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At the beginning of June Divisional HQ, which had moved from London and Chadacre to the Portsmouth area, was established on board its H31 ship at Southampton docks. Meantime, the various brigade groups had been assembled in separate camps and marshalled into craft loads - a very complicated operation which was performed extremely well by permanent staffs trained for the job.

The whole of the craft of Force G were loaded at Southampton, with a few exceptions, and by the evening of 3 June the division was afloat, part in the West Solent and part in vessels lying alongside at Southampton.

There was last-minute visit to the troops in their ships by the Prime Minister, The Rt. Hom. Mr. Winston Churchill, and the Minister of Labour, Mr. Ernest Bevin. “Shall we get our jobs back when we return, Ernie?" shouted a Durham soldier - and then the stage was set.

There was a postponement due to bad weather; D day was originally fixed for 5 June, but early on the 4th it was altered to 6 June. The infantry remained in their craft. Then, at 0730 hrs on 5 June, the first part of the great sea-borne force began to move out of the West Solent.

Through the night 5/6 June the great armada moved steadily across the Channel, led by trawlers sweeping a mine-free passage for the ships behind.

Above the enemy coast, the Metropolitan bomber fleet opened its bomb doors, drenching tho defences with high-explosive. And the air- borne forces were flying out towards the flanks of the target area.

The timing and co-ordination of this supreme effort was intricate. To the shaken defenders of the beaches about to be assailed by 50 Div it must have seemed that the R.A.F. was indulging in a mass-bombing of the whole coastline, and that the Navy was off-shore carrying out a bombardment of a like nature. But in fact the picture was very different. There was not a ;plane nor a ship in the whole of those mighty fleets which had not its pin-point target and its time to the minute.

The assault was taking place in the first hours of daylight - 0725 was H hour for 50 Div - and therefore maximum use had to be made of every available naval, military and air weapon in an attempt to over- whelm the defenders, who would be firing at targets they could see.

Thus, at appointed hours, each enemy position underwent its ordeal by fire; the bombs of the R.A.F. would be followed a few minutes later by the shells of the Royal Navy; then, perhaps, another air attack; and finally the sudden flare-up from smaller weapons as the infantry division began to fight its way ashore. For example ..........

There was at the western end of the village of La Riviere a strongly defended position, well-sited, including an 88 mm gun, a 50 mm gun and several machine-guns. The 88 mm gun was in an extremely heavily constructed casemate. It was so placed as to be invisible from the sea. All this we knew before the assault began. On D day this position was dealt with as follows:-

There was at the western end of the village of La Riviere a strongly defended position, well-sited, including an 88 mm gun, a 50 mm gun and several machine-guns. The 88 mm gun was in an extremely heavily constructed casemate. It was so placed as to be invisible from the sea. All this we knew before the assault began. On D day this position was dealt with as follows:-

From 0625 hours to 0700 hours it was shelled by four fleet destroyers.