World War II D-Day Accounts from the Cornelius Ryan Collection

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Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 021, folder 45: John Thomas Manners Mason

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Mason and other men of that unit that day moved on down to relieve the airborne troops which had captred the bridges over the Orne River and Caene Canal. Then they swung north , relieved the 9th Battalian of the Airborn in the village of Plein. That night as they tried to get some sleep Mason the schoolmaster wanted to weep. Everything he had seen that day "seemed so useless, so unwise and so horrible."

A word about Mason: he is very sensitive, a tall rather handsome man with wavy hair, quiet and an introvert.

Last edit over 2 years ago by dhuber23
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PVT Thomas Manners Mason, 24, ISS Bdg ([?Lovatt's?] Commando's) remembers seeing survivors of the "Svenner" [swimming?] about in water. He didn't know at the time it was "Svenner." All he could see was survivors red lights blinking in water - about 20 or 30. A Sgt beside him sd "Listening to this on the news will mean absolutely nothing - yet to each one of them this is a personal tragedy."

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Landed on LCA about 6:30 at the center of Ouistreham. He remembers the piles of dead of the E. [Torks?] - apparently they didn't get off beach. About 100 dead & wounded [arrow to continued]

He saw young coxswain flinched, sat back when he saw these crowds of dead bodies on beach. Then he sat up again.

[continued] One man lifted the stump of his left arm out of the water & said "Help me - please help me." Mason pulled him out of water.

"This ain't no exercise" he said to his Corporal James Harris as they sheltered in a wrecked villa and had a smoke while waiting for E troop to assemble.

Last edit over 2 years ago by dhuber23
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moved off with section on either side of road and up to battery taking shelter wherever they could. They were heavily mortared and suffered casualties

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At one point as they took shelter from mortaring he saw one of his officers talking over a gate to a Frenchman. Suddenly a mortar shell hit the roof of house and then the Frenchman was lying on his back presumably dead with the officer wounded. It all taken only a moment.

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They had practiced assaulting a battery - a replica - for months. They were supposed to get supporting fire, but it wasn't necessary because although there was some skirmishing between commandos and Germans in slit trenches there was no fire from the battery because there were no guns in the battery. One of the S. Majors got shot in rear end and sd "How the hell will I tell the nurse."

That night as he tried to settle down for the night at Le Plein he felt he wanted to weep "because the whole thing seemed so useless."

Last edit over 2 years ago by dhuber23
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There were scaffolding, poles about the battery.

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8 May 1958 Telephone Richmond 7012 Interview Q.S.

48 Priory Road Kew Richmond Surrey 6th May 1958 9 9/5.

Dear Sir,

I have read with intent your advertisement which appeared in todays 'Times'.

I served through the greater part of the war with No 4. Commando and I was fortunate enough to be in the first landings in Normandy.

I shall be pleased to help you in any way.

Last edit over 2 years ago by dhuber23
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2

If you wish to telephone me it is best to do so in the evenings.

I myself was not an officer, but may I suggest that you get in touch with the secretary of the Commando Old Commander Association. He would have the addresses of most officers. He also has, I believe, some excellent photographs.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if I can help you further

Yours Faithfully John. T. M. Mason

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Wed July [ond?] 4:45 ==

No reply

Will ring us to make an appointment

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Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 021, folder 27: Henry Jennings

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SWORD -- 9th Beach JENNINGS, Henry Group

King Green Beach Sword

On Beach: Saw bodies looking like blocks of wood with painted faces Motley collection of German POW's X

Release to PG

Box 21, #27

Last edit almost 2 years ago by GailF
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1) We did several large scale exercises on the south coast and knew someday we would be part of the landing force. this took place from the begining of 1944 prior to that; combined operation training at HMS Dundonald and January Scotland in the last part of 1943 from September onwards 2) The most funniest thing I saw was our personal rations that was for our gang which we collected and scrounged or bartered before we embarked We were in a sealed camp in Hampshire and our gear consist of a small handcart which contained our mine detectors explosives etc and which we completely filled with rations tea sugar white bread butter and finally waterproofed and when we boarded our LCT hitched our handcart to our section lorry But alas on landing our lorry entered the the water from the ramp and disappeared with a shell hole the driver diving through the cab window in very quick time and we watched the handcart turn over the rations float and the small canister containing our wordly possession the tea float out to sea the bread followed and all our personal belongings leaving us with just what we stood in. On landing my mission was to make for detailed destination clear mines from lanes leading to fields to accomodate the following infantry I had no gear and one party was reduced to four owing to the mishap on landing we proceed to our destination picking up mine detectors ect on the beaches from others not so fortunate as us I also pick up a 21 wireless talky set That evening we were held up through sniping and just us four and an infantry officers slept the

Last edit over 2 years ago by shashathree
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The Reader's Digest THE READER'S DIGEST ASSOCIATION LIMITED T E L E P H O N E : C I T Y 4342 7 OLD BAILEY LONDON E C 4 C A B L E S : READIDEST, LONDON

INTERVIEW WITH SAPPER HENRY JENNINGS

Henry Jennings was 30 years of age on the morning of D-Day. He went in with the 89th Field Company of the Royal Engineers and was attached to the 9th Beach Group, his Headquarters was actually the 8th Beach Group. He landed on King Green Beach, which I believe was at Arramanches, that is Gold Beach. As they went into the beach he saw floating objects and somebody at first thought they were blocks of wood with faces painted on them. He doesn’t remember exactly why he thought they were blocks of wood with faces painted on them, but to his horror as they drew closer he found that they were men floating out to sea, some of them injured and some of them dead. The faces were blackened with grease paint and other colours, some of them were Commandos and some of them were presumably the French Canadians who had smeared their faces to look somewhat like Indians. He was quite horrified when he saw the bodies.

When he landed he was confronted with a collection of German P.O.W’s and he noticed that there were Russians, Poles and one or two who had definite Mongolian features which he at first took to be Japenese, actually they were Russians. Like many other people he saw men in the water by the way on the run in who were yelling for help, but nobody could stop and when he tried to throw a life-belt he was forbidden to do so. This was nobody ’s fault, the instructions were very clear - get the men into the beach, crab coming up behind will pick up survivors. The most regretable thing to him and to his Group was the fact that they had loaded a small hand cart which contained their mine detectors, explosives, etc. with their own equipment and food, such as their rations, their tea, sugar, white bread, butter and their cigarettes. When they beached and pushed this hand cart off the crab it disappeared into a shell hole - that was the end of that. He saw the hand cart turn over and their rations float away. As he puts it: '‘There went all our worldly possessions."

Refer to his questionnaire for additional details.

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