JOUR-J - UNITES

6th Airborne Division


Richard N. Gale

James Hill

Alastair S. Pearson

Terence Otway

George Smith

Allen Parry

George Bradbrooke

Nigel Poett

Geoffrey Pine-Coffin

Peter Luard

John Howard
 
 
On 31 May 1941, a joint Army and RAF memorandum was approved by the Chiefs-of-Staff and Winston Churchill; it recommended that the British airborne forces should consist of two parachute brigades, one based in England and the other in the Middle East, and that a glider force of 10,000 men should be created. Then on 23 April 1943 the War Office authorised the formation of a second British airborne division. This second formation was numbered the 6th Airborne Division, and commanded by Major-General Richard Nelson Gale, who had previously raised the 1st Parachute Brigade.
From June to December 1943, the division prepared for operations, training at every level from section up to division by day and night. Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy, who would be equipped with artillery and tanks. Training was therefore designed to encourage a spirit of self-discipline, self-reliance and aggressiveness, with emphasis given to physical fitness, marksmanship and fieldcraft. On 23 December 1943, the division was told to be prepared for active service from 1 February 1944.
The invasion of Normandy started just after midnight 6 June 1944. The first units of the division to land were the pathfinders and six platoons from 'D' Company of the 2nd Battalion, Ox and Bucks Light Infantry, from Brigadier Hugh Kindersley's 6th Airlanding Brigade. While the pathfinders marked the division drop zones, 'D' Company carried out a coup de main glider assault on the two bridges crossing the River Orne and the Caen Canal, 'Bénouville Bridge' and 'Ranville Bridge'. Within minutes of landing, both bridges had been captured and the company dug in to defend them until relieved. The company commander, Major John Howard, signalled their success by transmitting the codewords "Ham and Jam".
Shortly afterwards the aircraft carrying Brigadier Nigel Poett's 5th Parachute Brigade arrived overhead heading for their drop zone (DZ) to the north of Ranville. The brigade were to reinforce the defenders at the bridges, the 7th Parachute Battalion in the west, while the 12th Parachute Battalion and the 13th Parachute Battalion dug in to the east, centred around Ranville, where brigade HQ would be located. Brigadier James Hill's 3rd Parachute Brigade had two DZs, one in the north for the 9th Parachute Battalion who were tasked to destroy the Merville Gun Battery and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion who would destroy bridges over the River Dives. The 8th Parachute Battalion would land at the other DZ, and destroy bridges over the Dives in the south.
 
      
 
Commander: Major General Richard Nelson Gale  [voir le dossier]
Aide de Camp: Captain Tom Haughton  [voir le dossier]
GSO-1 (OPS): Lt. Colonel Robert N H C Bray  [voir le dossier]
GSO-1 (AIR): Lt. Colonel Bill Bradish  [voir le dossier]
GSO-2 (OPS): Major David Baird  [voir le dossier]
GSO-2 (Intelligence): Major Gerald A C Lacoste  [voir le dossier]
GSO-3 (OPS): Captain M. R. Spurling  [voir le dossier]
GSO-3 (AIR): Captain Nick Pratt  [voir le dossier]
GSO-3 (Intelligence): Captain John H. Max  [voir le dossier] (KIA 6 June 1944)
GSO-3 (CW): Captain W. D. Burton  [voir le dossier]
Royal Army Chaplain: Lt. Colonel J. C. Hales  [voir le dossier]
Royal Artillery: Lt. Colonel JOHN S L Norris  [voir le dossier]
Royal Engineers: Lt. Colonel J. C. Hamilton  [voir le dossier]
Royal Electrical & Mechnalical Engineers: Lt. Colonel Raymond V. Powditch  [voir le dossier]
Royal Army Medical Corps: Colonel Malcolm Mac Ewan  [voir le dossier]
Royal Army Ordnance Corps: Lt. Colonel J. L. Watson  [voir le dossier]
Royal Army Service Corps: Lt. Colonel J. Lovegrove  [voir le dossier]
6th Airborne Division Signals: Lt. Colonel D. Smallman-Tew  [voir le dossier]
 
  3rd Parachute Brigade: Brigadier Stanley James Ledger Hill  [voir le dossier]
    8th (Midland Counties) Parachute Battalion: Lt. Colonel Alastair Stevenson Pearson  [voir le dossier]
      Hq & Support Company: Major G. Payne  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major S. Terrell  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major A. J. Wilson  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major G. Hewetson  [voir le dossier]
    9th (Home Counties) Parachute Battalion: Lt. Colonel Terence Brandram Otway  [voir le dossier]
      Hq Company: Major George Smith  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major Allen Parry  [voir le dossier] (WIA 6 June 1944)
      B Company: Major Harold Bestly  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major Ian Dyer  [voir le dossier]
    1st Canadian Parachute Battalion: Lt. Colonel George Bradbrooke  [voir le dossier]
      Hq Company: Major E. T. Munro  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major D. J. Wilkins  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major C. E. Fuller  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major Murray MacLeod  [voir le dossier] (KIA 6 June 44)
    3rd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, RA: Major Nick Cranmer  [voir le dossier]
    3rd Parachute Squadron, RE: Major Tim Roseveare  [voir le dossier]
    224th Parachute Field Ambulance, RAMC:
 
  5th Parachute Brigade: Brigadier Joseph Howard Nigel Poett  [voir le dossier]
    7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion: Lt. Colonel Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin  [voir le dossier]
      Hq Company: Major Tullis  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major Nigel Taylor  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major Roger S. Neale  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major R. J. Bartlett  [voir le dossier]
    12th Parachute Battalion: Lt. Colonel Johnny Anthony Johnson (KIA 12 June 44)
      Hq Company: Major D. Mayfield  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: MajorGerald Ritchie  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major Harold Rogers  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major Clarence W. Stephens  [voir le dossier]
    13thParachute Battalion: Lt. Colonel Peter Luard  [voir le dossier]
      Hq Company: Major Reggie M. Tarrant  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major John F. Cramphorn  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major George W. Bristow  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major Gerald H. D. Ford  [voir le dossier]
    4th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, RA: Major Peter Dixon  [voir le dossier]
    591st Parachute Squadron, RE: Major Andy Wood  [voir le dossier]
    225th Parachute Field Ambulance, RAMC: Lt. Colonel Bruce Harvey  [voir le dossier]
 
  6th Airlanding Brigade: Brigadier Hugh Kenyon Molesworth Kindersley  [voir le dossier] (WIA 12 June 44)
    1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles: Lt. Colonel Jack Carson  [voir le dossier]
      Support Company: Major Ronnie Wilson  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major Charles E. Vickery  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major Gerald P. Rickcord  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major Frederick R A Hynds  [voir le dossier]
      D Company: Major Tony Dyball  [voir le dossier]
    2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Inf.: Lt. Colonel Michael Roberts  [voir le dossier]
      Support Company: Major E. V. Favell  [voir le dossier]
      Hq Company: Major S. J. Heath-Smith  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major Gilbert Rahr  [voir le dossier]
      B Company: Major J. S. R. Edmunds  [voir le dossier]
      C Company: Major Johnny Granville  [voir le dossier]
      D Company: Major John Howard  [voir le dossier]
    12th Battalion The Devonshire Regiment: Lt. Colonel Dick Stevens  [voir le dossier]
      Support Company: Major Eddie Warren  [voir le dossier]
      A Company: Major J. Roger  [voir le dossier]
      B Company:
      C Company:
      D Company: Major John A F Bampfylde  [voir le dossier]
    249th (Airborne) Field Company, RE: Major Sandy Rutherford  [voir le dossier]
      No.1 Platoon: Captain J Hirst  [voir le dossier]
      No.2 Platoon: Captain Jack Neilson  [voir le dossier]
      No.3 Platoon: Captain Smeardon  [voir le dossier]
    195th Airlanding Field Ambulance, RAMC: Lt. Colonel William Maurice Anderson  [voir le dossier]
 
  Royal Army Service Corps: Lt. Colonel J. Lovegrove  [voir le dossier]
    63rd Airborne Composite Company: Major A. C. Billetop  [voir le dossier]
    398th Airborne Composite Company: Major M. E. Phipps  [voir le dossier]
    716th Airborne Composite Company: Major A. Jones  [voir le dossier]
 
  22nd Independent Parachute Company: Major Francis Gordon Lennox-Boyd  [voir le dossier] (KIA 6 June 1944)
 
  Glider Pilot Regiment: Brigadier George Chatterton  [voir le dossier]
    1st Wing: Lt. Colonel Ian A. Murray  [voir le dossier]
    2nd Wing: Lt. Colonel John Place  [voir le dossier]
 
Divisional Headquarters - War Diaries_fr
3rd Parachute Brigade, Brigade Headquarters - War Diaries_fr
3rd Parachute Brigade, 1st Canadian Pracahute Battalion - War Diaries_fr
3rd Parachute Brigade, 8th Parachute Battalion - War Diaries_fr
3rd Parachute Brigade, 9th Parachute Battalion - War Diaries_fr
5th Parachute Brigade, Brigade Headquarters - War Diaries_fr
5th Parachute Brigade, 7th Parachute Battalion - War Diaries_fr
5th Parachute Brigade, 12th Parachute Battalion - War Diaries_fr
5th Parachute Brigade, 13th Parachute Battalion - War Diaries_fr
22nd Independent Parachute Company - War Diaries_fr
6th Airlanding Brigade, Brigade Headquarters - War Diaries_fr
6th Airlanding Brigade, 1st Battalion - War Diaries_fr
6th Airlanding Brigade, 2nd Battalion - War Diaries_fr
6th Airlanding Brigade, 12th Battalion - War Diaries_fr