Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 021, folder 35: Robert Johnson Knott

KNOTT, Robert Johnson British Royal Naval Reserve Box 21, #35

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 — MIDNIGHT JUNE 6 What is your full name? Robert Johnson Knott What is your present address? 21, Gladstone Street, Hartlepool, Co. Durham Telephone number: Home-Hartlepool 6219 (always doubtful) office-Hartlepool 2015 (between 9-10 am nearly sure) What was your unit, division, corps? Royal Naval Reserve. Attached to American Fleet as laison officer for all merchant ships using the beach. Where did you land and at what time? Omaha Beach (Approx 2200 on the 6th What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? Lt. Comm. Temp. Ast Forty four Were you married at that time? no What is your wife's name? no Did you have any children at that time? no When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? A month or six week before . 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? Quite fair . Mostly sleeping and nattering. 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.) Plenty of rumours of all sorts which we just ignored or laughed at as we realised they were just rumours. Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No

2 . Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Not that I can remember Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Were you wounded? no How were you wounded? no 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? That I was as liable to be shot by a gun happy Yank as by a German if one came along. Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? The American sergeant I met who claimed to have been in one of the first assault groups, who said that he dropped out of his craft and behind some beach obstruction and if the tide had not come in he would have been there still.

3.

In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self-reliance; others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either?

No.

Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours (midnight 5 June to midnight 6 June) either as infantry, glider or airborne troops, whom we should write to?

No

What do you do now?

Port Health Inspector.

Please let us have this questionnaire as soon as possible, so that we can include your experiences in the book. We hope that you will continue your story on separate sheets if we have not left sufficient room. Full acknowledgement will be given in a chapter called "Where They Are Now."

Cornelius Ryan Joan 0. Isaacs The Reader’s Digest

June [?] Navy Lt Comm R Knott. RNR [?Treason?] - [illegible] [ ?] on Omaha [crossed out]ko[end crossed out].

HQ Ships to discharge cargo.

To be permanent beach party on under Capt. [?Camp?] USN

all [?] 'Beach treason" Equipment for Amer beach ----