Hi everyone, My name is Mike and I have just joined - another newbie! Looking forward to getting stuck in to the forums and learning from some of you experts! My Dad was in the D-Day landings and I recently have acquired his Pay Book. It says that he embarked for Landing Area 4 on 12 June 1944 but I am not sure which beach that was...I have tried to google it but all that comes up are the names of the five beaches, not the five numbers... Can anyone help? Much obliged Mike
Hi Owen, Well, Dad's name was Stanley Booth and he was a driver first class in RAOC does that help? Cheers Mike
Not really, too vague. Any idea of what formation he was in? Have you sent off to the MoD to get his full service records. From that you can find out his exact unit & then get the war diaries from the National Archives at Kew.
What nationality was he? I think from my knowledge that the 4th beach was Juno (from a movie I watched ) So was he Canadian?
Just looked again at his Pay Book and it says he was in 1 Veh Park 16 Veh Coy RAOC Haven't yet sent for his records but am going to. Mike
Here's the catalogue number for 16 Vehicle Company RAOC war diary at Kew. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4442899 Reference: WO 171/2791 Description: 16 Coy. Date: 1944 Jan.- Dec. 16 Coy. War Office: Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe (British Element): War Diaries, Second World War. ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS. Vehicle Companies. 16 Coy. Held by: The National Archives - War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies Date: 1944 Reference: WO 171/2791 I used this to help find the ref number. http://arcre.com/arcrewdsearch Contact Lee, whose website that is he can copy the war diary for a reasonable fee.
Hi thingimbob and owen Yes he was British not Canadian...Juno Beach? Mmmmm interesting...were there British soldiers landing at Juno?
Well many thanks guys...I guess his army records would point me to the right landing area/beach, as would the unit diary which I will certainly send for. Best wishes Mike
No his army records will tell you what units he was in & when , promotions, demotions, medical info etc etc. It's the unit war diaries that will tell you what they did , where & when. Depending on what info the chaps writing them put in them. Wait until you have his records before ordering any war diaries. Just to make sure you've got the correct ones. Good Luck.
From the History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps by Fernyhough they were part of 16 AOD and 16 AOD started arriving in Normandy on 13th June 1944 and the last were in France on 23rd June. 16 AOD appears to have been put together quickly and sent earlier than anticipated as the 17 AOD suffered significant losses in the Channel when the ship most of them were on was torpedo'd and sunk.
Many thanks Drew, I need to get down to look at the war diaries...am currently waiting for Dad's service records to arrive.