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In the footsteps of D Company 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry D-Day, 6 June 1944

On the 6 June 1944 the greatest seabornedown.
invasion the world has ever known took place
on the Calvados Coast of Normandy, France.Wally Parr was trying to shout "Able, Able,
This invasion was the beginning of the end ofAble" as he ran on to the bridge, but the
the Second World War and the 6 June 1944 willwords would just not come out. Freeing his
be forever known as D-Day. This article istongue from the roof of his dried out mouth
an account of the first action that tookhe finally let out a yell of "Come out and
place on D-Day at the Caen Canal and Riverfight you square-headed bastards" in his
Orne Bridges near Bénouville, France. Itbroad Cockney accent. Lt David Wood's men
tells the true story of the coup-de-mainwere now starting to get to grips with the
assault by British Gliderborne soldiers toGermans  on  the  home  bank.
capture  these  two  vital  bridges.
Running straight past Maj Howard, 14 Platoon
Preceding the seaborne landings three Alliedraced on to the bridge; Lt Sandy Smith had
Airborne Divisions were dropped to secure thewrenched his knee and more hobbled than ran.
flanks of the five-invasion beaches where theAs he crossed the bridge he saw Lt
Allied 21st Army Group was to come ashore.Brotheridge's Platoon firing their weapons
In the west two US Airborne Divisions droppedand throwing grenades at the German
onto the Cotentin peninsula behind UTAH beachdefenders. As he reached the far end he saw
and in the east the British 6th Airbornea German soldier near the low wall in front
Division (Br 6 AB Div) dropped into the areaof the Café Gondrée about to throw a
between the River Orne and River Dives to thestick grenade; with a burst from his sten he
east  of  SWORD  beach.sent the German sprawling across the wall
dead, but the grenade landed close to Lt
One of the primary tasks of the Br 6 AB DivSmith and went off. He did not feel a thing
was to seize intact the two bridges over theand it was only when one of his corporals who
Caen Canal and River Orne near Bénouvillewas nearby asked if he was all right that Lt
and hold them until relieved against anySandy Smith noticed the holes in his Denison
German counterattacks. This mission wassmock and trousers; he had been hit by the
considered to be vital to the success of thegrenade's fragments and the wrist of his
invasion, as it would allow the seabornetrigger hand had lost all of its flesh, but
forces to reinforce the Br 6 AB Div's areahe  could  still  use  his  trigger  finger.
and subsequently break out to the east. D
Company the 2nd Oxfordshire andInside the Café Gondrée the owner,
Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (D Coy 2 OBLI)Georges Gondrée, had been awakened by all
commanded by Major John Howard was selectedthe noise. Crawling to one of the upper
to carryout this mission and this is theirfloor windows he peeped over the sill to see
story.what was going on; as he did so Lt Smith saw
the movement and thinking that it was a
On the morning of 5 June 1944 the men of DGerman soldier let off a burst from his sten
Coy 2 OBLI started their final preparationsin the direction of the Café. Fortunately
and at noon Maj Howard learned that thefor Georges Gondrée the burst went high
invasion was on. He ordered the men to restshattering the window and hitting the wooden
and when the evening meal was over theybeams. He beat a hasty retreat, gathered his
boarded the trucks to go to their gliders.family together, and then took them
As they climbed into their gliders he shookdownstairs to the comparative safety of the
hands with the officers and called out wordscellar. Lt Smith continued with the task in
of encouragement to the men. Finally hehand and led his platoon in the clearing of
moved to his own glider, upon the nose ofthe remaining trenches on the western bank of
which Pte Wally Parr had chalked 'Lady Irene'the  Canal.
to name it after his wife. When Maj Howard
got in the glider, the door was closed and onAt 00.21 hrs, the fighting at the Caen Canal
schedule they started to move down theBridge started to die down and Pte Parr made
runway. At 22.56 hrs 'Lady Irene' washis way to the Café that was the rallying
airborne and D Coy 2 OBLI was on their waypoint for 25 Platoon. As he ran past the end
into  history.of the bridge he saw one of his comrades
lying on the ground in the middle of the
The six Halifax bombers from 298 Squadron RAFroad. Knowing that he had to report to Lt
took-off with the accompanying Horsa glidersBrotheridge he continued on for a few more
in tow and crossed the English Channel flyingpaces before he pulled up short. Turning
at an altitude of 7,000 ft. All around themaround he realised that the soldier on the
were Heavy Bombers going to drop bombs onground was Lt Brotheridge. He went back and
German positions in the invasion area, Caenknelt down beside his Platoon Commander; Lt
or other selected targets. With all of thisBrotheridge had been shot in the neck, his
air activity the German anti-aircraft andeyes were open and his lips were moving, but
searchlight crews failed to notice thenot a sound came out; as Wally Parr put his
gliders.hand under Lt Brotheridge's head to lift it
up  his  eyes  just  rolled  back.
At the appointed time the Halifax bomber
released the first glider to begin its run24 Platoon had finished clearing the trenches
into the target. In the glider S/Sgton the home bank of the canal and Lt Wood
Wallwork checked their altitude and thedecided to report to Maj Howard that his task
compass, whilst S/Sgt John Ainsworth checkedwas complete. With Sgt Leather and a runner
his stopwatch. At the appointed mark theyhe was moving back towards Maj Howard's
turned to starboard and halfway down theposition when a burst from a German
crosswind leg of their approach S/Sgtschmeisser rang out. Three bullets caught Lt
Wallwork saw it, he could make out the river,David Wood in the leg and he fell to the
the canal and both bridges. With visibilityground. Bleeding profusely, frightened and
good and the target in sight he dropped theshaken up he tried to stand but found he was
glider's nose and made for the LZ. With theunable to so. Both Sgt Leather and the
ground rushing up at around 95mph he held therunner had also been hit and lay on the
glider on course; they hit the ground andground nearby. Cpl Godbold one of his
caught the first of the wire defences. Jimsection commanders took over command of the
Wallwork shouted, "Stream" and John Ainsworthplatoon.
released the arrester parachute; it lifted
the tail, forced the nose into the ground,It was about this time that a shaken, but
tore off the wheels and bounced the glidernone too seriously injured S/Sgt Jim Wallwork
back into the air. The arrester parachutestarted to regain consciousness; he was lying
did its job and they hit the ground again;on his stomach with his seat on top of him.
this time on the skids. Jim WallworkHe could hear John Ainsworth calling out his
shouted, "Jettison" and John Ainsworthname and asking if he was all right. Looking
pressed the button to release the parachute;around he saw S/Sgt Ainsworth pinned under
now travelling at about 60mph the gliderthe wreckage of the glider's nose and when he
threw up hundreds of friction sparks from theasked him if he could crawl out he replied,
skids as they passed over rocks. Seeing"No." He asked if he lifted the nose of the
these sparks through the open door Maj Howardglider could he crawl out, to which he
thought that they had been spotted and werereceived the reply, "I'll try" and as he
being fired upon. All of a sudden there waslifted the wreckage John Ainsworth crawled
an almighty crash and the glider came to aout. After getting a medic to see to John
jarring halt; Jim Wallwork and John AinsworthAinsworth's injuries, Jim Wallwork began his
were hurled out through the cockpit stillsecondary task of unloading ammunition and
strapped in their seats. It was 00.16 hrscarrying it forward to the men on the bridge.
early in the morning of D-Day 6 June 1944 and
the first Allied soldiers had arrived onIt was now 00.22 hrs, six minutes after the
French  soil.first glider had landed, and reports of what
was happening started to reach Maj Howard.
The glider's passengers were momentarilyThe first information to come in was about
knocked unconscious, but Maj Howard'sDen Brotheridge; this was devastating news,
fanaticism for physical fitness paid off;as they were the best of friends. The next
they quickly recovered and in a matter ofpiece of news he received was that Lt David
seconds their training kicked in.Wood and his Platoon Sergeant had also been
Automatically removing their harnesses, theyhit; two of his three platoons at the bridge
exited the glider through any hole they couldwere now without their Platoon Commander.
make or find. On reaching the outside MajThis was followed up with a report from 14
Howard realised that there was no shootingPlatoon that informed him of Lt Smith's
and they had landed without being spotted.injuries. Whilst Sandy Smith was still on
Looking around he thanked god for Jimhis feet Maj Howard could not help thinking
Wallwork and John Ainsworth; they had put thethat he had effectively lost all three of his
glider right into the corner of the fieldPlatoon Commanders at the canal bridge; added
where  he  wanted  it.to this he did not know what was happening at
the  Orne  River  Bridge.
Lt Herbert Denham 'Den' Brotheridge and the
men of 25 Platoon swiftly exited the gliderAt the Orne River Bridge the action was
and quietly shook out into their assaultnowhere near as dramatic, glider 94 had
formation. Lt Brotheridge whispered into Cplmissed the target area altogether landing
Jack Bailey's ear and off he went with hissome eight miles away near one of the bridges
two men to deal with the pillbox where theover the River Dives by Varaville; the
firing mechanism to blow the bridges wasHalifax crew had released the glider in the
located. Gathering the remainder of hiswrong  place  due  to  a  navigational error.
platoon he gave a whispered, "Come on lads"
and  they  made  a  dash  for  the  bridge.Glider 96, piloted by S/Sgt Roy Howard and S
Sgt Fred Baacke, was the only one of the
One minute had passed since the first gliderthree gliders to come to rest on LZ 'Y'. At
had landed and S/Sgt Oliver Bowland at the00.20 hrs they made an easy landing coming to
controls of glider 92 came down within 25a halt some three hundred yards from the
yards of glider 91. Lt David Wood was thrownbridge; in this glider were Lt Dennis Fox and
clear still clutching on to his sten and17 Platoon. On landing Sgt Thornton reminded
canvas bucket of extra grenades; relieved toLt Fox that he had forgotten to open the
find himself in one piece he pulled himselfdoor, but when Dennis Fox tried to open it
together, gathered his platoon and set offthe door would not budge so Sgt Thornton had
for the wire perimeter where Maj Howard wouldto  show  him  how  it  was  done.
be  waiting.
A minute later glider 95, piloted by S/Sgt
Lt Brotheridge and 25 Platoon were moving onStan Pearson and S/Sgt Len Guthrie, touched
to the bridge at a steady trot as two Germandown and came to a halt short of LZ 'Y', some
sentries passed each other in the middle.700 yards away from the bridge. This glider
The sentry walking towards the eastern end ofcarried Lt H J 'Todd' Sweeney and 23 Platoon.
the bridge was suddenly confronted by a pack
of British airborne soldiers coming out ofDismounting from their glider 17 Platoon
the night; confronted by this hellish sightshook out into their approach formation; one
he turned tail and ran shoutingsection to the front followed by Lt Dennis
"paratroopers" as he went. The secondFox, the remaining two sections and Sgt
sentry, a German NCO, turned to see what wasThornton with the remainder of platoon
happening and on seeing the Britishheadquarters at the rear. When the lead
paratroopers running towards him pulled outsection did not move off, Dennis Fox went
the Verey pistol that he was carrying. Pteforward to find out why. The section
Billy Gray sent a burst from his Bren towardscommander pointed out a German manning a
him and Lt Den Brotheridge fired off a fullmachine-gun at the bridge. Lt Fox told him
magazine from his sten. The German NCO wasto get moving, but he still hesitated; so
hit by a storm of bullets, but as he felltaking the bull by the horns Lt Dennis Fox
dead to the ground the Verey pistol went offled 17 Platoon off to start their approach.
and  a  flare  shot  up  into  the  night.They had just got moving when the German at
the bridge saw them and opened up with his MG
As the flare went off Cpl Bailey and his two34; the men of 17 Platoon dived for cover.
men arrived at the pillbox and tossed theirSgt Thornton at the back grabbed hold of the
grenades in through the weapon slits; theplatoon's 2-inch mortar and immediately
grenades were followed up with a burst ofreturned fire, putting a mortar round right
fire and they looked inside when the duston top of the machine-gunner. Seeing this
settled  to  find  no  one  left  alive.land, Lt Fox and his platoon got up and
charged to the bridge shouting "Fox, Fox,
Pte Wally Parr was just running on to theFox" as they went. Reaching the bridge they
bridge when the flare shot skywards; he sawwere just in time to see the last of the
the door of a nearby dugout half open andGermans running away. One of the NCOs from
abruptly shut again. Pulling out a grenadethe 17 Platoon's lead section jumped into the
he ran across the road and by the time he gotempty machine-gun pit, grabbed hold of their
to the dugout the pin was out. Opening thediscarded MG 34 and sent a long burst of fire
door just enough to throw it in, he tossedafter them. These were the only shots fired
the grenade through the opening and quicklyin the capture of the bridge over the River
shut the door. As the grenade exploded PteOrne.
Charlie Gardiner jumped into the dugout,
Wally Parr opened the door again, andLt Todd Sweeney and 23 Platoon dismounted
Gardiner finished off the Germans inside withfrom glider 95 to hear the machine-gun open
a  burst  from  his  sten.up at the bridge. They quickly shook out and
headed off for the bridge at the double with
The shouts of "paratroopers" from the runningLt Sweeney leading the way. The only
sentry, the sound of Lt Brotheridge's sten,casualties they suffered were those that
Pte Gray's burst from his Bren, the crump offailed to see the drainage ditches that
Cpl Bailey's grenades going off and the flarecrossed their approach. Soaked to the skin
from the German NCOs Verey pistol brought theand covered in mud, Lt Sweeney led his men up
other German defenders to life. Many of theto the bridge. Unnerved by the seemingly
private soldiers were foreign conscripts andcalm situation and the lack of any opposition
these quickly faded into the night, but theon the bridge, he made the final approach
NCOs all of whom were German sprang to theirwith caution. Leaving one section to secure
positions.the home bank, Lt Sweeney led the remainder
across at the run. As they reached the far
Back on LZ 'X' glider 93 came to a halt withend Lt Todd Sweeney saw Lt Dennis Fox. Lt
a shuddering crash on the edge of the pondSweeney raced up to him, "Dennis, how are
between the two gliders already on theyou, is everything all right?" to which he
ground, as it did so it swung ninety degreesreceived the reply, "Yes I think so, but I
breaking in half. Capt John Vaughan RAMC wascan't  find  the  bloody  umpires!"
thrown clear and knocked completely
unconscious. Lt Richard 'Sandy' Smith wasLeaving Lt Fox to organise the immediate
also thrown clear to land face down in thedefence of the River Bridge Lt Sweeney made
mud; he had lost his sten and momentarily didhis way to the Canal Bridge to report to Maj
not know where he was or what he was doing.Howard. At 00.26 hrs, ten minutes after
Picking up the nearest sten Lt Smith gatheredglider 91 had landed, John Howard had the
his platoon together and made for Majnews he had been waiting for; D Coy 2 OBLI
Howard's position. One of the other membershad seized both bridges intact. Exuberant
of 14 Platoon however, was not so lucky; LMaj Howard turned to his radio operator Cpl
Cpl Fred Greenhalgh was knocked unconsciousTappenden and told him to send the message
on impact and thrown clear to land face downthat the bridges had been captured. "HAM and
in  the  pond  where  he  drowned.JAM, HAM and JAM, HAM and JAM" out over the
radio the codewords went; "HAM and JAM, HAM
By now the sappers from glider 91 were underand JAM, HAM and JAM" Cpl Tappenden continued
the bridge cutting wires and looking forto send. What Maj Howard and Cpl Tappenden
explosives as they went. Lt David Wood's 24did not know was that Brig Poett was unable
Platoon were just arriving at Maj Howard'sto  receive  the  message.
position and barely two minutes had passed
since  the  first  glider  had  touched down.The Caen Canal Bridge was named "Pegasus
Bridge" after the Pegasus emblem worn by the
The German sentry reached the far end of theBritish 6th Airborne Division in memory of
bridge without being hit and threw himselfthis action. The River Orne Bridge was
into a trench. The Germans in their trenchesrenamed "Horsa Bridge" after the gliders that
turned their weapons to point at the runningcarried  the  men  who  landed  here.
airborne soldiers. Lt Brotheridge was almost
across the bridge when he saw the first ofYou can read more about D-Day on our free
the enemy beginning to react and pulled aD-Day website at which is brought to you by:
grenade from his pouch as he ran. Pte Billy-
Gray fired his Bren from the hip towards the
enemy, as did many of the other charging menIn the footsteps BATTLEFIELD TOURS and
of 25 Platoon. Getting the pin out of hisBattlefield  Tours  4u
grenade Lt Brotheridge threw it at one of the
enemy occupied trenches. As he did so aIn the footsteps BATTLEFIELD TOURS ( offer a
machine-gunner in another enemy trench off tobespoke battlefield tour service for those
his right sent a burst in his direction. Aswishing to follow in the footsteps of an
his grenade exploded in the enemy trenchancestor, relative or particular unit.
wiping out its occupants Lt Den BrotheridgeBattlefield Tours 4u ( offer a range of set
was thrown back by the force of theitinerary battlefield tours for those wishing
machine-gun's bullets to land on his back into  follow a more general view of the battle.
the middle of the road. Other members of 25
Platoon began firing at the Germans in theirAs part of the In the footsteps BATTLEFIELD
trenches; the combination of this fire and aTOURS you can also purchase related history
burst from Pte Gray's Bren knocked out theand tour books written by Major Ian R Gumm.
machine-gun that had brought Lt Brotheridge



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