Box 024, folder 03: James Percival deLacy

[inserted] E Jun [end inserted] Sergeant James "Paddy" Percival de Lacy was an Irishman from Dundalk.

He landed at Courseulles at 0730 on D-Day. De Lacy fell in with a Sgt. Paddy McQuaid "Begasus the bastards are trying to drown me even before I get ashore".

The PO said to them "Well, I'd rather it was you than me going in". He offered them both "something to quieten their nerves". McQuaid said, "This'll help take aim at the first German bastard I See".

All leave had been cancelled for Irishmen in the forces to Ireland. All letters from Ireland to Irish soldiers were held up and had to be sent to third persons to be forwarded.

He remembers the bagpipes playing "The Rose of Trallee".

They drank toasts "May the blessins of Ireland look down on you."

Other toasts - "Here's to De Valera - he's keepin us out of the war". De Valera joke "I can offer you anything Mr. Churchill except a little port."

de Lacy had been in the army for 21 years on D-Day. He had been at Dunkirk.

"You're going to hear a lot of noice but the sounds will be worse than the actual thing - don't be timid, if your name is on it you'll get it".

McQuaid said, "Some of them are a little timid."

They went in on the 2nd wave in a Landing Assault Craft.

McQuaid said, "Come out ye bastards and fight us now".

Their perimeter was only about 600 yards from the beach. His job with his ten men was to work with the beach control group checking in troops and supplies.

At about 9 he decided to make tea. The officer said, "Look sergeant, this is no time to make tea". de Lacy said, "Sir why don't you go away and come back in five minutes". "We're not playing soldiers now, this is the real thing."

The sergeant moved up the beach and saw a movement in the hedgerow. He fired a sten and a dozen Germans came out. He had lost a brother in North Africa. "Come out you bastards and if you make a move, God help you."

They were dumbfounded. He turned around tothis little cockney and said "Look at these super blokes - just look at them - here take them out of me sight."

. . .

That afternoon he saw an American sailor from one of the American landing craft calmly walking down the beach with a Bren gun. "Where the bloody hell are you going with that?" "One of your fellows just sold it to me for 2,000 cigarettes." This was to the Company Sergeant Major "Paddy, what do you think of that bastard - what the hell is the Army coming to?"

. . .

Sergeant McKay was called "Mac". He waded out three times to get lorries off an LST. "Paddy, I must get them off. I must save that petrol". The LST was blazing. He drove them off one at a time. But as he climbed into the fourth truck up it went.

11 a.m. Sniper incident - One of his section reported finding flap(?). Paddy picked up a bren gun and took a couple of men with him. "Alright stand back. Now pick up the lid. If there's anybody in there, he's dead now". "Ah the poor fella - well all's fair in love and war."

They had been led to believe there would be 75% casualties. That night Paddy checked up and found that although several of his section had been

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wounded, nobody was killed.

Paddy always carried a rosary.

He is now a despatch clerk at Cooks.

The Reader's Digest THE READER'S DIGEST ASSOCIATION LIMITED TELEPHONE: [Inserted] E [end Inserted] CABLES: CITY 4342 7 OLD BAILEY LONDON E C 4 READIGEST, LONDON

INTERVIEW WITH [underline] SGT. JAMES PERCIVAL DELACY [end underline]

Sgt. Delacy was aged 28 on D-Day. He was with the 8th (Irish) Battalion of the King's Regiment attached to No. 7 Beach Group, which was in turn attached to the 3rd Canadian Division, and landed near Courseulles at approximately 6.40 a.m. on D-Day morning. Sgt. Delacy is a wonderful Irish soldier, a complete extrovert and little if anything worrisome. I think his landing time is wrong, I think it should be twenty minutes to eight, but the time he gives is twenty to seven,

Delacy's nickname was, of course, Paddy and he comes from Dundork in Ireland. I notice from my interview notes that he, after thinking over the time of landing, puts it at around 7.30.

On the way over Sgt. Delacy fell in with a certain Sgt. Paddy McQuave. They were good friends and they met a Petty Officer whom they knew had some rum, and they persuaded him to break open his rum and they spent the journey over getting slightly polluted. He remembers that the Petty Officer offered them the rum saying "here's something to quieten your nerves." And he remembers McQuave saying "it will help us take aim at the first Gerry bastard we see." He remembers that all leave had been cancelled for Irishmen in the forces going from England to Ireland. This had posed problems because also letters from Ireland directly to the men in the forces, for some reason or other had been held up. To get over this, relatives in Ireland sent letters to a third person who then forwarded them on to the person involved. On the way over, the bagpiper played "The Rose of Tralee" and he and McQuave and the Petty Officer drank many toasts. McQuave's favourite toast was "May the Blessin's of Ireland look down on you." Other toasts were, "Here's to De Valera, he is keeping us out of the war." McQuave felt quite happy about the proposed landing and like Percival Delacy was not worried at all. They told jokes on

DE WITT WALLACE, U.S.A. LILA BELL WALLACE, U.S.A. LUCIUS F. CRANE T.G.M.HARMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR.

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the way over and one of them was about the meeting between Churchill and De Valera, and after a fine dinner De Valera said to Churchill, "I can offer you anything Mr. Churchill except a little port". The point of the story being that at that time England was trying to get new ports in Ireland and, of course, De Valera was refusing.

Delacy had been 21 years in the army at the time of D-Day. He had been at Dunkirk and had been evacuated from there. He told his troops as they went over, "You're going to hear a lot of noise, but the sounds will be worse than the actual thing. Don't be timid, if your name is on one you'll get it, and that's that." McQuave in talking to Delacy several times said to him on the way over "You know Paddy, some of these young fellows are just a little timid." They went in on the second wave in their assault craft, with McQuave yelling "Come out, you bastards and fight us now." With that he stepped off the ramp and disappeared under water, he came up spluttering, yelling, "Oh, you bastards, trying to drown me before I even get up on the beach."

The perimeter in which they worked was only about 600 yards from the beach. His job and that of his ten men was to work with the beach control group, checking in troops and supplies. About 9 o'clock as he moved around his area he saw a rustling in the hedgerow, he immediately fired his sten gun into the hedgerow and about a dozen Germans came out. Delacy had lost, a brother in North Africa and he wasn't particularly solicitus towards these Germans. He said "Come out, and if you make a single move, God help you all." They stood there quite dumbfounded and terror-stricken. He turned round to a little Cockney and said, "Look at these super blokes, just look at them. Here take them out of my sight." It was then that he suddenly realised that they must have been watching him all the time, so he walked back down to the beach to make himself a cup of tea. As he heated water to make himself this tea an officer came up. He looked at the sergeant and said, "Now look here sergeant, this is no time to be making tea", and Delacy looked at this young officer who "had still down on his chin" and the 21 year in the army sergeant said "Sir,we are not playing at soldiers now, this is real war. Now why don't you go away and come back in five minutes and have a nice cup of tea." The officer turned round and neatly walked away, five minutes later he came back and had a cup of tea with the sergeant.

That afternoon he saw an American sailor from one of the American landing craft calmly walking down his beach with a bren gun. He stopped him and asked "where are you going with that?". The sailor said, "well,

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one of your fellows just sold it to me for 2,000 cigarettes." Delacy said, "Give me the bloody thing, and get the hell out of here." He told the Company Sergeant Major about it and the Company Sergeant Major said, "Paddy, what do you think of the fellow who sold this to him. What the hell is the army coming to?"

He remembers a certain Sgt. McKay, who was simply called Mac, wading out three times to get lorries off an L.S.T. "Paddy", McKay said to him, "I must get them off. They have all our petrol on board." The L.S.T. was burning at one end and he saw McKay go out three times to drive off the lorries, but as he climbed into the fourth lorry to drive it off, the L.S.T. blew up.

That morning at about 11 o'clock one of his section came down and reported that his mine detector had indicated that there was a large, very large, mine in an area just back off the beach. The sapper told Delacy about it and Delacy knew immediately that from the description that this could not be a mine. He went up to the area and ran his fingers round the so called 'mine'. He realised immediately that it was the steel flap of a hole or bunker actually in the ground, he knew what it was. He called several of the section, including his little Cockney who followed him around all the time, and he said, "Now, the moment I lift up this lid, throw in a grenade and stand back." He then picked up a bren gun, he told the Cockney to lift up the lid. The Cockney lifted the lid, the grenade was thrown in, and Delacy emptied the magazine of the bren gun into the hole. When the dust and dirt had subsided they saw a sniper who had been riddled. Delacy's own comment was, "Ah, the poor fellow. Well, all's fair in love and war."

He had been led to believe that there might be as much as 75% casualties. That night Paddy checked up and found that although several of the section had been wounded, nobody had been killed. Paddy always carried a Rosary with him and he said it that night.