BENOUVILLE BRIDGE ('PEGASUS BRIDGE')

Operation 'Coup-de-Main' - Operation 'Tonga' - 6th Airborne Division


Richard N. Gale

John Howard

James Wallwork

Den Brotheridge

Geoffrey Barkway
 
On the night of 5 June 1944, a force of 181 men ('Operation Tonga'), led by Major John HOWARD, took off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset, southern England in six Horsa to capture 'Bénouville Bridge', and also 'Ranville Bridge', a few hundred yards to the east, over the Orne River.
The force was composed of D Company (reinforced with two platoons of B Company), 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry; 20 sappers of the Royal Engineers of 249 (Airborne) Field Company; and men of the Glider Pilot Regiment. The object of this action was to prevent German armour from crossing the bridges and attacking the eastern flank of the landings at Sword Beach.
Five of the Ox and Bucks's gliders landed as close as 47 yards from their objectives from 16 minutes past midnight. The attackers poured out of their battered gliders, completely surprising the German defenders, and took the bridges within 10 minutes. They lost two men in the process, Lieutenant Denaham M. BROTHERIDGE and Lance Corporal Fred GREENHALGH.
Greenhalgh drowned in a nearby pond when his glider landed. Lieutenant Den BROTHERIDGE was mortally wounded crossing the bridge in the first minutes of the assault.
One glider, assigned to the capture of the river bridge, landed at the bridge over the River Dives, some 7 miles off. Most of the soldiers in this glider moved through German lines towards the village of Ranville where they eventually re-joined the British forces. The Ox and Bucks were reinforced at 03.00hrs by Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffroy PINE-COFFIN’s 7th Parachute Battalion, and linked up with the beach landing forces with the arrival of Lord LOVAT's Commandos.
 
      
 
Commander: Major General Richard N. Gale  [view folder]
  6th Airlanding Brigade: Brigadier The Honourable Hugh Kindersley  [view folder]
    2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Inf.: Lt. Colonel Michael Roberts  [view folder]
      D Company: Major John Howard  [view folder]
       
Glider #1 (Glider Chalk No. 91)
  Staff Sergeant James H. Wallwork  [view folder]: Glider Pilot Regiment (Pilot)
  Staff Sergeant John Ainsworth  [view folder]: Glider Pilot Regiment (Co-Pilot)
  Major John Howard  [view folder]: Headquarters, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Tappenden  [view folder]: Headquarters, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lieutenant Denaham M. Brotheridge  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Sergeant Ollis  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Bailey  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Caine  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Webb  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Minns  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Packwood  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Baalam  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Bates  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Bourlet  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Chamberlain  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Denis Edwards  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Gardner  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Gray  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Jackson  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private O'Donnell: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Wally Parr  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Tilbury  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Watson  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Windsor  [view folder]: No. 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Watson  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Danson  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Ramsey  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Wheeler  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Yates  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
   
Glider #2 (Glider Chalk No. 92)
  Staff Sergeant Oliver Boland  [view folder]: Glider Pilot Regiment (Pilot)
  Staff Sergeant P. Hobbs  [view folder]: Glider Pilot Regiment (Co-Pilot)
  Lieutenant David J. Wood  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Sergeant Leather  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Cowperthwaite  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Godbold  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Ilsley  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Drew  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Roberts  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Chatfield  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Cheesley  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Harry W. Clark  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Clarke  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Dancey  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Harman  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Leonard  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Lewis  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Malpas  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Musty  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Pepperall  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Radford  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Warmington  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Waters  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Weaver  [view folder]: No. 24 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Harris  [view folder]: Headquarters, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Captain Jack Neilson  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Conley  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Haslett  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Lockhart  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Shorey  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
   
Glider #3 (Glider No. 93)
  Staff Sergeant Geoffrey S. Barkway  [view folder]: B Squadron, No. 1 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment (Pilot)
  Staff Sergeant Peter Boyle  [view folder]: Glider Pilot Regiment (Co-Pilot)
  Lieutenant Richard A A Smith  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Sergeant Harrison  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Aris  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Stanley Evans  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Corporal Higgs  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Cohen  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Fred Greenhalgh  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Lance Corporal Madge  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Anton  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Basham  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Burns  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Crocker  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Golden  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Hook  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Keane  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Noble  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Slade  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Stewart  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Tibbs  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Turner  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Watts  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Private Wilson  [view folder]: No. 14 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Bn. Oxf. & Buck.
  Major C J Jacob-Vaughan  [view folder]: 224th Para Field Ambulance (Medical Officer)
  Lance Corporal Albert Gregory  [view folder]: 195th Airlanding Field Ambulance (Medic)
  Lance Corporal Waring  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Clarke  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Fleming  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Green  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company
  Sapper Preece  [view folder]: 249th (Airborne) Field Company