Stories from our community for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings
In part 2 of our D-Day 80 community stories series, we explore the fascinating story of Norman Davies, a Shropshire-man whose battalion landed on Sword Beach during Operation Overlord and played an important role in organising their sector of the beaches.
D-Day 80: Norman’s story
Another community member with strong connections to the D-Day landings is Pat, whose father, Norman Percival Davies, stormed Sword Beach with his battalion on 6 June 1944.
Born in Shifnal, Shropshire, Norman was a bricklayer by trade and was living with his parents and siblings in his hometown when war was declared in September 1939. He enlisted, according to his service record provided by Pat, on 16 May 1940, almost a week after the Battle of France began, and Churchill became Prime Minister. With the fall of Britain’s closest ally just across the Channel, the fear of invasion was heightened, a terrifying prospect for families up and down the country.
Life carried on, and the Battle of Britain played out over the skies of southern England, drawing on all the skill and reserve of the Royal Air Force in the face of constant attacks. Norman was eventually posted to the 5th Battalion King’s Regiment (Liverpool). After enlisting, he spent a large part of the war stationed in the UK with his battalion, training and passing courses as a clerk. His first taste of overseas service would come during Operation Overlord, as the 5th King’s Regiment had been selected for the landings.
Norman and his comrades were put through their paces in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1943 in preparation for the upcoming invasion. The following year, they headed for southern England. When the time came, they were to cross the English Channel, initially from Shoreham, West Sussex, forming part of the massive armada destined for Normandy.
The battalion war diary, available from The National Archives, reports that on 3 June, ‘all units left for the various points of embarkations.’ The invasion was drawing closer, but any feelings of excitement, fear and trepidation were replaced with frustration when, on 4 June, the operation was postponed for 24 hours due to bad weather. There was to be no false alarm the following day: ‘all craft moved into convoy route and final preparations made.’
On the morning of 6 June 1944, ‘the convoy steamed toward the north coast of France in quite a heavy sea and there was no incident until approx 0700 hrs when shelling of the coast was started and the return fire of enemy batteries was observed.’ For Norman and his comrades, their part in the liberation of France had begun. All these years later, and in the lead-up to D-Day 80, it’s impossible to comprehend what was going through Norman’s mind at this crucial and terrifying moment.
Now was their time. A week before his 29th birthday, Norman and his battalion disembarked their landing craft in the face of the enemy, setting foot on French soil. Pat picks up her father’s story:
‘Dad landed at 7.25 am on the white section of Queen, part of Sword Beach, with 5th Battalion King’s Liverpool Regiment. He came home, so many didn’t. RIP…It gives me goosebumps to even think about it.’
The battalion war diary paints a terrifying picture of the moments following the landings on Sword Beach: ‘The assaulting waves soon came to grips with the German forces and some bitter hand to hand fighting ensued.’
It continues:
“A’ and ‘C’ Coys [companies], the Beach Coys of the battalion completed landing in the first hour and though hampered in their work by the terrific cross fire from Ouistreham and Lion Sur Mere [sic] strong points, the acquitted themselves well.’
Norman’s battalion was employed in No. 5 Beach Group, as the infantry element. Beach Groups had many responsibilities, including organising the beaches, dealing with casualties, defending against counter-attacks, unloading equipment and managing the landings of follow-up forces and vehicles. After an initial struggle, the assault troops and the 5th Kings cleared the beaches and began to move inland, organising the beach’s exits under a hail of mortar and shell fire. Work on the improvements of the beaches began around 08:15. All through the day, they were constantly harassed by shelling and, in the early afternoon, by a lone plane which dropped a bomb right in the middle of Queen Red Beach, killing two men. By the following day, work on the 5th King’s beaches was in full swing, with vital stores arriving.
Norman’s original ‘Soldier’s Service and Pay Book’, carried on his person at all times, was destroyed by enemy action on 8 June, a testament to the danger facing Allied soldiers after landing. The battalion war diary alludes to the incident that we believe cost Norman his pay book.
At approximately 14:00 a German fighter bomber roared into the sector at extremely low height and dropped its load. One bomb hit a supply dump containing large quantities of petrol and ammunition. Flames instantly roared into the sky, leaping to 100 feet and spreading a great distance, trapping several vehicles. In its wake, it also destroyed the 5th King’s Battalion Headquarters, together with all the battalion documents and office machinery. As one of the battalion’s trained clerks, perhaps this was the moment Norman’s pay book was destroyed.
The flames then swept into the ammunition dump, where explosions and flames continued until 17:00 when the fire burned out. The war diary notes that particular gallantry was shown by several members of the battalion, particularly the officers and men of ‘B’ Company, in removing large stacks of ammunition from the path of the flames. They worked continuously amid explosions of shell and mortar bombs and refused to be deterred from the task, saving and salvaging more than half of the ammunition contained in the dump.
The 5th King’s continued working in the beach group for the next six weeks, with Norman seeing in his 29th birthday on 13 June. The war diary notes ‘lovely weather’ and the morale of all troops was excellent in spite of the hard work the beach groups had to carry out; the previous day, they offloaded 2,800 tonnes of stores through the beaches. It was certainly a unique birthday for Norman.
Norman remained with the battalion as the campaign in North-West Europe raged on, serving right up to Germany’s surrender and the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. He returned home a few months later to marry Pat’s mother, Doris, at Saughall Parish Church near Chester on 7 July 1945. Doris served with the Women’s Royal Naval Service during WWII. Returning to North West Europe after the wedding, he served overseas until February 1946, when he disembarked in the UK as a Sergeant. The commanding officer of Norman’s battalion wrote the following of him shortly before he returned to the UK and was discharged from the army:
‘A very keen man who is thoroughly trustworthy and reliable. Painstaking and accurate in all he does. Of pleasant personality, always correct and smart in appearance.’
Many years later, long after Norman and his comrades stormed Sword Beach, Pat made a special personal journey to Normandy to re-trace her father’s footsteps, visiting where Norman landed during the invasion on 6 June 1944:
‘It was very poignant. Our guide took us to the correct area of the beach, and I was left to sit on the edge of the sea by myself. Many tears shed.’
In part 3 of our D-Day 80 community stories series, we explore the challenge of researching a family member who spoke little of their military service, through the story of Ryamond New, who took part in the Normandy landings. If D-Day 80 has inspired you to research your WWII military ancestors, why not take a look at our blog, Researching WWII ancestors: overcoming the challenges, for handy hints and tips.
Cover image: Sword Beach: © IWM (B 5091). Image of Norman provided by Pat Furness.
Sources
National Museums Liverpool, VE Day and the King’s Regiment, accessed June 2024.
The National Archives, 5 King’s Regiment (Liverpool) War Diary: 1944 (WO 171/1316).