GOLD BEACH - Seeking any written/oral/photographed experiences of landing on Gold Beach

Further to Mike and Danny's posts, US LST Division 22 assigned to Force G consisted of six LST: US LST 1, 359, 377, 378, 379 & 519.

I only have a couple LTIN-Hull Number matches for LST on GOLD:
2825 - US LST 493 (Div 55)
2917 - US LST 21 (Div 101)
2922 - probably US LST 229 (Div 56)

None of which gives LST 359's LTIN I'm afraid At least it marginally reduces the choice down. Assuming all LST in an LST Group were kept together in the same sub-group (same Group and beaching in the same Sector), we could conclude that the sub-groups of LTIN were made up of LST from LST Divisions as follows:
Group 17 LTIN 2814-2818 (five LTINs) - US LST Division 22 (six LST)
Group 17 LTIN 2916-2920 (five LTINs) - US LST Division 101 (six LST)
Group 18 LTIN 2820-2825 (six LTINs) - US LST Division 55 (six LST)
Group 18 LTIN 2921-2926 (six LTINs) - US LST Division 56 (five LST)
This is obviously not quite true since the numbers of LTINs and LST in each Division mostly do not match: LTIN 2921-2926 must have comprised LST from at least two different Divisions. Plus there remains a fifth US LST Division assigned to Force G whose Group allocation is unclear to me: US LST Division 65 (six LST: 2, 308, 312, 344, 345 & 370)...

Thus LST 359 could have been one of LTIN 2814-2818 or could have been alloted to another part of Group 17 or 18, or to Group 11 (as LTIN 2190) or Group 13 (as LTIN 2570), as the excess LST in Division 22.

Now looking at the Landing Table for LTIN 2814-2818, I can't see any particularly 'special' unit, except perhaps 107 Beach Sec RAF on LTIN 2818 or ASSU (Air Support Signals Unit) on LTIN 2816.

Looking at the Landing Table for the other LTINs for Groups 17 & 18 (except 2926 which is not listed there) also does not yield any particularly special unit such as Commandos.

LST 359 was apparently commanded at the time by Lt James A. FERREOLA [erratum 5 Jul 2014: the June 1944 War Diary of US LST Flotilla 4 gives her commander as Lt HVR PALMER, Jr, USNR], and there are several websites providing the names and perhaps the contact details of other crew members or of their families.

Michel

 

rcronk,

I just had a look at this page, where Peter Rossetti recounts his experience:
http://articles.philly.com/2014-06-07/news/50390421_1_nearby-omaha-beach-plane-normandy-beaches

If (and that's a big if, considering that Peter says the soldiers carried were 'Canadian'...), his LST 359 actually carried two and only two 'tanks', then LST 359 must have been LTIN 2814, the only one in the range of LTINs previously mentioned that carried exactly two tanks: '2 Tk Cruiser 20mm SP".

It would be useful to question Peter again on the load that LST 359 carried on D Day, with as much detail on the vehicles, especially tanks, that he can remember.

Michel

 

Michel

If they were Canadian, what were they doing on Gold rather than Juno?

 

I know some Gold Beach veterans - send me a pm with youre emiaol address. You might alos like to consider the story of 2nd Herts, an infantry battalion which landed on D Day on Glkd beach - but not as part of 50 Division. .

 

Exactly my thoughts, Steve (SDP)... It would only have happened by the ship/craft being off course, i.e. by accident.

That said, I did read an excerpt in 'The Sign Of The Double 'T'' (Barnes), page 82, whereby Private Roy Walker, Bren Carrier driver, 5th Bn East Yorkshire Regiment, 69th Infantry Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division, had just taken a wounded man to a first aid post:

"...Going back to 'Gold Beach' I picked up a Canadian officer who's ship had been sunk, I had the [wounded] lads rifle and he said 'that's great I'll use that - I can't wait to get at those Bastards.'"

It is not clear if this is a Canloan officer serving in 50 Div, or a Canadian officer that had been destined for Juno Beach, but given the way Roy Walker expresses matters I imagine it is the latter.

Best,

Steve.

 

There were a number of Canadian Liaison Officers with 50 Division and its brigades. Also a number of US Liaison Officers.

Mike

 

Precisely! There are only five Canadian personnel (Liaison Officers) in two parties listed in the Landing Tables for GOLD on D Day, neither of them on an LST. That's why I doubt the accuracy of this particular account by Peter Rossetti. I suppose he might have mixed up with some subsequent cross-channel trip when LST 359 might indeed have carried Canadian troops. The number of vehicles and troops he said she carried is also much too low for an LST...

This kind of discrepancy between veterans' accounts made years after the event and what can be obtained from other sources is the rule, rather than the exception, and is of course very understandable, especially when a Navy lad is talking about Army things or the reverse. Even in after action reports, usually written a few days if not a few hours after the event, I'm always amazed at how little the writer speaks about units not his own: a LCT commander would for example only cursorily, more often not at all, mention the type or number of Army troops he was carrying, and when he does, would usually make several mistakes. Memory is a complex matter...

Michel

 

In order not to pollute Alexandra's thread further, I've started a new thread on LTIN-Hull Numbers matches here:
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/gold-area-ltin-hull-number-matches-for-us-lst.54035

Michel

 

Hi Steve

Very interesting thread and the tables are extraordinary. Do you know of a source for later landings by any chance. I have established that my father landed on GOLD but not until the end of July according to his unit ORBs, the entry for June 6th reads simply "Invasion of continent begins". On 28th July, the entry reads "Move to embarkation area. Unit embarked and ready to sail 13.30 hours". - nothing recorded for the period between the dates. Very understated entries for momentous times.

 

Hello Omegaman,

I don't have a later source; sorry.

Some War Diaries are very thin/understated. I guess the adjutant didn't think about family members researching their relatives war in 2014...

Why don't you start a thread asking for Gold landing tables for end July/early August 1944?

Best, and good luck,

Steve.

 

Thanks Steve and will take your suggestion. I guess that thinking about the day and tomorrow was the most important factor att he time.

 

As you will see, I'm new to this site and, like you, am following my late dad's diary in his absence (sadly). He was infantry, 7th bn. Green Howards, on Gold beach D-Day.
In his diary he had written the poem:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/77225270/Diary30-File0067.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/77225270/Diary31-File0068.jpg

I have a transcript of this, if you are interested.
Rgds

 

There is this from the CO of the 2nd Devons. http://warchronicle.com/50th_div/soldierstory_wwii/nevill.htm a personal account of the landings

 

I read that account and in it I found a reference to a Lieutenant Ted Foy (my partner's father) who was captured along with part of his platoon, after the landing on Gold Beach and spent the test of the war in a pow camp. I would be most interested in talking to anyone who can shed light on his capture. Perhaps there is a Devon still
living who might have memory of his capture. My partner and I are visiting Gold Beech in September 2014 and would like to follow his route. Ted Foy died about 15 years ago and did not share a whole lot with his family about the war.

 

It appears that LST 359 was LTIN 2820. See GOLD Area LTIN-Hull Number matches for US LST

Unfortunately her records are missing, no doubt lost when she was torpedoed on 20 December 1944.

Her Landing Table is online here:
D-Day : Normandy 1944 - GOLD BEACH : British Troops

Michel

 

deleted

 

Richardson was on the same landing craft as my grandfather.
There is a great 90 minute interview with him about his service on the imperial war museums website. Very good.
Richardson, Thomas Anthony (Oral history)