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THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY

D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 -- MIDNIGHT JUNE 6

What is your full name? MICHAEL ALDWORTH

What is your present address? FLAT 35,
6 HALL ROAD, LONDON N.W.8

Telephone number: CUN 8261

What was your unit, division, corps? 48 COMMANDO, ROYAL MARINES

Where did you land and at what time?
ST AUBIN (Nam Red Beach)
at about 0830

What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944?
LIEUTENANT RM. 22 years 2 months

Were you married at that time? NO

What is your wife's name? -

Did you have any children at that time? -

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion?
About January 1944, we were in Italy. We were suddenly taken
off the job we were doing and shipped home from Taranto in early February.

What was the trip like during the crossing of the Channel? Do you
remember, for example, any conversations you had or how you passed the time?
Rough. I was sea sick, but oddly enough slept surprisingly
well on the upper deck wrapped in a blanket. As soon
as the events of the day began, I forgot my sea-sickness! Our
craft, LCI (s) was highly unsuitable for assault landings, as they were
designed for raiding.

Were there any rumours aboard ship? (Some people remember hearing that
the Germans had poured gasoline on the water and planned to set it afire
when the troops came in.)
The only rumour was a firm intimation [crossed out] [illegiable] [end crossed out] that we as an
assault unit would be sent back to UK as soon after the
landing as possible. Actually we soldiered on for the rest of the
campaign.

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happed to you that day?
No