On 1st May 1944 Dick became a full Lieutenant. He was still in Nightingale Wood and acting Squadron Leader – possibly while senior officers attended Exercise Thunderclap, Montgomery’s preparation sessions for D Day with ground force officers who would be involved in the assault. By now Dick would have known he wasn’t going ashore with 61st Recce on D Day but would follow to France with the majority of the Regiment in later in June. He wrote to Chotie describing the joys of the countryside and listening to classical music on the radio.
61st Reconnaissance Regiment was inspected by General Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, at the beginning of May and also received a visit from King George VI. On 6th May Dick was Orderly Officer, checking on the guards at night, and still running the Squadron. Chotie had been home, to Parkstone in Poole, where her sister Margaret was expecting her first child (Roger). Dick’s old friend Eric Kessler now had a baby son and Dick was “almost envious”.
By 10th May he’d “managed to get rid of this Squadron Leader racket”. On 14th May Bristol, where Chotie was stationed in an Ack-Ack unit, was again attacked by the Luftwaffe. The Easton-in-Gordano anti-aircraft camps defending the harbour would have played an important role successfully defeating the impact of the attack. Having at last secured 24 hours leave Dick wrote to Chotie urging her to join him in “the Haunch town” – their favourite pub was the Haunch of Venison in Salisbury (co-incidentally where Eisenhower and Churchill are said to have met when planning D Day). She went AWOL and they stayed overnight together in Salisbury on Friday 19th May; their last meeting before February 1945.
Letter written on Saturday 20th May 1944
Usual address
Saturday
Chotie Darling,
Just a few lines to thank you for a very happy, though all too brief, 24 hrs.
I managed to get back with ten minutes to spare and just made the afternoon parade. I hope you managed to get back without too much trouble – I hate the thought of you scrubbing floors all night*. What you would do for me, Darling, is a constant source of amazement to me.
I’ve just finished censoring the mail – a man size job tonight as unfortunately no one else bothered to do yesterday’s for me, with the result that I’ve had two days to do at once.
I regret to say that the 24hr passes have stopped but there may be a chance of some leave a bit later on – three or four days, I imagine.
I went to the naffy** and imbibed a little beer earlier this evening with the result that I keep running outside. Sorry….
All the other officers (both of them) went to the cinema tonight to see “Bombers Moon” – some punk Yank film, but I just couldn’t have stood it so I stayed here, in my little tent and wrote you, my Darling, which seems infinitely preferable.
After this show, Chotie, I reckon we’ll take a few months off – sheer rest – and forget all about the wretched life we now lead. Walking in Provence or somewhere like that. We could find a little hotel every night … and when we’re married things will be different….
I intend to come out of this business, darling, if only to take the chance of making you very happy, which is what you deserve.
I must close here, Precious as I have to write a few lines to mother – not having written for some time.
Goodnight, my Darling – I love you very, very much.
Dicker
RKWilliams
*Presumably an ATS punishment for going AWOL (Absent Without Leave)
**Slang for the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute’s canteen and recreation building. Officers weren’t meant to frequent the NAAFI as this was an intrusion on the private lives of the Other Ranks. The Commissioned Officers had their own ‘mess’, sometimes separated into Junior and Senior, and the senior NCOs had theirs, known as the Sergeants Mess.
Eric Brewer’s diary reveals he was working in the Sergeants Mess (“not a bad job”) from 22nd to 30th May (from Eric Brewer’s Diary by kind permission of Derek Brewer and his family).
© Chotie Darling
Soon after this Dick moved to Aldershot with the rest of the Regiment not involved in D Day (including Tony Rampling). He wrote to Chotie with “No news from this end, of course. The old security racket again.”
Eric Postles, Sandy Handley, Eric Brewer and Don Aiken were all to be part of the first assault. They had been involved in the practice exercises, seen detailed reconnaissance films of their destination (without any names) and waterproofed their vehicles for an amphibious landing. Eric Brewer went AWOL overnight on 6th May and was fined three day’s pay, possibly by Dick (RW)
(Eric Brewer's Service Record - copyright Derek Brewer and family)
The camp was shared with American Rangers, an elite unit who were to spearhead attacks from Omaha beach. Sandy was “shaking in my boots at the thought of what was to come. The majority of us hadn’t seen any action at all so far.”
Towards the end of the month the camp was sealed off – no-one was allowed out or in. Personal items had to be sent home and the cars loaded with ammunition and supplies to get through the first 24 hours. Some of the troops copied the Americans example and shaved their heads in case of lice. On 31st May they were told they would be embarking the next day and were served steak – an unimaginable luxury in those wartime days. The gunner in Eric Postles car ‘did a runner’, trying to get home to Slough, and was never seen again so Eric went to war with a crew of three, instead of the four he should have had.
On 8th May Eisenhower had decided that D Day would be on the 5th of June and a week later Montgomery gave a masterly presentation of the final plans for Overlord to the King, Churchill and the Senior Officers of the Allied Armies.
Map of the Overlord Plan from Olive-Drab website
150,000 troops were to land on the five Normandy beaches: United States 12th Army Group, commanded by Lt-General Omar Bradley, in the west on ‘Utah’ and ‘Omaha’ and the 21st Army Group of British and Canadians in the east on ‘Gold’, ‘Juno’ and ‘Sword’. XXX (30) Corps would be led ashore on ‘Gold’ beach by Dick’s own 50th Division. 8,000 British and 16,000 American Airborne troops were to seize crucial inland points ahead of the landings.
It was vital to keep the Germans guessing where and when the invasion would take place. The deceptions of Operation Fortitude North continued with another attack on the giant battleship Tirpitz (feigning preparations for a Norway landing from Scotland) and Operation Fortitude South built up General Patton’s fake US First Army Group in SE England, threatening the Pas de Calais. Air attacks on key military and infrastructure targets all over northern France continued with a 5,000 bomber raid on 20th May.
Berlin suffered a 1,500 bomber raid on 7th May by the United States Army Air Force but the Allied air forces were now turned towards tactical support for the invasion and the USAAF began strategic bombing of Germany’s synthetic oil manufacture, succeeding in halving production by the end of June.
In Italy the Allies at last broke the Gustav (winter) line, which had stalled them for so long, taking the stronghold of Monte Cassino on 18th May. They also broke out of the Anzio beach-head to the north, linking up with the US 10th Army by the Tyrrhenian Coast on 25th May.
In Eastern Europe the Red Army’s advance in the Crimea continued with the capture of the Black Sea port Sevastapol on 9th May. Hungary was now occupied by German forces – mass deportation of Hungarian Jews began on 15th May (less than one third were to survive the Holocaust).
The U-gō invasion of India by Japan retreated from Kohima on 13th May.
Chinese forces crossed the border to attack the Japanese in Burma on 11th May and joined with Merrill’s Marauders who had captured the Myitkina airfields. However, the town and river port of Myitkina remained in Japanese hands until August.
On 18th May the success of Operation Cartwheel was demonstrated when the US Navy’s Admiralty Island campaign at last isolated the Japanese base of Rabaul, making it useless.
For the British the attention of the world was soon to focus much closer to home.
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