War Diary: 1st Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment

Month and year: June 1944

The 1st Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment June 1944 War Diary covers the units activities their embarkation and their fighting inland to Lebisey.

National Archive Reference: WO 171/1350

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1st Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment - June 1944

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Page 1 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
J9	31	-	ULO Party & Tide 2 personnel and vehicles proceed to their marshalling areas. Nothing else happened except that the Bn had more time than was previously anticipated to make all preparations for the move which is to be one of the last phases before this very important battle. Weather - warm, slightly cloudy.
J9 & J3	June 1	1245	All remaining vehs and personnel (except those landing on D + 4) moved to their marshalling areas in Camps J3 & J2, the former consisting of marching personnel for the LCIs, the latter of vehicle parties - carriers, A.TK guns etc. Move conducted satisfactorily - J3 party arrived at about 1415, and found conditions very. good with perfect organisation already laid on for food & entertainment.

Page 2 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
J3	2		A normal day in Camp, making final preparations for move to the port of embarkation, 24 hrs notice of which is expected. A certain amount of G 1098 deficiencies are still arriving through Camp, and very good organisation appears to exist in all respects. Bicycles (folding assault type) were taken to port & pre-loaded together with signals - handcart. Weather - poor at first, very good for rest of day.
J3	3	1830	Troops come straight out of cinema show to be met with orders that they must be ready to move in about 2 hrs time,
		1945	Rations issued - tremendous weight, and very hard to fit into assault jerkin. However all succeeded in doing so satisfactorily,
		2045	Move to port - very well managed by Movement Control

Page 3 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
J3	3		Tea on quayside, commence embarkation about 2215, finish about 2300 hrs. Spirit's very high, and the tps are highly impressed with the way in which arrangements are made for them to send mail up to the last minute. Cigarettes & playing cards arrived on the craft, all supplied free, also bundles of Penguin books have been left on the craft for us to distribute. On the whole everything has gone very well. Weather - changeable from cloudy to sunny all day. Wind rising.
LCI/317	4		Craft remain in harbour and as operation has been postponed 24 hrs, everyone settles down to a normal day afloat. In order to keep the troops fresh, the Bn returns in tpt to J3 for mid-day meal & then comes

Page 4 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
			back to craft. At about 2300 hrs a Naval signal comes to the effect that the force in this port will slip anchor to-morrow morning.
			Weather - changeable, Bright periods. Rain at night,
LCI/317	5	1000	Our LCIs together with the rest of the force sailed out of harbour, anchored for a few hours and then set sail with the rest fo the naval force for France. Tps very seasick.
In the Fd	6	0725	"H" hr and D day for the SECOND FRONT. This Bn being part of the follow up Bde, landed at H + 150, but was landed 5 mins early at 0950. Beach under fairly heavy mortar & shellfire - bn moved to conc area and on to take over from SUFFOLKS at approx 1200 hrs. Unfortunately HILLMAN part of the initial bridgehead, held out for almost the whole day & this bn had to go round

Page 5 of 22

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
		the left flank, losing several casual: ties in 2 Coys from our own tks which thought they were enemy getting out of HILLMAN and fired on them. These two Coys A & B were finally extracted and the bn consolidated for the night on ROVER some way short of CAEN which was budgeted as D day objective for 185 Inf Bde. Gp.	Lt.Toft killed, Capt.Kelly Lt.Ward, Capt.Leng RAMC Wounded

In the Fd	7	During the day a general advance was maintained by the Bde gp and the Warwicks became heavily involved in a posn VERMOUTH overlooking a large area to the NORTH and a step to the last posn overlooking CAEN. This Bn, intended to attack in front bf VERMOUTH and found it to be a well prepared def posn, contrary to expectations, Under very heavy fire of all kinds, the CO remained in posn until dark and then drew out

Page 6 of 22

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
		under cover of arty and naval arty support. The Bn took up old posn on ROVER and after checking, the casualties were found to be about 40-50 incl Lt.Sharp & Campbell of "C" Coy missing.
In the fd	8	Fairly quiet but successful day for the Bn. Intermittent mortaring registered on right of posn, causing 3 casualties. A task force went out, comd Maj, Wilson, consisting of B Coy, 3 secs of carriers, det pnrs, 2 SP A.TK guns to look after the Bde left fwd flank. Their night activity successfully disposed of a local marine commandant in charge of Nazi affairs, and many snipers. Wider picture of night's activities showed no great change. Night fairly quiet. Patrol activities by both sides.
In the fd	9	Throughout the day the Bn carried out offensive patrols to mop up snipers and any attempt at infiltration which

Page 7 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			the Boche might make. Posns remained the same as did the whole of our front, save for an advance on our right by 9th Inf Bde.. 51 Highland Div. behind us are forming up and and their 153 Bde took over 8 Bde posns to enable them to move round to our right with 9th Bde. In the afternoon the enemy found our range and gave us a few shells which caused little or no damage. During the night A Coy rounded up 6 more Germans in B Coy area by patrolling forward, The operation appears to be proceeding very well, and any interferences by snipers on odd 'infiltrators' met with a very hearty reception by the tps.
in the fd	10		A quiet day. Prisoners continue to be rounded up, most of them snipers or stragglers, and evacuated HQs etc are yielding informatory documents which

Page 8 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			point to a very hasty withdrawal by the Boche. Civilians in the area accuse each other freely of pro Nazi sympathies, causing a great deal of unnecessary trouble, but the position seems to be clarifying itself, and PW seem heartily sick & sorry for themselves. First mail arrived today much to everyone's joy. During the night patrolling of a very offensive nature on our left forward flank caused considerable confusion among odd parties of enemy and gave us a fairly good idea of the enemy line on our front, He still seems to be in some doubt as to our exact location on this part of the front.	F - AFW 3008 G - AFW 3009E
in the Fd	11	0800	B Coy, the left forward Coy, once again had a party when 4 trucks appeared on the scene and were promptly written off' together with their equipment. The bag was

Page 9 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			5 killed & 4 PW, none of whom knew quite where they should be going. The rest of the day was fairly quiet with one short period of shelling during the late afternoon. Standing patrols disclosed useful infm about VERMOUTH, the posn which caused all the trouble. The bn has been living for the past 4 or 5 days in a def posn in the open as opposed to requisitioned houses. The first slit trenches were crude but effective and now the tps have made shelters for themselves which when camouflaged as they are now, give maximum comfort & protection. Feeding on compo is now going quite well and washing themselves now present less difficulty though all tps are looking forward to a baths. Weather cloudy some showers.

Page 10 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
In the fd	12		after a night in which patrolling yielded inform that certain posns on our left front are not occupied at any rate by night the Bn settled down once more to a day of state defence and offensive patrolling
		1230	a fighting patrol of D Coy went out to inspect a bridge on the R ORNE, and during the advance were fired on by one or two MMG's Lt Williams (J.F.J),was killed by a sniper and Maj Brinkley was wounded in the arm. Normal patrol programme during night. Corps arty naval and air bombardment commenced "softening" for to-morrows push on our left flank by 51 Highland Div Weather excellent. Still living under same conditions.

Page 11 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	13	-	51 Div attack started in the early hours of the morning and made some ground. a number of tks and inf were reported to be in area LA BIJUDE on 9th & 8th Bde front fairly quiet on our front. Preparing to go into self sup- porting "fortress" Occasional shelling. Later in day 51 Div pushed back a little. Weather fair Conditions same. During night, a patrol of 18, led by Lt Squire, was given a bloody nose - 4 returned, 7 wounded, 7 unaccounted for. It appears that the Bosche is in fairly strong numbers in that area SE of "Vermouth"
IN THE FIELD	14	-	Nothing of operational importance happened to-day. D Coy relieved "C" Coy in the fwd posn and patrols of "B" Coy during the night gained more infrm of VERMOUTH Weather fair, cloudy at times. Bn living under same conditions as a self contained unit in the field

Page 12 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	15	-	an uneventful day on the whole - intermittent shelling of the area but no damage Weather quite good which means the RAF were active most of the day Compo ration continue to provide excellent meals. During the might a small enemy counter attack on 51 HD our left produced little effect. Patrolling during the night produced little or no results. Lt VEZINA succeeded in leading one and arrived back 2 3/4 late. D Coy relieved C in fwd posn. First news summary of 2nd front produced by us
IN THE FIELD	16	-	Once again what one might call a static sort of day. Intermittent shell fire on all areas, mostly left fwd one, which gave them one casualty from an airburst. Offensive patrolling as usual all attempts to knock out the

Page 13 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			COLOMBELLES bridge have to far failed. During the afternoon Capt Macgillivray and 2 men went on a patrol beyond LEBISEY posn and brought back excellent infrm. Patrols during the night produced very little LT Woodhouse captured 2 Bosche & shot them when they tried to get away - failed to obtain identifications, of which Higher ???Comd??? are screaming at the moment. Weather windy & cold at first, fine & sunny pm & evening Conditions as before. Well dug in & very comfortable now
IN THE FIELD	17	-	another quiet day D Coy snipers bagged 2 Boche Navy shelled bridge, but results not yet known. Weather windy, better later Conditions as before Night patrol produced disappointing results, if any at all

Page 14 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	18	-	a normal day again in so far as there was no change in the general situation on our front. Patrolling continued during the day and night. A Coy relieved D Coy in the fwd position. An officer of Public Relations visited us and took one or two stories away with him from men who have had a few "tiffs" with the Bosche sniper scare during evening which amounted to nothing Fine day wind easing Conditions improving with tps construction of waterproof shelters. Intermittent shelling	I - W3008 J - AFW 3009E
IN THE FIELD	19	-	Weather foul High wind with a certain amount of rain Very cold for June. Nothing of operational importance the weather kept everyone fairly quiet During the afternoon Major Fitch MC. while leading a fighting patrol to clear a suspected house was killed. Patrols during the night drew blank as far as good intelligence was concerned

Page 15 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	20	-	An uneventful day during which normal "static" duties were carried out. Command Post improved and a new roof put on	K - 1 Norfolk Standing Operation Inst No.1
		1900	Burial of Major Fitch and Pte Parker both killed on patrol yesterday attended by CO and as many of his friends as were able Weather fine, but with a high wind which dried the place up & removed all mud round the area, thus improving conditions somewhat. Patrols during the might produced little concrete infm except to confirm the presence of an enemy listening post at the East end of the A/tk ditch
IN THE FIELD	21	-	Another normal day. During the afternoon an enemy mortar dropped a number of rds in B Coy area & caused 2 casualtees. "B" relieved "A" by night in fwd area. Patrols drew blank, with exception of odd	L Record of events

Page 16 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			movement spotted over COLOMBELLES bridge by day. The whole front remained more or less unchanged. Weather very windy and quite cold for the time of year (makes it difficult to land stores & causes general hold-up Conditions as before - small HQ Mess is being - started 3 days ago on compo boxes and salvaged seats from an unspecified source, now dug well below ground level with tarpaulin covers
IN THE FD	22	-	Main incidents of the day were bouts of shelling on our right hand Coy these were short & sharp, but only inflicted a few minor casualties the night patrols were not successful in their object of taking PW for identification or destroying listening posts On am left the 5 Camerons commenced pushing forward	M - 1 Norfolk Standing Op. Instr No 2.

Page 17 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			in the straightening out of the bridgehead on 51 H.D. sector success signal seen early hours of 23rd, but no details yet known. Weather - still windy Conditions - normal
IN THE FIELD	23	-	Nothing of importance happened during the day. The enemy left us fairly well alone as regards shelling. Patrols during the night drew blank except for one, a volunteer recce patrol by CAPT M.A. FEARON and C/Sgt THORNE to LEBISEY WOOD they got right inside and gained valuable information, and were about to start for home when an enemy MMG opened up on ground level fixed lines from their left Fearon was hit in the thigh so that the couldn't move, Thorne in the right foot, also stick grenades were thrown at them, wounding C/Sgt thorne in the arm

Page 18 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
			Realising he could not get away himself, Capt Fearon sent Thorne a short distance away, and then had no option but to be taken prisoner after attempting to get the fire stopped, which was successful. C/Sgt Thorne was not spotted, and managed to drag himself back to the fwd Coy lines, where he gave his full story to the C.O. Weather - fair, still windy. Conditions the same. Vehicles now dug in	App N - "Recce Patrol"
IN THE FIELD	24	-	Once more a normal day, with the usual routine activities. During the afternoon a regular 1/2 day shells landed behind us about every 1/2 hr, but did no damage. Night patrols poor last night No results at all. Weather excellent. Conditions good large batch of mail came in	"O" Stg Op Instr No 3 "P" Stg Op Instr No 3 Q - AFW 3008 R - AFW 3009

Page 19 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	25	-	During the morning for about an hour, and at irregular intervals, our main posn was shelled by what we took to be 150 mm guns. Some fell near and some fell some way away, but it kept our heads down. No casualties reported Patrols during the night met with no success and had little of value to report. Weather - fine at first, rain later. Conditions the same. Mail continues to arrive - two batches in to-day.
IN THE FIELD	26	-	Uneventful day. Bosche seems to have got the range of our posn - dropped several in and around us during the day. Reinforcement offer arrived - Maj J.E Picaver, LT GH Probyn Le R.W. Hodd. Weather bad rained on & off all day, rained almost continuously during the night Conditions correspondingly bad - very wet & muddy.

Page 20 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	27th	-	an uneventful day - less reports come in now that "A" Sqn 3 Recee have taken over our left fwd posn. On our right 8th Bde have started to extend its front, and the advance appears to be going well at present. At about midnight or later we were subjected to 3/4 hrs faily heavy shelling. No casualties. Weather - good early on, then rain. Poor later on in evening. Conditions - very muddy at first. Soon dried out however. No damage to living quarters by the weather. Minor adjustments necessary only a number of men went to a rest camp for a short spell.
IN THE FIELD	28th	-	A normal day again, though preparation are in full swing to prepare for the advance which must come on our sector of 3 Div to conform to the advance on our right. Our own

Page 21 of 22

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
		sector was left fairly well alone by the Bosche artillery during the day, as he was well employed by 8 Bde who finally took CHATEAU DE LA LANDE. During the night our patrols were active as usual, and Lt Hemsely with a fighting patrol, found some very useful information about MMG's (42?) in new posns being dug SOUTH of the A/TK ditch in Herouville???? Weather fair more bright spells, but showery conditions continue good. We seem to to well "dug in" in this area	S = 1 Norfolk outline plan (Transcription note: place name not clear in original doc)
IN THE FIELD	29	No events on our front of operational significance or interest the weather was showery with a very sharp shower in the evening. This restricted air operations. Conditions poor in view of the weather but ???andour???
		undamped.

Page 22 of 22

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information	References to Appendices
IN THE FIELD	30	-	Once again a bad day for weather, though less showery ground damp but not our spirits. The day did not produce any change of situation, and work went on as normal. We have gained valuable experience in organising ourselves in the field during these three weeks, and it should stand us in very good stead when we come on to the next phases of this operation. During last night patrols produced little intelligence except Sgt Caffin of B Coy and a Cpl of the Engineers, who went right up to the NORTH face of LEBISEY wood looking for mines. They succeeded in locating A person mines and further valuable information, and brought back an S mine as a trophy. Only by excessing great self restraint did they refrain from going right into the wood. So ends a momentous but not very active month for the Bn. What of the future.

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War Diary: 1st Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment

Month and year: June 1944

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