews to handle cumbersome LC’s in all conditions.
23. Hayling Island Sailing Club – COPP – 1943
Requisitioned by Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP). Established in 1942, prior to D-Day they had already undertaken several missions incl. Sicily and North Africa.
24. HMS Dragonfly
HMS Dragonfly was a landing craft maintenance unit based in the beach huts along Hayling seafront. The former Royal Hotel on the seafront was used by senior officers.
25. Thorney Island Airbase
Prior to D-Day Typhoon squadrons attacked radar stations along the French coast to prevent warning of the invasion. On D-Day they attacked roads & railways in Normandy.
When war broke out many still viewed a woman’s place as being at home, but not for long. Many volunteered in 1939. From early 1941 it was compulsory for women aged 18 to 60 to register for war work. December 1941 saw the start of conscription. Unmarried ‘mobile’ women aged 20 to 30 had to chose between the services or industry. Later conscription widened to women up to age 43. Pregnant women, those with children under 14, or heavy domestic responsibilities, were exempt, although they were encouraged to volunteer.
By 1944, some 7,250,000 women, almost 90% of single women and 80% of married women were working in the military, civil defence and industry; including thousands of part-time volunteers. Sixty female Special Operations Executive (SOE) were behind enemy lines working with the resistance.
Around 950,000 worked in munitions factories; a dangerous job with long hours, up to 70 a week. Known to many as “canaries” due to their skin turning yellow from the dangerous chemicals. Accidents were common and there were several explosions. “I slipped on the floor with one of these big cans and I was covered in TNT. My eyes were concealed and everything, up my nose, it was everywhere. Some of the chaps got hold of me and put me onto a trolley and took me down to the medical place and obviously I had to wait for it to set on my face. I had quite a job getting it off my eyelashes, and that sort of thing. Of course, my face was red and scarred with the hot TNT. They put me on the bed for an hour or so, and then it was straight back to work after that.” WW2 munitions worker, Gwen Thomas.
In 2012 factory workers were, for the first time, officially remembered at the Cenotaph ceremonies.
Nearly a quarter of a million women served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). By 1943 they represented 48 nationalities. Roles ranged from cooking and admin to meteorology and aircraft repair & maintenance. WAAF officers could not command RAF personnel until 1941 when the WAAF became part of the ‘Armed Forces of the Crown’. In 1944 the first female station commander was appointed. Although WAAF aircrew were never approved, women flew as civilian pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary.
By 1944 nearly 75,000 WRNS were filling around 2,000 different jobs. Initially limited to domestic and office duties, roles gradually expanded incl; radio operators & detectors, bomb range markers and mechanics. By 1943 they were also deployed on troop ships. Many manned coastal defence stations, others at Bletchley Park or overseas. On D-Day WRNS took smaller boats across to tow back stricken craft.
Over 250,000 women served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). Initially as cooks, clerks, orderlies, store women or drivers. Once it was granted full military status in April 1941 over a hundred different roles opened up, including serving in anti-aircraft batteries.
Notable members of the ATS included the then Princess Elizabeth and Winston Churchill’s youngest daughter. However, ATS women were not allowed to undertake combat roles. Army nurses joined Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS).
Over 80,000 women joined the Women’s Land Army, enduring tough conditions and long hours, often in isolated rural outposts, to prevent Britain from being ‘starved out’.
Part of the Land Army was the Women’s Timber Corps, some of whom worked in Stanstead Forest felling beech trees to be used in building Mosquito aircraft.
Thousands of women, who found even part-time jobs impossible, threw themselves into voluntary work.
The Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) prided itself on doing ‘whatever was needed’, from providing canteen services for troops and reserve services, to helping with relief work and raising money for the war effort in the various fundraising drives.
This map section from an Overlord Administration map for Marshalling Area A shows the density of troops and vehicles around Emsworth prior to D-Day. “Marshalling” referred to the movement of troops close to the points on the coast where they would embark ships and landing craft; Area A covered Portsmouth and Gosport.
Specific roads are marked as the route from the camps to relevant embarkation points. Embarkation points for “Area A” were Old Portsmouth, Portsea, Landport and Southsea in Portsmouth, as well as Stokes Bay and Gosport on the west side of Portsmouth Harbour.
Some embarkation points were foot troops only, others, particularly Stokes Bay and Gosport, were set up for embarking vehicles.
There were other marshalling areas stretching as far as Cornwall, including Area B in the New Forest and Area C around Southampton.
Most of the troops billeted in the camps in Area A embarked from Portsmouth and Gosport; and were British or Canadian who landed on Sword and Juno Beaches.
There are reports that 5th Battalion Kings Regt (Liverpool) embarked directly from Emsworth, however it is not clear if this refers to Emsworth Camp or Emsworth Harbour.
The camps were typically hidden in woods, away from towns or villages and hopefully concealed from enemy reconnaissance aircraft. Each camp could typically hold 1,000 to 2,000 troops. As well as the camps, further troops, vehicles and supplies were assembled along roads in the area, which sometimes had been specially widened to accommodate them.
The camps are marked on the map as red areas with the number of troops and vehicles against each. Emsworth camp A2 could, for example, hold 2,100 troops and 210 vehicles.
The darker black lines on the map indicate locations where tanks and trucks were parked. For Emsworth Camp A2 parking was along Comley Hill and Emsworth Common Road.
Rowlands Castle Camp A1 parking is marked as being from Manor Lodge Road down through Rowlands, up past the Railway Station. Tanks and armoured vehicles filled the Green. To prevent the heavy traffic sinking into the ground, the Green and paths through Stanstead Forest were laid with brick rubble from the bombed-out buildings in Portsmouth,
Rowlands Castle was also one of the “detraining” stations for the four camps in Sub Area X.
Check points and traffic posts managed the flow of people and traffic. Eileen Cunningham, who lived in Havant Road, Emsworth recalled that – “In the build up to D-Day movement between counties was checked by police road-blocks, the local road-block being on the bridge over the Ems on the main road (now the A259). Eileen was stopped and questioned and had to produce her ID card before being allowed into West Sussex to attend her dance classes, even though the classes were held in a building within sight of the border”.
The map also shows the one-way systems established to allow movement on the roads. Many roads were out of bounds to locals and even tradesmen had to obtain a special pass. The clockwise system in place here went along Emsworth Common, down Monks Lane, to Westbourne and Southleigh Roads, straight across Horndean Road and up East Leigh Road back to Bartons Road.
According to the Westbourne History Group’s publication, Westbourne D-Day, one soldier visiting a girl in Monks Hill thought he could get away with going the short way back to camp (the wrong way up Monks Hill) but was caught and received several days punishment. He came back after the war and married the girl.
Controls and Restrictions
Road signposts, railway station name boards and anything considered helpful to an invading army, including any advertising which named the town, had been removed in 1940, making it difficult for non-locals and the military to find destinations.
In August 1943 a ban restricting entry to all sea front areas of the South Coast was introduced. Police vehicles toured the area with loud-speakers, announcing that “all members of the public must leave the sea front and immediate vicinity at once, and those without special permits or temporary passes must go outside the barriers. This includes boarding house and hotel guests who are not here for an approved purpose. No more visitors may be accepted. There has been a continuous demand for permits and temporary passes. Persons who are in the area without authority are liable to prosecution, and on conviction to a penalty of three month’s imprisonment, a fine of £100, or both. All persons must carry ID cards and produce them on demand by the police or military. They must not carry binoculars without a permit.”
On 1st April 1944, Emsworth become part of a wider exclusion zone covering a 10 mile deep coastal strip, from the Wash to Land’s End. Only people living within the zone were allowed to enter and were liable to be stopped at anytime. In his memoirs Arthur Jones recalls, 15th April “on my way to the cinema and checked by policeman for my identity card (which I had left in another suit) and had to return home to get it.”
Air Force and Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG’s)
The Allies needed air supremacy over the beaches. To accommodate the increased numbers of aircraft the air stations in the area (Thorney, Tangmere, Westhampnett, Ford, and Leigh-on-Solent) needed to be augmented. During 1943 four local ALG`s were created, Apuldram, Bognor, Selsey and Funtington, by laying heavy steel netting pinned to the ground to create runways, erecting corrugated iron “Blister” Hangers for servicing, and accommodation tents.
Most were not operational until 1944 and over winter farmers were permitted to use them for grazing, the ideal camouflage.
- Apuldram – Czech pilots flying Spitfire Mk IX on air patrol over the beaches, they flew more missions on D-Day than any other group
- Bognor – British & Norwegian pilots flying Spitfire Mk IX Fighter/Bombers
- Funtington – Flying Mustangs, support for ground troops and glider escort
- Selsey – Natal, Belgium & New Zealand pilots flew patrols over the beaches
The air activity over the district was very noticeable, as confirmed in several memoirs. Once landing grounds had been established in France the local ALG’s were abandoned, the runways ripped up and land returned to farming.
Life in Emsworth Embarkation Camp – A2
Camp A2 was a tented camp accommodating up to 2,100 men and 210 vehicles. Troops going through the camp are known to have included British, Canadian and Free French troops. Referred to in some records as a “transit camp”, it appears troops moved regularly, grouped according to their target beach. Those recorded over several months include; Canadians of the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regt, together with the 26th and 80th Assault Sqn of RE (British) attached to them; Le Regt de la Chaudière (Canadian); HQ of British 8th Infantry Brigade; and 5th Beach Group. From photographs, the 76th Highland Field Regt. R.A; 5th Royal Marines Assault Coy.; 101st Light Anti-Aircraft Regt (12th King’s Regt (Liverpool)); and the 79th Sqd, 5th Assault Regt, RE, were also in the camp at various times.
![Signpost to facilities in Emsworth Camp, 29th May ’44 [Note the well-known London streets].](https://emsworthmuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/4.3-Signpost-Emsworth-Camp-918x1024.jpg)
Secrecy was vital. Troops regularly moved from camp to camp, but the men were warned that, when writing home, they must not mention any place names. In his book, The Scarlet Dawn, Rev RM Hickey, the Canadian North Shore (New Brunswick) Regt’s Regimental Chaplain, wrote, “One lad with a touch of humour wrote home: ‘Dear Mother, here I am in the place I came to after I left the place I was before now, before I left the place where I was before I came to the place I came to’”.
Not everyone was so vigilant. In her diary of 4th May, Valerie Bacon from Emsworth, a WREN working at West Leigh, wrote: “the Captain sent for me because it had got back to him (heaven knows how!) that I’d been talking about the date of the invasion – simply that Mr Wood said it couldn’t be before the 18th and I’d passed it on to one or two people”. The following day the Captain gave a lecture on security.
While in the camps, troops were briefed on the specific plans for their unit. Most would not know Normandy was the target, but they would have seen maps using false place names to familiarise themselves with area.
Troops also carried out various training exercises incl Operation Fabius. Closer to D-Day preparations for the landings, incl. waterproofing vehicles. One photograph below even shows them waterproofing their cigarettes and tobacco!
Len Butt of Emsworth, a Sapper with 184 Field Coy Royal Engineers remembers:
The days before embarkation were hectic, an intensive whirl of final preparations, briefings and issuing of specialist equipment we would carry, incl. ‘prepared charges’ – for demolition tasks. Each section was required to carry 25lbs ‘prepared charge’. Our Section Corporal held a ballot; I drew the short straw. We were re-rehearsing loading and wearing our kit when Sgt Brown, my Platoon Sgt came along. I was wearing my rucksack, equipment etc. some 100lbs in weight. He stopped to check me over. Patting the ‘prepared charge’ on top of my rucksack, he cheerfully informed me the charge was quite harmless until primed with the detonator and fuse. He went on to say that even if hit by a bullet it would be safe and than added “unless it’s a tracer in which case you’ll save the shilling for a burial blanket”. He wandered off chuckling….(Sgt Brown was killed on D-Day)
Arthur Jones (Estate Manager for Sir Dymock White) recorded in his diary:
Thursday 9th March – Hear that Emsworth Common Camp is beginning to fill up.
Friday 10 March – See camp commandant at Emsworth Common Camp about overstepping the camp limits. The camp boundaries were not well defined and the commandant promised to do what he could where the pheasants would soon be nesting; which I realised would not be much!
Arthur further comments: “I had notices marked PRIVATE erected which at least defined the camp limits. Much more effective was the gentle persuasion of the gamekeeper, Charles Whitlock. But the Canadian Battalions that followed ignored both persuasion and printed notices, especially a French Canadian battalion to whom park fences and mansion grounds were treated as open territory”.
It seems that Emsworth camp wasn’t popular with all it’s visitors. One description in William Bird’s book ‘The North Shore Regiment’ relates an entry for March 10th 1944 “….moved to a tented camp near Emsworth, a much used “sausage machine” camp, cramped for space and soiled, a case of going from the sublime to the ridiculous. However, a stay of three weeks in such a camp made the move to Chilworth South camp seem much more pleasant”
At the end of May, for secrecy, all the camps were sealed, and the troops were not allowed to leave. However, the teenage boys in Rowlands Castle were paid in candy and chewing gum for fetching supplies of fish and chips to the A1 camp in Stanstead, especially once troops were confined to camp.
Many local people probably had a shrewd idea of what was happening. A couple of days before embarkation a soldier sent his wife in Stoughton a French bank note.
From 31 May onwards, using a highly detailed timetable, troops began to move down to the coast and embark onto the ships and landing craft. Vehicles were often loaded earlier, with troops on foot being embarked just before D-Day.
Mary Riding (aged 9) remembers “standing at our gate, at 96 North Street, watching in excitement as a convoy of tanks, lorries and armoured cars rumbled past going down North Street towards the coast. We could see some of the huge tanks had problems getting under the very low railway bridge, and the soldiers had to undo covers and wind down the gun turrets on top so they could pass under.
Once the initial assault troops landing on D-Day vacated the camps, forces who would be landing on subsequent days took their place, forming a steady stream moving down towards the south coast, which in many camps continued for months.
Lord Louis Mountbatten & Role of Combined Operations
In 1942 Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed Chief of Combined Operations with the remit to formulate a plan for the Allies to gain a foothold on the continent. He thought any plan had to satisfy three vital factors:
- It must be certain of obtaining a firm foothold, against all known defences
- It must breakout of the beach heads while reinforcements of both men and equipment continued without fail, no matter what the weather.
- The enemy must be kept away from the landing area and, when discovered, it must stop the Germans moving into the areas by bombing communications in earlier raids.
Although on D-Day he was on the other side of the world, as Supreme Allied Command in South-East Asia, his contribution was recognised in a telegram sent by the Allied leaders on D-Day +6. “Today we visited the British and American forces on the soil of France. We sailed through vast fleets of vessels with landing craft of many types pouring more and more men, vehicles and stores ashore. We saw artificial harbours in the process of rapid deployment. We have shared our secrets in common and helped each other all we could. We wish to tell you at this moment in your arduous campaign that we realise that much of the remarkable technique and therefore success of the venture has its origin in the development effected by you and your staff of the Combined Operations”
In 1969 Lord Mountbatten was made Admiral of Emsworth Sailing Club (ESC) for the Club’s Golden Jubilee year, and again in 1979 for its Diamond Jubilee. The second period was cut short when he was killed by terrorists.
D-Day was an International Affair
D-Day required unprecedented co-operation between international armed forces and between all three services.
By 1944, over 2 million troops from over 12 countries were in Britain in preparation for the invasion. On D-Day, Allied assault forces consisted primarily of American, British and Canadian troops with some Free French units. Naval, air and ground support also included Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian and Polish.
Arrival of the Americans
With the large influx of Americans, a nationwide publicity campaign was launched to tell civilians, and members of the armed forces, what the newcomers were like and to encourage good relations.
“We must be willing to like each other, willing because the common cause demands it. We may dislike a man’s face of the cut of his clothes or his fashion in food – yet acknowledge him as a fine engineer, architect or musician. Look, for example, what they’ve done to refrigerators.”
Southwick House
Southwick House became SHEAF Headquarters. Much of the administration work was done by WRENS. Valerie Bacon from Emsworth worked there until transferring to Leigh Park.
For Overlord the planners needed a detailed wall map. A toy firm from the Midlands was commissioned to build it. For secrecy a map covering the whole of Europe, (Britain and Norway to the Spanish border) was ordered. When it was delivered the section of the Normandy beaches was separated and attached to the wall.
To ensure no details of the targeted areas were leaked, the workers who had travelled south to install the map and the naval officer who supervised had to stay in Southwick House, effectively prisoners for 34 days, until the invasion was underway. Southwick House itself was sealed off from the rest of the Dryad site in April 1944 for added security.
Training & Fabius II
Nothing this size had been done before, and a lot of the equipment was new, so having full dry runs was a critical learning exercise not just for the troops but for the navy and air-force working together.
Training was almost non-stop. All over the South Coast units practiced over-and-over again for their individual parts in the jigsaw of D-Day. The final Fabius exercises were designed to be full, dress rehearsals. The beaches were chosen for their likeness to that forces destination beach in Normandy.
Exercise Fabius II, represented Gold Beach, and took place on Hayling Island with the 50th British Infantry Division. The troops used exactly the same ships, landing craft and equipment they would use on the day and followed the same order of battle to create the exact conditions. However, because it was an inhabited area, they did not use live ammunition.
On the 3rd May thousands of landing craft, left various ports in the Solent area for the assembly point at sea, having been loaded with men and equipment the previous day. Many, including those bound for Hayling, sailed anti-clockwise around the Isle of Wight to simulate the length of time of the subsequent cross-Channel voyage to France.
At 7.30am the attack started and continued for several hours. The objective was for 50 Northumbrian Division to land and, by the end of the day, seize the Hermitage (Emsworth), Bedhampton and Farlington. The exercise involved some 230 landing craft, 12 ships and over 10,000 men, with air support.
“One exercise on landing craft we sailed out into the channel with no idea where we were going. The navy were bombarding, and we were diving down and digging in. Then about 2pm the firing stopped, and we were marched off to find that we had invaded Hayling Island”.. George Richardson 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry.
After unloading, craft withdrew from the beaches to allow the later waves of the mock invasion force to land. They subsequently returned to re-embark many of the forces to return them to their encampments in readiness for the real event on the 6 June.
Similar exercises coded Fabius III and IV were carried out at the nearby beaches of Bracklesham and Littlehampton representing Juno and Sword.
Highly successful in highlighting issues, especially the embarkation and loading tables of the LC, the exercises were not without cost. In addition to the Slapton Sands incident where 700 US troops died, the other Fabius Exercises cost lives.
Jack Burns radio operator in Combined Ops Canada, “Until D-Day we did a lot of dummy storming of beaches in the Southampton and Portsmouth area. One practice run ended in tragedy though when about a dozen men, who were carrying a hundred weight of equipment, were lost when they got off the boats. The poor devils went straight down and nobody realised.”
The following video, extracted from Imperial War Museum Films, shows the embarkation camps and the Fabius II exercise on Hayling Island, 3rd May 1944.
Knowing What to Expect
D-Day planners used multiple sources of intelligence to learn about the beaches and how they were defended.
Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP) based at Havant Sailing Club were sent on covert missions to obtain samples and measurements. Admiral Ramsay, who commanded the naval assault in Normandy, congratulated the officers and crews of COPP: ‘On these operations depends to a very great extent the final success of Overlord’.
Other vital information on German defences and troop movements came through the French resistance and British SOE operatives in France.
The Airforce flew low level reconnaissance missions. To ensure Normandy was not identified as the target these missions covered the whole of the French coastline.
This enabled very detailed briefings to be given prior to the invasion.
Glider Pilot Briefing
“There were photographs from all different heights and angles, showing our LZ (landing zone) in every detail, incl. our assigned meadow clearly sown with anti-glider obstacles. Above all was a cinematic film giving a pilot’s eye view of our exact run-in, firstly by day and then in simulated night.” Sgt Robert Ashby of Emsworth
Beach Group Juno – Royal Engineer
“The maps and models used for our briefing were in incredible detail. Those together with the aerial photographs, many at sea level, enabled us to form a very clear picture of our particular stretch of beach, including beach obstacles and the strong points awaiting us”. Sapper Len Butt of Emsworth
Factors in choosing the Day & Time
The location of Normandy had been decided in 1943. The next decision was the Day and the time (D-Day and H-Hour). Previously amphibious landings had been at night, but it was decided light was needed to:
- Accurately identify the beaches
- Navigate a mass of small craft
- Enable bombardment from air and sea prior to landing
The navy and air force needed at least 1 hour of daylight. Bur it was essential that the initial landing be on the earliest possible high tide so follow up forces could come in on the 2nd tide before nightfall.
A further complication were “Rommel’s” underwater obstacles. The first assault needed to be three hours before high-water to avoid them and to give the demolition squads time to deal with them before they became submerged. Given the tidal differences that meant H-Hour for UTAH in the west would be 40 mins before H-Hour on SWORD the most easterly beach so each beach had its own H-Hour.
The final factor required a late-rising full moon, so aircraft carrying the airborne forces could approach their objectives before it rose but have moon light to help them identify the dropping zones.
These requirements limited suitable days in any given month to three.
Seeing Red
On the 15th May General Montgomery spoke at a final Presentation of the Plans which included the King and Winston Churchill.
He said of Rommel “it is clear that his intention is to deny any penetration: Overlord is to be defeated on the beaches.” His solution: “We must blast our way on shore and get a good lodgement. Armoured columns must penetrate deep inland, and quickly”.
He concluded “We shall have to send the solders in ‘seeing red’. We must get them on their toes having absolute faith in the plan; and imbued with infectious optimism and offensive eagerness. If we send them into battle this way – then we shall succeed”.
In remaining weeks this was the focus of his energy. He, George VI, Churchill and Eisenhower undertook whirlwind tours of the assault troops, air force and naval bases to embue this energy and self belief.
Included in this was the Kings inspection of the troops lining the road from Horndean to Rowlands Castle. The memorial to mark the occasion in on Manor Lodge Road.
A message was sent from Eisenhower to every soldier at Embarkation which include the closing lines
“I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!”
D-Day Eve Party
On 3rd June the eve of the day initially planned, Stella Rutter of Havant was hostess at an historic ‘party’.
Stella worked initially in the drawing office at Whale Island Portsmouth and later, as the first female, in the drawing office of Vickers Armstrong’s (Supermarine) Ltd, who designed the Spitfire.
Eisenhower and Montgomery decided organise a party. The Party was hosted by Major General Graham in a Nissan hut in the Forest of Hursley Park and they wanted a woman in the role of hostess to create a more informal atmosphere. Stella had already signed the Official Secrets Act for her work so was a good choice.
In ‘Tomorrow is D-Day’ Stella recounts “Major General Graham said ‘Tomorrow is D-Day. That is why you have been requested to be the hostess this evening’. He proceeded to outline what General Eisenhower and General Montgomery required me to do. My presence as a civilian was to bring an element of normal everyday life to the event. The idea was that all the senior officers could recognize each other during the coming invasion. Such an event had never been held before. My role was to get them to relax, eat and chat together so they would sleep that night. I was not to reveal anything about the event of 60 years.
Lessons from Dieppe
Adolf Hitler said “Hold the ports and we hold Europe.” By June 1944 Germany had had four years in which to build its Atlantic Wall. In August 1942 the Allies carried out a ‘reconnaissance in force’ raid on the German held port of Dieppe to test how difficult it would be to seize a harbour for the opening of a Second Front in the west. The raid proved a textbook example of ‘what not to do’ in amphibious operations and resulted in the loss (killed or taken prisoner) of over half the 6,000 largely Canadian troops committed. It became a German propaganda coup.
Amongst many lessons the Dieppe raid showed the need for :
- Pre-fabricated harbours to avoid a full-frontal attack on a defended port
- Beach reconnaissance to assess its suitability for tracked and wheeled vehicles (at Dieppe most tanks were late arriving and stranded on the shingle beaches)
- Specialised armoured engineering vehicles to give support from the moment of landing
Wheezers and Dodgers
The Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development (DMWD), colloquially known as Wheezers and Dodgers, was established by the Admiralty in 1941. Among the staff were Lieutenant-Commander N. S. Norway (better known as Nevil Shute) who for part of the war lived in Langstone and Hayling, and Lieutenant Ronald F Eades of Emsworth. Another member linked to the work at Leigh Park Mansion, was Barnes Wallis, inventor of the ‘dam-busting bomb’.
DMWD was responsible for designing a number of devices including:
- Rocket propulsion grappling hooks employed in the scaling of Pointe du Hoc on D-Day
- An Army anti-aircraft rocket battery which could be mounted on naval vessels, incl. the D-Day landing craft
- Scheme to camouflage boats in the water, used by Combined Operation Piloting Parties (COPP)
- Hedgehog mines used against sub-marines
Above all, DMWD played an important role in developing the component parts of the Mulberry Harbours.
Mulberry Harbours
Planning for pre-fabricated harbours began in 1942 with the requirement to offload an estimated 12,000 tons of supplies per day, accommodate ocean-going ships, allow for the 20ft tidal range, and have dockside cranes to offload bulky cargoes.
The two harbours (Mulberry A at Omaha (US) & Mulberry B at Gold/Arrromanches (UK/CA)) were each a similar size to Dover. They consisted of an outer static breakwater (codenamed ‘Gooseberry’) made of blockships (obsolete merchant vessels) and concrete caissons; the inner harbor had piers with floating pontoons, on which were roadways, capped at the outer end with floating pierheads on stilts. The block ships were amassed at Oban in Scotland, stripped down, ballasted and primed with explosive scuttling charges before they made the journey, under their own steam, to be sunk at the extremity of the Mulberry Harbours, creating temporary shelter for construction and initial unloading and were reinforced within a few days by the placement of the concrete caissons.
The components were manufactured at sites all around the UK coast incl. four cassions built near the Ferry Boat Inn Hayling. A local builder was contracted, employing over 600 civilian workers, most of whom had to be brought in by bus. Because the Langstone bridge was not strong enough workers had to get off the bus one side of the bridge, walk across and reboard on the other side. The bus company was Hants & Sussex Coaches of Emsworth. The completed parts were towed to assembly areas between Pagham and Portland. The remains of one of the caissons (Phoenix), can still be seen in Langstone Harbour, and sunken remains of others are used as sport-diving venues locally at Littlehampton and Pagham.
On the afternoon of 6th June over 400 component parts were towed to Normandy. At Arromanches the first Phoenix was sunk in position at dawn on 8th June. By 15th June a further 115 had been sunk to create a 5-mile-long arc between Tracy-sur-Mer and Asnelles. Designed to last only 3 months, in the 10 months after D-Day the Arromanches Mulberry was used to land over 2.5 million men, 0.5 million vehicles and 4 million tons of supplies
The partially completed Mulberry A harbour at Omaha Beach was damaged on 19th June by a violent storm before the pontoons were securely anchored. After three days the storm finally abated, and damage was found to be so severe that the harbour was abandoned, and the Americans resorted to landing men and material over the open beaches.
Specialised Armour – Hobart’s Funnies
In March 1943 the 79th Armoured division had been converted into an experimental division under its Commander Major-General Sir Percy Hobart. They were to devise and develop specialised armour and equipment for the invasion. Having fallen out with the orthodox thinkers in the Army, due to his “radical” approach, Hobart had been forced into retirement in 1940, but was brought back through the intervention of Churchill.
Working on the basis that the troops should have a mechanical means for addressing each feature of the German fortification he designed:
- Bulldozer tanks to clear away beach obstacles
- Flail tanks to beat pathways through minefields
- Bobbin tanks to lay “carpet” over unstable clay surfaces
- Tanks fitted with a 12” Spigot Mortar (Petards) which could hurl a 40lb bomb some 150 yards against concrete fortifications (nick-named the ‘flying dustbin’)
- Turretless tanks, in effect self-propelled ramps over which other tanks could scale sea-walls
- Tanks carrying bridges to span 30 ft craters and ditches.
- AVRE’s adapted to carry Bailey Bridges (Skids)
- ARVE’s carrying “Fascines”, 8ft bundles of Chestnut stakes or lengths of pipe, to fill anti-tank ditches
- Crocodile tank that combined the standard tank firepower, together with a flamethrower capable of firing a flame with a range of 110 m to deal with pill boxes. The fuel for which was towed in an armoured trailer.
- Amphibious or DD (Duplex Drive) tanks which could swim under their own power.•
Note: ARVE’s were Churchill Tanks
Known as “Hobart’s Funnies”, some had been in early design, e.g. DD tank. A Hungarian-born engineer, Nicholas Straussler, had sold the idea to the War Office but the Admiralty had declared it unworkable, “it had no rudder”.
The “Bobbin” carpet laying tank was specifically designed after the COPP survey team, operating out of Hayling, brought back soil samples which confirmed that on Gold Beach there were treacherous patches of soft clay below high-water mark. Hobart produced the Bobbin which would effectively provide a roadway for the other tanks and vehicles to cross. This also changed the “loading tables” for every LCT (Landing Craft Tank) due to touch-down opposite a clay patch, the first tank out would now be a Bobbin.
Despite the drawback of the inclement sea conditions, the D/D`s and Hobart’s Funnies proved their worth, as confirmed by General Eisenhower’s later comment:-
“Apart from the factor of tactical surprise, the comparatively light casualties we sustained, on all beaches except Omaha, were in large measure due to the success of the novel mechanical contrivances which we employed and the staggering moral and material effect of mass armour landing in the lead of the assault.”
The Duplex Drive Tanks a D-Day Surprise – “When I dropped my skirt.”
The Duplex Drive tanks “DD’s” were designed with a waterproof skirt and propellers which enabled a 34 ton Sherman Tank to float and propel itself ashore at about 4 mph. Once ashore it become a normal tank acting in support of the infantry to take the beaches. Some reports indicate that elements of the testing and training for amphibious craft took place around Emsworth.
“I was the first tank coming ashore and the Germans started opening up with machine guns. We came to a halt on the beach, pulled down our skirt, and only then did they realise we were Sherman Tanks. I still remember some of the machine gunners standing up, looking at us open mouthed. To see tanks coming out of the water shook them rigid.”
Success of DD Tanks varied greatly with each beach
If lost at sea, the chances of a DD crew’s survival were remote.
The tank, once submerged, turned upside down due to the top heavy weight of the turret, thereby sealing the exit; plus the difficulty of swimming in full kit.
On Omaha the DD’s were launched far too far out for survival in the prevailing weather and tidal conditions and the lack of tank support on proved critical and was partly responsible for the very high casualties. Although offered the full range of Hobarts Funnies they choose only to take the DDs.
Due to sea conditions, on Gold, the DDs were landed onto the beach by their LTCs’. Of the 19 tanks that went ashore, only five were functioning by the end of the day, but by midday the specialist armour had cleared seven beach exits.
PLUTO – Pipe-Line Under the Sea
Access to fuel was critical for success. PLUTO was a supply pipe-line across the Channel laid using a giant floating “cotton reel” named HMS Conundrum (short for Cone-ended-drum), which could be towed across the Channel by tugs as it unreeled the pipe. Conundrum was 90 ft wide on the cones and carried 80 miles of 3” pipe which, when loaded, weighed1,600 tons; a colossal feat of engineering. Four lines were laid between Shanklin on the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg and seventeen between Dungeness and Boulogne. Engineers laid piping from the reception points to the front lines as the battle progressed, all the way to the German border. Eventually it was a continuous pipeline connection from the Mersey to the Rhine. After the war the Pluto lines become a hazard to shipping and a salvage operation gathered 22,000 tons of lead, 3,300 tons of steel and 75,000 gallons of petrol.
Pluto, although not as significant in the overall scheme of the invasion, delivering only 1,800 tons per day, just under 7% of the total supplied, was an amazing feat of engineering. General Eisenhower, in his memoirs said “It was second only to the artificial harbour project, It was a great scheme, a great effort, a great achievement, and a great success”.
“In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies” (Winston Churchill)
Critical to the success of D-Day and the Normandy campaign was the ability to maintain an element of surprise regarding both the location and the timing, so that Germany didn’t move reinforcements into Normandy before the invasion. At that time Allied and German intelligence operations were heavily mismatched. Success of the Bodyguard Operation can be gauged by the fact that even after the invasion the Germans were still uncertain whether it was just a decoy to draw attention and forces away for the real assault to be launched later elsewhere.
Operation Bodyguard Objectives
The aim of Operation Bodyguard and the D-Day deceptions was to keep German military leaders guessing about the place and time of the allied invasion so that the invading forces met as little opposition as possible. The hope was that this would give the allies the maximum chance of success, saving lives in the process.
Based on the principle that it is often much easier to deceive an enemy into hanging on to pre-existing incorrect beliefs, than to trick them into changing those beliefs, the D-Day deceptions would do exactly that. Although the Germans knew an invasion was coming, they did not know where and when it would take place. However, they had a strong view that the most likely target was the Pas de Calais, the shortest route across the English Channel. It was this preconception that formed the basis for the deception plan.
Years of war had allowed for a variety of deception methods to gradually be refined and perfected by the Allies. In July 1943, top-secret group of military officers, known as the London Controlling section, began planning a huge deception operation. Codenamed Operation Bodyguard, it encompassed all aspects of deception relating to the invasion of France, with three key objectives:
- to make the Pas de Calais appear to be the main target,
- to mask the true date and time of the invasion and
- to keep German forces in the Pas de Calais region and elsewhere in Europe for at least 14 days following the initial landings.
Double Agents and Spies
Operation Bodyguard was able to feed false information to the Germans intelligence service through the use of a number of trusted double agents and spies. Probably the most important agent of WW2 was Juan Pujol Garcia. Determined to spy for Britain, he offered his services to German intelligence in 1941, fully intending to become a double agent when he reached Britain. He arrived in April 1942 and was codenamed Garbo by the British, after Greta Garbo, in recognition of his great acting skills.
Double agents played a crucial role because they were the most effective way of misleading the German leaders. As preparations for D-Day progressed, it became the job of Agent Garbo and other double agents to divert attention away from the impending Normandy landings.
To achieve this, Pujol created a fake network of 27 imaginary informants, which enabled him to send false information by radio to his Nazi handlers on all aspects of the Allied preparations. He even managed to convince them in the days immediately following D-Day that the Normandy landings were just a ruse intended to distract the Germans from the supposedly real invasion target: the Pas de Calais. This was so successful that for weeks after D-Day, German leaders kept forces that could have reinforced Normandy in the Pas de Calais area, waiting to repel a non-existent second Invasion. He was so trusted by the Germans he was awarded the Iron Cross. He was also awarded an MBE.
Also of critical value was the ‘Ultra’ intelligence derived from decrypted German radio transmission at Bletchley Park, which enabled the Allies to see the extent to which the Germans believed the information they had been fed.
Send us your photos!
In 1942 the BBC was asked to issue a public appeal for postcards and photographs of the coast of Europe, from Norway to the Pyrenees. Millions were sent in. Combined with the aerial images, these holiday snaps helped the Allies choose the landing sites, and RAF model-makers used the data to create detailed 3D terrain models.
Fortitude South
In January of 1944, the fictional 1st US Army Group (FUSAG) was created, based in Kent and placed under the command of General George S. Patton. Patton embarked on a highly visible round of activities in Kent, from visits to Dover Castle to opening local fetes. After his exploits in North Africa and Sicily Patton was held in high regard by the Germans and a logical choice to lead the primary strike.
German reconnaissance aircraft soon began reporting on a build up of forces in the area, noting large convoys of tanks and a number of landing craft gathered in harbours and estuaries all over southeast England. The armored convoys were made up of inflatable dummy tanks and deliberately placed within sight of German reconnaissance aircraft, while the landing craft were actually made out of wood canvas and empty barrels. Every effort was made to make the army seem as real as possible, going so far as to create physical insignia and uniforms.
Huge volume of fake radio traffic was transmitted and received across the south of England, supported by the double agents frequent but careful ‘leaks’ about the make-up and position of FUSAG units. It could only mean one thing, the build-up of forces – and particularly General Patton’s presence in the area – meant the Allies were preparing to land in the Pas de Calais. But this was all part of the plan.
Fortitude North
Fortitude North was aimed at tying down German forces in Scandinavia . It created a fictional British 4th Army based in Edinburgh. The Luftwaffe photographic reconnaissance was so poor, the illusion of an army in Scotland could be achieved with fake radio traffic and leaks through double agents.
Smoke and Mirrors
The success of Bodyguard rested on the Allies ability to keep the real invasion fleet and army concealed. In the other hand allied reconnaissance was vital for planning, but in order to maintain the illusion, for reconnaissance mission over Normandy the RAF would fly two over the Pas de Calais.
The presumption the main invasion forces were in Kent was reinforced by deceptive wireless traffic. Although Montgomery’s Army H.Q. was at Southwick House its radio signals were conveyed by landline to Kent and transmitted from there.
Cutting Communications and Bomber Command
In February all civilian travel between the UK and Eire was stopped to prevent ‘leakage’ to German diplomats in Dublin. In April the 10 mile coastal ban was imposed and no foreign diplomats or their couriers were allowed to leave the country and their mail was subjected to censorship.
The strategic Allied bombing campaign had weakened German industry and secured air superiority, allowing the Allies to carry out aerial reconnaissance largely unhindered. This air supremacy also limited Germany’s ability to gather intelligence or knowledge of the build up of vessels and landing craft in UK more western ports prior to D Day.
In the months leading up to the invasion the Allied bombing strategy shifted to rail depots linking to the French coast. A team of railway experts selected 80 key target. By the end of April, it was taking more than a week to reopen the lines and by June the rail traffic was reduced by 70%, thereby inhibiting any potential troop reinforcements. The next target was the radar stations.
Bomber Command also flew 2198 sorties sowing mines in enemy waters either side of the invasion corridor, and at the mouths of harbours sheltering German torpedo boats and submarines.
Other Bodyguard Initiatives
In addition to Fortitude there were several other initiatives to distract attention from Normandy. These included:
- Seeding misinformation with neutral countries
- Operation Zeppelin – Mediterranean version of Fortitude
- Operation Copperhead – sending a “Monty” double to Gibraltar
Bodyguard on D Day
Part of Bodyguard plan was for diversionary tactics whilst the real landings were taking place in the hope that the German troops in the Pas de Calais would not be moved to repel the landings in Normandy and to make the invasion appear much larger and wider than it was.
Many radar stations had already been taken out of action. For the remaining ones the plan was to jam those covering the Normandy beaches and in the Pas de Calais deceive them by ‘counterfeit presentations’.
The “creation” of misleading radar signals involved at least one completely novel maneuver.
In the early hours of D-Day, RAF aircrews flew across the English Channel dropping large numbers of strips of aluminium, known as Window, at precise times and in precise locations. To German radar operators, the Window produced a large blip on radar screens which appeared to be two large invasion fleets heading at a speed of 8 knots towards Boulogne and Fécamp northeast of the Normandy beaches.
To achieve this, they had to fly repeatedly across the channel, each time dropping bundles of window a little closer to the French coast. This required accurate navigation and precision flying so demanding that each aircraft had two pilots and two navigators on board – working in shifts. The RAF elite Dambusters Squadron was tasked with one of these difficult operations.
In addition, Lancaster bombers equipped with Airborne Cigar (ABC) radar jamming equipment flew between Boulogne and Fécamp in the early hours of D-Day. They disrupted the communication and radar equipment of the German night fighters and added to the impression that the invasion would be in that area.
In the meantime, Aircraft equipped with radar jamming equipment called Mandrel accompanied the real invasion fleet to Normandy. These devices reduced the effective range of the German radar, enabling the fleet to cross much of the English Channel undetected.
The invasion force was further hidden through use of smokescreens which concealed the movement of allied troops as they approached the Normandy coast and reduced the risk of attack from German artillery and aircraft. Surprise was also helped by the stormy weather.
Bodyguard and D Day – Dropping Rupert
Around 400 of these dummies, nicknamed Rupert’s by the British, accompanied by a few Special Forces troops, were dropped from aircraft at four key locations behind the German coastal defenses in the early hours of D-Day. They were typically made of hessian, cloth, cord and brass eyelets, and tucked inside the pouch would be the parachute. And although they were smaller than life size, when viewed from the ground, they were convincing enough.
Some of the dummies were fitted with pyrotechnic devices that mimic the sound of gunfire. It’s even been suggested that some were designed to explode on impact, to destroy the evidence. A few Special Forces men were dropped with the dummies to create more fake sights and sounds of battle.
The aim of the operation, which was to draw German troops away from the landing beaches, appears to have been successful as the German army in Normandy sent a brigade of troops to look for the parachutists inland. Despite the success of the deception operations, allied forces still faced heavy resistance when they reached the shore.
Operation Bodyguard is regarded as a tactical success, delaying the German 15th Army in the Pas-de-Calais for seven weeks thus allowing the Allies to build a beachhead and ultimately win the Battle of Normandy.
In his memoirs, General Omar Bradley called Bodyguard the “single biggest hoax of the war”
Overview
The D-Day landings were the largest amphibious invasion in history. Nearly 7,000 naval vessels, incl. battleships, destroyers, minesweepers, escorts and assault craft took part in Operation ‘Neptune’, the naval component of ‘Overlord’. Apart from escorting and landing over 132,000 ground troops on the beaches they carried out bombardments on German coastal defences before and during the landings and provided artillery support for the invading troops. A further 23,000 paratroopers and glider infantry dropped behind enemy lines.
Solid lines mark the routes from the UK to the five designated beaches in Normandy. From this area the British 50th Division traveled from Southampton and Portsmouth to Gold Beach, and the Canadian 3rd Division from Portsmouth to Juno Beach.
Dotted lines show the route of the advance airborne divisions to the Cotentin Peninsula and the Orne River.
Over 81,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers attacked the eastern beaches code-named Sword, Juno, and Gold, while some 73,000 American soldiers attacked the western beaches, code-named Omaha and Utah. Many specialist divisions were also allocated to the beaches. For example, although “Juno” was designated as ‘Canadian’, they were supported by specialist British troops incl. Royal Engineers and Commandos.
Allied air forces flew over 14,000 sorties in support of the landings and, having secured air supremacy prior to the invasion, many of these flights were unchallenged by the Luftwaffe.
Approximately 55,000 German troops were defending the five beaches. During D-Day, both sides suffered approximately 10,000 casualties, which included 4,414 fatalities on the Allied side (German fatality figures are less clear). German losses accounted for over 18% of the defensive force. For the Allies, Omaha Beach accounted for over one third of the casualties.
At the same time Operation Bodyguard was sending a decoy “invasion” towards Boulogne and Fécamp to retain the belief that this was not the main invasion and keep German forces in the Pas de Calais.
Although the Allies took control of the beaches within one day, the Overlord Campaign to take the entire region of Normandy would take several more weeks and at significant cost.
Sappers (Royal Engineers) clearing mined obstacles on the beaches.
Beach Group personnel sheltering behind a Universal Carrier on Sword 6th June.
Commandos of 1st Special Service Brigade about to disembark on Sword.
This section aims to highlight the involvement and experiences of people connected to Emsworth, including; reconnaissance and bomber command in the days prior to D-Day; the advance airborne glider and paratroops division; the transit to and landings on the Normandy beaches. Following a rough timeline, we try to reflect their experiences using their own words or the words of their relatives. Many of these personal stories were collected by Robert Duncan for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. Although, like Robert, most of the people he interviewed then, are no longer with us, we are lucky to have written accounts and some video footage taken back in 2014.
Click on the X to open each personal report – in many cases additional more detailed information is available.
Two X-craft, or midgets submarines (X20 and X23) set sail on 2nd June from C.O.P.P. (Combined Operations Pilotage Parties) in Hayling Island. By dawn on 4th June they were in position a mile offshore in dangerous and uncomfortable conditions. The 6ft wide x 51ft long crafts had been submerged for a total of 64 hours out of 72, and the ten men (5 per craft) risked running out of oxygen.
Their mission was to hoist beacon lights before first light to guide the landing craft ashore in the British and Canadian sector. In early 1944 they had surveyed first Gold, and then, at the request of the Americans, Omaha. These missions were both arduous and dangerous, often working within a few feet of enemy sentries. The first gathered vital information about the ability of Gold Beach to support heavy artillery and equipment. Based on this information a tank which could lay a carpet of matting called “bobbins” was designed. On Omaha they recorded the beach condition and the new fortification work being carried out.
On the 6th June, X20 was commanded by Lt Ken Hudspeth carrying COPPists Paul Clarke and Robin Harbud, who moved to Emsworth after the war. One of Robin’s main jobs was to cross the bay off Gold beach in an inflatable dinghy and hoist a special signaling mast; to guide the first assault waves aiming for Bernieres.
The postponement of the invasion not only put them in danger of running out of oxygen, but it also prevented Robin taking up his position. He was still able to operate the ‘bong stick’, a device which sent sound-waves through the sea to be picked up by incoming ships. Robin recalled that he had to operate the ‘bong stick’ sitting astride the submarine casing, and with the rising sea, was frequently hidden from view as the waves washed over the craft. Once he lost his hold but was able to grab hold of Hudspeth’s foot – who had been keeping an eye on Harbud in case of just such an event.
Two further teams guided tanks on to Sword beach and a third accompanied the AVRE beach-clearing tanks but were forced to withdraw when a German shell struck the tank. Three other members were on a motor launch homing in on the signal from Robin Harbud’s ‘bong stick’.
The COPP carried out dozens of missions in Europe, the Mediterranean, Adriatic & Aegean Seas, and Far East. In three years, 174 personnel won over 90 medals and commendations. A Memorial stands on the foreshore at Hayling to the bravery and achievements of the members of COPP. Robin Harbud who lived in Emsworth awarded a DSC (Distinguished Service Cross) in November 1944 ‘For gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the landing of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy.
‘Mick’ Stanley joined the RAF in 1942. Mick flew in Lancasters with 405 Squadron (Canadian). His logbook for the D-Day period records:
- 4th June – Longue-sur-Mer (behind Gold and Omaha beaches)
- 5th June – Conde-sur-Moireau (road and rail target behind Omaha)
- 7th June – Acheres (near Paris) (rail depot)
- 10th June -Versailles/Matelot (rail depot)
Pathfinder crews flew 45 operational flights before having a six-month break – usually spent as instructors with training units – followed by a second and final tour. Henry flew over sixty operations and was awarded the DFC in December 1944 and was lucky. Whilst grounded due to a broken wrist the rest of his crew were shot down in January 1944 over Berlin. Born in London, Mick moved to Emsworth in 1981 and is buried in Warblington Churchyard.
Of the 120,000 men who served in Bomber Command in WW2, 55,573 died; more than the entire Royal Air Force serving today.
More information Mick Stanley Bomber Command
Ron Eades from Emsworth worked at the Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development (DMWD).
The German guns installed at Pointe du Hoc, whose range of 24,000 metres made them a major threat to Omaha and Utah Beaches and to the naval and assault forces offshore, were considered by the Germans to be unapproachable from seaward. The battery also was heavily defended and mined on the landward side. Ron, who accompanied the American 2nd Rangers dressed and equipped as a Ranger, had been responsible for devising the methods by which the Rangers could scale the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, i.e. rocket propelled grapnels; and extending “fire brigade” ladders with machine guns fixed at the top, mounted on two DUKWs.
At 04.30 their LCA flotilla headed to the landing point in bad sea conditions and reduced visibility. Poor navigation delayed the landing, which meant the planned reinforcements would be diverted to OMAHA. The rough conditions resulted in the loss of one LCA, although the 20 Rangers were rescued, followed by the loss of two support/stores LCAs. A serious blow with significant consequences in the following 72 hrs.
By 07.00, 30 mins late, the flotilla of LCAs arrived at the Pointe du Hoc under small arms fire from the enemy, who had emerged from their bunkers following the aerial bombing and naval gunfire from USS Texas. Nine LCAs beached in quick succession, rocket grapnels were fired, and cliff scaling started. Minutes later the DUKWs arrived, however the intensive bombing had cratered the beach and caused cliff landslides, preventing the DUKWs from making it onto stable ground. Regardless, ladders were extended and firing on the German positions took place.
Whilst successful, a number of Rangers died, or were severely wounded, as a result of grenades and machine gun fire from the cliffs. The Rangers reached the cliff top within 30 mins of landing. The assault was back on track, but without the prospect of reinforcement. The heavy bombing whilst effective, had not destroyed the underground tunnels from which the enemy was re-emerging and the gun emplacements were empty. About 200 metres inland they found five of the 155mm guns set up to bombard UTAH beach to the west. By 09.00 the objective had been achieved.
However, the Rangers were in a very weak position, low on ammunition, food and water, without any heavy weapons, and a with significant number of casualties and prisoners. Communications had largely been lost due to water damage to radios. Some re-supply from the destroyers was arranged but the vast amount of the expected re-enforcement was either lost or diverted elsewhere. It the morning of 8th June, before the relieving force arrived from OMAHA along the coast road.
At this point Ron Eades left the Rangers to re-join the British sector some seven miles east. He was killed on the 12th July and is buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Tilly.
More information Lt Ronald Eades – Pointe du Hoc
Part of the overall plan to secure the eastern flank of the invasion was for a force of 72 gliders carrying guns, transport and heavy equipment to land at 3.30am near Ranville marked on the map with a “star”.
Of the 72, 49 landed accurately with limited casualties at 3.32am.
These extracts are from “D-Day, Arnhem and the Crossing of the Rhine: A Glider Pilot’s Memoir” by Robert Ashby which was published in 2022. Speaking to the Chichester Observer in 2014, Robert said: “Being a glider pilot, my prospects of survival weren’t very good. It was a one-way trip for us. You could only fly the glider inwards and had to get out by using your wits.” Robert lived in Prinstead and his son Richard lives in Southbourne.
“My ‘load’ was a three-ton bulldozer with its driver from the Royal Engineers. One of two machines intended to roll the debris off the landing zone (LZ) in anticipation of the “second lift”. The gliders took off around 1am. “We must have been somewhere towards the west of London when we saw the air was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of bright red lights, like a long, drawn-out swarm of crimson bees. The most remarkable sight I have ever witnessed. The port side lights of an enormous air armada marshalling.”
“We eventually ran into some thick cloud…. when suddenly we came out of it. I knew immediately where we were. There below us was the mouth of the River Orne……further down was the blinking red light of the lead-in beacon positioned by the paratroopers to mark our LZ. As we approached there had been some flak ….. However, my mind was on getting down with the least delay. We expected all hell to break loose when we landed. In fact, we were in mortal dread not of the enemy but of other gliders which were landing all over the place, many crashing into the posts [anti-glider obstacles] or other gliders. All happened within the space of a minute then sudden silence. The next problem was to get the bulldozer out…. Within an hour of landing it was clearing the debris away.
“It had been quite dark but now pre-dawn light was coming up.” “Our role was to defend the two bridges and protect the small chateau which was command HQ.” “Sometime that day we walked back to the LZ [to find a missing co pilot]. We saw that fortunately for us the area had not been fully sown with anti glider obstacles.” “Late that evening the “Second Lift” came in. Heralded by a violent barrage of anti-aircraft fire, the air was filled with tugs and gliders, the latter swooping towards our LZ, the former dropping their trailing ropes and beating a hasty retreat.”
“Next morning, we marched to the beach.”
“It was remarkably tidy. Some disabled landing craft and other wreckage. Round the sea wall were what looked like piled-up stores under canvas sheets. They were not stores but the bodies of men who had fallen in the first assault”.
William enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps and volunteered for airborne forces. Having completed a parachute course, he was posted to Royal Army Service Corps, attached HQ. 6th Airborne Division, an airborne infantry division.
The 6th Airborne Division Headquarters landed by glider, possibly in the same LZ as Robert Ashby. A few gliders missed the LZ, due to the poor weather and errors in navigation, making the task of taking the target bridges and the German Batteries even more difficult.
Pte William Piper was killed in action on 7 June 1944, age 28. He was given a field burial at Grangues and was later re-interred to Ranville War Cemetery on 1 June 1945. His wife Stella was a Chief Wren, WRNS, from Emsworth.
Born in Emsworth, on D-Day Dan Duff was on HMS Largs, the Combined Command Centre for Sword Sector. From Largs he was controlling the heavy gun bombardment of the German defences, applying the firepower of the monitor HMS Roberts, and the battleship HMS Rodney.
At one stage carrying out a 30 hour bombardment at the rate of one 16” shell every few minutes, to prevent a Panzer division advancing across a bridge 22 miles inland. Following the landings he was awarded a Bar to his DSC.
Local resident, Michael Jennings, joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in May 1943. By 1944 he was a Landing Craft Wireman on Landing Craft Tank, HM LCT 795 under the command of 21-year-old Sub Lt Lyon.
Michael recalled their departure from Dartmouth, where crowds gathered to wave them off, knowing that this was the long-awaited invasion. Later, as they left Portland he saw the amazing sight “to the distant horizon the sea was full of landing ships and craft of all shapes and sizes. The enormity of the spectacle made a lifelong impression on me. I was only 18 years of age and recall saying to my ship-mates . “We are about to become part of history”. The crossing was very rough, and many of the American soldiers could not wait to get off our ‘God damned boat’”.
“We arrived off the Normandy beaches during the pre-dawn hours and stood off as we watched Allied planes going over during the first light of dawn. Our run to the beach was planned for approximately 1000 hours as part of the fourth assault wave. Every man was given a tot of rum, even underage me. It tasted really good.”
“Having delivered our cargo onto the beach HMLCT 795 was left high and dry as the tide receded. Given that we were beached and therefore a relatively easy target for the German gunners, we left our craft and ran up the beach to seek shelter. As we did so, shells landed between the craft and HM LCT 795 suffered a few holes in her side. Thankfully there was no major damage, but it would have been a very different outcome had it happened a short time earlier since the trucks we had just unloaded were carrying high explosives for demolition purposes.”
“As the shelling continued, I jumped into a foxhole and found myself with an American soldier who shared his K- ration chocolate with me. He wanted to know if I was a Commando.”
“On arrival back in England, after repairs, we became part of the ferry service, back and forth between England and France, until the early part of 1945 “
More information Mike Jennings Utah Final
Philip, whose daughter lives in Emsworth, enlisted in the Territorials in 1938, having lied about his age. On the outbreak of war, he transferred into to the West Kents 7th Battalion and In 1941, he volunteered to ‘go afloat’ as a gunner. In 1944 Philip was dispatched to Wales where he was allocated to a “dirty old Collier” which transported American forces to Utah on D-Day and then provided support with supplies to Utah.
“Americans started to arrive ……….and then we moved out to the open sea where we dropped anchor and waited. Come morning the weather had deteriorated so there we were crammed with soldiers and no room to move. At last, we were underway, moving down the Bristol Channel ……. gathering more ships as we went. By evening we were off the IOW and could see a never-ending line of ships coming out of the Solent.”
“We followed in carefully marshaled columns to get through our own minefields and later-on the enemy minefields. It was dark and not a light to be seen anywhere. As it began to get light we passed through a line of battleships at anchor. When we got close to the French shore, we passed a control ship who called out our number and directed us… Passing under streams of shells from our battleships and from the German shore batteries….we were hailed by a Beach Master and told to turn and head straight for the beach. Within a few minutes we were well and truly aground. Immediately DUWKs came alongside to take the soldiers, reinforcements for the 82nd Airborne who had been dropped during the night. As the tide went out the slip derricks were brought into use to unload jeeps, trailers, ambulances and medical staff….. We were stuck for 2 or 3 days until a bulldozer could dig us a channel.”
More information Philip Sharplin Memoir D-Day
Wyndham Fletcher, father of Sally MacLeay of Emsworth, was a Battery Commander in the 73rd AA Reg RA, who landed on Sword, in the second or third wave on D-Day. His recce group of six were to establish a Battery HQ and then deploy his troops who were landing on Juno, the next beach along.
“We embarked on our LST late afternoon of June 1st at Southampton and immediately moved to our berth in the Solent.” On the 4th the Captain told me where we were going. ….” “We weighed anchor on the evening of the 5th… as we gained open sea at once we started to pitch and roll.”
“At 7am we stopped, and everyone got up except [me] who lay prostrate with sea sickness.” At 9.30 he writes……”it was a most extraordinary sight, hundreds of craft of all sizes, mostly anchored. In the foreground Warspite & Resolution, orange gouts of flame shooting from their sides every few minutes.”
“We were due to land at midday from a rhino [large raft] which we had towed over behind us. The unwieldly craft was brought round to the bow, the ramp lowered, and the vehicles driven on.” [Instead of the planned 20 mins this took several hours.] Once embarked on the rhino he writes “the nearer in we got the rougher it appeared” “the houses had taken a battering, and the beach seemed a chaotic mess.”
“We landed in four feet of water, four hours late, and feeling sick.”
His battery was not able to land on Juno on D-Day, due to the weather. They arrived later on D-Day+1 and according the Wyndham’s notes they “came into action almost at once.”
More information Wyndham Fletcher (Sally MacLeary)
From approx. 10 miles out we started our run in, a mile out we received the warning for beaching. Hitching up our kit I was fully aware of the 25lbs of explosive perched on my back.
With a hard jolt we beached. I found myself instinctively following Sgt. Brown down the gangplank, plunging off into chest high water we waded ashore. To my amazement we were exactly as planned during briefing. We gathered by the sea wall and Sgt. Brown issue orders. I was to clear mines from the dunes on top of the sea wall. The rest of the Platoon set to work on the mass of obstacles along the foreshore, many being mined.
Armoured bulldozers were at work and AVREs had flailed and blown two exits off the beach.
The delay of 30 min in landing (bad weather) caused a considerable handicap in beach clearance with the tide racing in to cover obstacles before they could be cleared. Nevertheless, sufficient progress was made for follow-up Brigade and Artillery to start landing two hours after H-Hour. We were surprised them carrying folding bicycles. The Germans were still barely a mile up the road! But they had the last laugh, making the deepest infantry penetration of D-Day.
On landing, few of us paid attention to conditions on the beach, being intent on reaching our RV point by the sea wall, but now, as we got down to work, we began to realise how fortunate we had been. There were a considerable amount of casualties around, as well as wrecked tanks and landing craft all along the beach. All our entire reconnaissance party were among the casualties. Lt Phillips, the Sgt. and two sappers were dead. By the end of the day some 20% of the Platoon would be among the toll.
Just before last light some 4 or 5 German bombers appeared dropping bombs at random. They were all shot down. As a young and green sapper (18 years old) I had been lucky and had seen the D-Day sunset. Some did not.
We continued our clearance task for some 36 hours. It was later estimated that my Royal Engineer Company cleared over 2,000 mines, booby traps and several hundred beach obstacles in the first 36 hours”
Having been “blown up” twice in Normandy Len was invalided out of the army in January 1945. He subsequently took a commission in the Army Cadet Corp commanding the Chichester Corp with rank of Captain.
Note: Len was part of the Beach Group for Juno. After Operation Torch the need for beach organization was apparent. They were tri-service, created around an infantry battalion with units from Royal Engineers, Medial and Service Corps, Military Police. Naval Beach Commandos and RAF anti aircraft. The Principal Beach Master and three Beach Masters would land with the first assaulting troops and the other units in the first wave.
Vic Wood, who would have been at Emsworth Camp A2, described his role: I was with 5th Battalion The Kings Regiment, infantry assault unit and nucleus of the Beach Group. The Group was to organise and cope with the landing of an assault force. A multitude of tasks – clearing beaches & exits of mines, making additional exits, supervision & unloading of craft, troops & stores, organising dumps for ammunition & petrol, signal systems, beach dressing station for wounded, evacuating more seriously wounded & POWs. All whilst under a constant hail of shelling, mortar and small arms firing!
Additional Information Len Butt Sapper Juno Beach
“As a follow-up Brigade; 2 Glosters were to land at 08.00 on D-Day. We embarked on an LCI, a narrow shallow draft vessel, designed to run up the beach, with a staircase either side of the prow. She carried 200 troops packed like sardines, without much comfort, and pitched and rolled quite a bit.”
“One of the disadvantages of infantry in a seaborne landing is that support vehicles – such as the platoon truck – have to be severely reduced in the early stages and everything has to be carried. So, in addition to arms and ammunition, you have a pack, haversack, water bottle, a spade or pick and steel helmet – around 60/70 Ibs. To prevent our feet getting wet, some bright spark had issued gas trousers – vast waders designed as protection against mustard gas. The danger was that, practically immobile and weighed down by paraphernalia, if one went under, the chances of surfacing again were somewhat remote.”
“One of the disadvantages of infantry in a seaborne landing is that support vehicles – such as the platoon truck – have to be severely reduced in the early stages and everything has to be carried. So, in addition to arms and ammunition, you have a pack, haversack, water bottle, a spade or pick and steel helmet – around 60/70 Ibs. To prevent our feet getting wet, some bright spark had issued gas trousers – vast waders designed as protection against mustard gas. The danger was that, practically immobile and weighed down by paraphernalia, if one went under, the chances of surfacing again were somewhat remote.”
“We were due at Le Hamel but heard the Hampshires were pinned down by enemy fire. Very sensibly the young naval Lieutenant commanding our LCI put us to the West in the sand dunes. I was first off and jumped into four foot of water; as I did so my gas trousers split. However, we got ashore with no trouble, were formed up and enroute by noon.”
“We had had an easy landing, unlike others. About a mile inland we ran into several Commandos who stopped for a brief chat. “What sort of landing did you have?” I asked the youthful officer, who replied “A bit dicey, but we must get on into Port-en-Bessin”. After he had gone, I realised this was what was left of 47 Marine Commando whose assault craft had hit a mine and this was their C.O., left with a handful of men, whose job it was to attack and take Port-en-Bessin from the rear. This he accomplished on D+2.
Ian was wounded near Falaise in August 1944 and evacuated for treatment. Ian’s son still lives in Emsworth.
Additional information Ian Wakefield Extracts – Normandy
A veteran of 2nd Battalion Gloucester Regiment who would have fought with Ian Wakefield describes landing on D-Day.
The Northshore Regiment was billeted in Emsworth Camp A2 in April 1944 and formed the first assault wave on Juno landing Saint Aubin sur Mer (the town Emsworth is now twinned with). They encountered very heavy German resistance. Several companies took high casualties in the opening minutes of the first wave. Major Hickey who landed with them was awarded a Military Cross for his actions on D-Day and wrote about his time with the Regiment.
Extracts from “The Scarlet Dawn” by Maj Hickey
The last three miles were to be covered with a burst of speed. Suddenly our boat leaped forward with a burst of speed into the jaws of death! No time was lost, the boats dumped as they turned, many were sunk; the water was covered with wreckage. Joel and I landed together in the water but we could reach bottom and made shore. A young lad next to me fell, a bullet got him. I dragged him ashore, and there in that awful turmoil I knelt for a second that seemed an eternity and anointed him – the first of the long, long list I anointed in action. There was a long fifty yards of wide, open beach between the water’s edge and the cement wall; if you could make the wall you were safe, for a time at least; but ah, so many didn’t make it. There on the open beach they lay, dead or dying. It was our duty to get to them, so with our stretcher bearers and first aid men, Doctor Patterson and I crawled back again across that fifty yards of hell.
The beach was sprayed from all angles by the enemy machine guns and now their mortars and heavy guns began hitting us. Crawling along in the sand, I just reached a group of three badly wounded men when a shell landed among us killing the others outright.
The noise was deafening; you couldn’t even hear our huge tanks that had already landed and were crunching their way through the sand; some men, unable to hear them, were run over and crushed to death. A blast shook the earth like an earthquake, it was the engineers blowing the wall. All the while enemy shells came screaming in faster and faster; as we crawled along, we could hear the bullets and shrapnel cutting into the sand around us; when a shell came screaming over, you dug into the sand and held your breath, waited for the blast and the shower of stones and debris that followed; then when it cleared a little, right next to you, perhaps someone you had been talking to half an hour before, lay dead.
It was a hard job to get the wounded on the stretchers and carry them to the shelter of the wall. I will never forget the courage of the stretcher bearers and first aid men that morning. If some men are living today, next to Almighty God, they can thank men like Lieutenant Hisslip and his stretcher bearers, and I will always remember the bravery of these first aid from our own regiment. They stayed with us on the open beach until we carried all the wounded we could to safety behind the wall and gave them what help we could.
Additional information Hickey Scarlet Dawn – Juno
Brought up in Southbourne, Barney joined the Army at 17.
He landed on Gold beach in the third week of June with his company of Grenadier Guards.
The platoon were divided into sections, their initial objective was to close the Falaise Gap.
They were involved in the Winter battle of Bastogne, a bitter experience but lightened by finding a convent where the nuns cooked his platoon a Christmas Lunch! After the Ardennes, the troop headed for the Elbe and finally to Berlin, having walked most of the way through Europe. The troop returned to England in October 1946. Two years and 4 months after leaving Southampton. Prior to D-Day Barney was part of the garrison guarding Windsor Castle.
D-Day often overshadows the broader Normandy campaign. A bridgehead was critical, but it was just the first step. The original objectives on D-Day was a connected beachfront from Sword to Omaha, with a frontline roughly 10-16km from the shore, and control of large towns such as Bayeux, Caen, and Carentan. By the evening of June 6, none of these objectives were achieved. It took a week before the beaches were connected.
The bocage (a peculiarity of the Normandy landscape with sunken lanes bordered by high, thick hedgerows) was difficult to penetrate and gave the German defenders the advantage. They were able to ambush the Allies as they moved through Normandy. Urban fighting was also fierce, and the daily casualty rate was higher than that of the Somme offensive in WWI.
The Allies began making ground after taking Caen on 21st July at a cost of many lives on both sides. At the same time other battles were weakening the German forces.
- The campaign in Italy & the Soviet Belorussian offensive drew German troops away.
- Ten weeks after D-Day, another invasion on the south coast of France.
Aided by the French resistance, France was largely under Allied control by September.
In 2014 my father, Bob Duncan, researched and presented the 70th Anniversary Exhibition covering local involvement in the lead up to and during the allied landings on D-Day. In that process he interviewed a number of local people who had had direct involvement in D-Day. Luckily much of that information has been preserved as were two video interviews which form part of the content you see today.
In preparing this 80th Anniversary Exhibition I am grateful to the people who have provided new information about their family members, friends or neighbours, which has enabled me to augment the content gathered in 2014 with many additional local stories; including Sally MacLean, Mary Riding, Carolyn Sinden, Jackie Stanley and Richard Swaine.
Thanks also to Richard Sanderson, Steve Miller, The Bedhampton Historical Collection, The Spring, The National Museum of the Royal Navy and Andrew Griffin for assistance with research and to Robin Colburn for lending many of the artifacts in the display cabinets.
Most of the photographs on display are curtesy of the Imperial War Museum Archives and Collections and from the Naval Museum Archives. The personal photographs of Emsworth participants were provided by the individuals concerned or by their families.
The following reference sources were drawn on in creating the Exhibition.
| Reference Source Name | Author or Institution |
| 60th Anniversary – The D-Day Story- The News | James Roger |
| Canadian Troop Locations in WW2 | National Archives of Canada |
| Chichester Harbour – An informal look at the last hundred years | Monika Smith |
| Childhood Memories of Havant in the Second World War | Ralph Cousins |
| D-Day | Brigadier Peter Young |
| D-Day | The D-Day Story Portsmouth |
| D-Day | The Hampshire, June 1969 |
| D-Day Encyclopaedia | Barrett Tillman |
| D-Day, A Day to Remember | Borough of Havant |
| Front-line Havant 1939-45 | Arthur Herbert Jones |
| Hampshire and D-Day | Martin Doughty |
| Imperial War Museum Collections | Imperial War Museum |
| Naval Museum Collections | National Museum of the Royal Navy |
| Personal Diary, 1944 January – October | Valerie Bacon |
| RAF Pathfinders Archive | RAF-Pathfinders.com |
| Rowland’s Castle in World War II | Rowlands Castle Historical Society |
| Smitten City – The Story of Portsmouth Under Blitz | The Evening News, Portsmouth |
| Supplying War – Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton | Martin Van Creveld |
| The LST and Landing Craft Association archive | The D-Day Story |
| The Scarlet Dawn | Rev R M Hickey |
| The Silent Day | Max Arthur |
| The Struggle for Europe | Chester Wilmot |
| Tomorrow is D-Day | Stella Rutter |
| Westbourne & D-Day | Westbourne Local History Group |
| WW2 People’s War | BBC |
Jane Kidd
