Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 019, folder 34: John Percival Beynon

INT BEYNON, Lt. Cdr. Jhon Percival Navy Release Force L BOX 19, #34 Release 45 PG

0700 FORCE L JUNO COURSEULLES IX

ON LST: Carried units of 7th Armoured Div. (the Desert Rats). Force "L" was a support group.

ON THE BEACH Arrived off beach at about 0700, but were ordered to stay off and cam in with support group of 7th Airborne at 1000. Beachmaster at JUNO [crossed out] a [end crossed out] was Captain Colin Maud, RN, a tough bearded sea man. Everybody called him the "Guv'nern" because he had a most imposing bearing, had magnificent moustache and beard. There was a continuous stre stream of LsT achored stern first and disgorging infantry, guns, tanks, lorries, jeeps and stores. As they approached, the naval beachmaster flagged them into the right spot. Capt. Maud carried a cudjel and MET the troops. In his deep voice he would say, ”I'm the Chairman of the Reception Committee and of this party, so get a move on.” He had a tall, powerful Alsatian on a leather leash. As the LST beached, a young Naval officer decided to go ashore. He jumped into a Bren carrier, held on to the exhaust ( sticking into the air to avoid the sea ). It was hot and caused him to let go. With a yell he fell off and rolled down the ramp into 2' of water. As I stepped onto the beach, the Germans were firing on it from a wood just above the village. They were using 88mm guns and were scoring lots of hits. There were 3 LCI's lying beam on to the beach and abondoned. Their tattered white ensigns, I remember, struck me as defiant. The sappers were sweeping the beaches for mines; other chaps were laying white tape as a guide for troops and vehicles. There was very little air activity and the sun was getting rather warm. The dead had not been collected and some of the bodies were half in the water and half out. The temperature was around 70 and the dead were beginnin to smell. I collected my small party and we looked around for the HQ ship. The Southern Prince was still at Portsmouth we learned, so there was nothing to do but fend for ourselves.

12 noon We took over a French cottage ”Les Rosiers” 200 yds from the beach. P.O. John Sorbie and I went inside. "This looks like a good spot," I said. We put up a sign on the door "Royal Navy HQ". I said, "Sorbie, that’s the cheapest house I've ever bought." The Germans had left in a hurry. Sausage and black bread were on the table. Place was heavily booby trapped. A pull on the lavatory chain would have meant an explosion. There were bottles of champagne with fuses attached, a grandfather's clock with the door ajar--booby trapped, also a picture hanging sideways. Sorbie saw a rifle in the garden. It was chrome plated. "Don't touch it, I yelled. There was a trip wire running from it to a anti-personnel mine. We stayed all day. We took fresh vegetables from the garden. I remember picking carrots and being sniped at at the same time. I was probably the only officer to sit in a deck chair in the garden on D Day.”

ack 27/5/58 H [crossed out] JUNO [end crossed out] NAVY

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 -- MIDNIGHT JUNE 6

What is your full name ? JOHN PERCIVAL BEYNON (LT.CMDR. V.R.D. R.N.V.R.)

What is your present address? 12. CROSSWAYS. SUTTON, SURREY.

Telephone number: VIGILANT 2765

What was your unit, division, corps? (AT THE LANDINGS, FORCE "L")

Where did you land and at what time? JUNO BEACH, COURSEULLES ABOUT 0700.

What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? SUB. LIEUT R.N.V.R. AGE 29.

Were you married at that time? YES

What is your wife's name? FELICIA JOYCE BEYNON

Did you nave any children at that time? NO

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? LAST WEEK IN MAY.

What was the trip like during the crossing of the Channel? Do you remember, for example, any conversations you had or how you passed the time? A CHOPPY SEA FROM HARWICH, ON AN L.S.T. I WAS SIGNAL OFFICER, AND OWING TO CROWDED CONDITIONS, I HAD ALL MY [inserted] CODE [end inserted] BOOKS ETC. IN THE POTATO LOCKER (SMALL ROOM ABOUT 4? x 6?) I WAS ASKED BY 7th ARMOURED DIV. MAJOR IF "SPUDS" WERE A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION!

Were there any rumours aboard ship? (Some people remember hearing that the Germans had poured gasoline on the water and planned to set it afire when the troops came in.) NO RUMOURS ON OUR SHIP. THE ARMY WERE IN FINE FORM, VERY CALM. THE NAVY WERE MUCH TOO BUSY SECURING A TANK THAT HAD BROKEN A DRIFT BELOW. EVERYONE HAD HIS JOB TO DO.

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? I DID NOT KEEP A DIARY BUT I MADE NOTES, DURING THE FIRST WEEK: WHICH I SPENT ON THE BEACH.

2.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? A LARGE NUMBER OF MARINES, AND SAILORS KILLED THE FIRST WAVE, NONE OF WHOM I KNEW PERSONALLY.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties?

Were you wounded? NO

How were you wounded?

Do you remember what it was like -- that is, do you remember whether you felt any pain or were you so surprised that you felt nothing?

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it may not have seemed amusing at the time? Or anything unexpected or outof-place? I took over a French [inserted] cottage [end inserted] House, a few yards from the beach. It was full of booby traps, hastily rigged. A pull on the lavatory chain would have meant an explosion. This struck me as funny, at the time. I was also [?probably?] the only officer to sit in a deck chair, in the garden on D Day.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? The line of Dead sailors on the beach, getting a little high as the sun shone; and a rotten job collecting Pay Books. A funny incident as the LST Beached. A young Naval Officer, decided to go ashore. He jumped on to a Bren Carrier, held on to the exhaust (sticking into the air, to avoid the sea) this was pretty hot, and caused him to let go witha a yell [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] he fell off and rolled down the ramp into two foot of water!

3.

In times co great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self -reliance; others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either ? Self reliance was the theme of my little party. I was in charge of a Signal Unit. We took over a French House "LES ROSIERS", and lived five days on the beach. We were well organised, and collected stray sailors who had lost their ships. The food was obtained from the Army. We had a bit of squabbling over cigarettes, but nothing big. Fresh vegetables we took from the garden of the house. I remember picking carrots and being sniped at at the same time!

Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours ( midnight 5 June to midnight 6 June ) either as infantry, glider or airborne troops, whom we should write to? NO

What do you do now? Import Manager with a firm of Merchant Bankers; also [?Secty?] to Croydon Unit of Croydon R.N.V.S.R.

Please let us have this questionnaire as soon as possible, so that we can include your experiences in the book . We hope that you will continue your story on separate sheets if we have not left sufficient room. Full acknowledgement will be given in a chapter called "Where They Are Now."

Cornelius Ryan Joan O. Isaacs The Reader's Digest

I first knew about the Invasion early in May, 1944 as I was sent down from Force "L" headquarters at Southwold, Sussex ( We had St.Felix School, a girls school, once attended by The Queen Mother, as H.Q. ) to Taunton. There were housed all the Secret Charts and Maps for the Invasion. I was carefully guarded by two armed Royal Marines on route. The end of May I received a Top Secret signal, saying that I was to proceed to the far shore, in company with the following signal ratings and report on arrival to Flag Officer British Assault Area. ( I have the original signal in my possession. ) We left Harwich in company with many other LSTs, LCIs and M.L.s as escort. We [crossed out] have [end crossed out] [inserted] had [end inserted]units of 7th Armoured Div. (Desert Rats) with all their equipment, including metal roads. ( The sand on the beaches was a little soft for heavy vehicles. Force "L" [crossed out] e [end crossed out] [inserted]w[end inserted]as a support group; so that when we arrived the germans had left about an hour. In fact he left his breakfast on the table of the small cottage that I took over. As I stepped on to the beach the germans were firing on to the beach from a wood, just above the village. He was [crossed out] usung [end crossed out] [inserted] using [end inserted] 88 mm. Guns and was scoring a lot of hits. There were three LCIs laying beam on to the beach, and abandoned; their tattered White ensigns, I [crossed out] rember [end crossed out] [inserted] remember [end inserted] struck me as defiant. The sappers were sweeping the beaches for for mines, and other chaps were laying the white tape, as a guide for troops and vehicles .There was very little air activity, and the sun was getting rather warm. The dead had not been collected and some of the bodies were half in the water and half out. I collected my group and we made our way carefully towards a small house very close to the beach. One fellow landed with his kitbag and hammock, much to my amusement. The house was full of booby traps and I was thankful for a course I had had recently on this subject. There was all the obvious tricks. The [crossed out] lavorty [end crossed out] [inserted] lavatory [end inserted] chain was wired, the crooked picture, and bo[crossed out]o[end crossed out]ttles of champagne with fuses attached. I stuck a label on the front door marked [inserted] " [end inserted]Royal Navy [inserted] H.Q. [end inserted] [inserted] " [end inserted] and we organised our selves into watches. I obtained some food from the Army, and we stayed there for five days, collecting stray sailors. The flag Officer I was to contact did not leave Portsmouth until the following Friday, a little bit of bad planning. We had one or two narrow escapes , before our party joined up with the Admiral on HMS "Southern Prince." I was then allocated to Naval Party 1732, [inserted] This party was an advanced Group ready to take over ports as cleared by the Army. [end inserted] and went with them to