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2 .

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or
during the day?
Yes Many By the end of D+1 the unit was reduced to
a strength of 223 all ranks [inserted] from 450 [end inserted]. My 3" Mortar Section lost
5 killed & 2 wounded, including all NCO's out of
a strength of 12.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became
casualties?
Lieutenant Geoff Curtis had been wounded in the stomach in
Sicily. On returning to UK, he found his wife had badly let him
down. I think he went to Normandy hoping to be killed, and was in
fact mortally wounded again in the stomach by a shell from a British
Landing Craft.

Were you wounded ? NO

How were you wounded? -

Do you remember what it was like — that is, do you remember whether you
felt any pain or were you so surprised that you felt nothing? -

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though
it may not have seemed amusing at the time? Or anything unexpected or out-
of-place?

Captain Mike Reynolds, [crossed out] commanding [end crossed out] [inserted] leading [end inserted] A Troop with both arms
broken by machine gun fire, dripping blood, advancing smoking
cigarettes one of his troop had lit for him. The joke was
that he normally didn't smoke.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck
you more than anything else?
I recall sailing down the Solent, and looking across to
Eastney Barracks, the HQ of Portsmouth Division, Royal Marines
my spiritual "home". The evening sun was shining on it,
and I thought of the many thousands of marines who had marched
out of the gates to man HM Ships and to take part in
all sorts of wars & campaigns and of the many who did not return.
I hoped that I would!