Signalman Thomas Lee Bentley "In His Own Words" Normandy 1944

Signalman Thomas Lee Bentley

25 January 1921 – 10 April 2003

"In his own words" His Army service and the role he played in the Normandy Invasion 5 - 11 June 1944.

In 1937 I left school and became an apprentice PO Telephone Engineer. Hence at the beginning of the 2nd World War I was 18 and at the end of my apprenticeship. Normally eligible to be called up for the armed forces but instead all telephone engineers were in a reserved occupation, and we were drafted to essential provision of war communications and became part of the Home Guard.

By 1942 the preparation of the North Africa campaign and the USA entering the war and thoughts were turning to the invasion of Europe. This meant new Divisions were being established, so many PO engineers were being released to the forces, particularly the army.

So, in September 1942 I together with 8 colleagues left Leicester to go to the Green Howards barracks in Richmond Yorkshire. Then to the Signals Training Battalion at Catterick, where I was trained as radio mechanic. At the end of training, I along with 40 others applied for the airborne forces and after numerous medicals and tests I was accepted, the only one of those who had applied. Then two weeks of initial pre jump training at Hardwick Hall near Chesterfield. Run all day and finish with 5 miles in full kit in one hour at the end of the course. If you failed, you could start again at the beginning. Then to RAF Ringway for Parachute training. Swing towers, slides, and then parachute drops, two from balloons, then six from Whitley Bombers.

I arrived at Bulford the HQ of Airborne in April 1943. The 1st Airborne Division had just left for North Africa, and I became a founder member of the new 6th Airborne Division. The formation and the training of the Division took a year and during this period I moved to the Advanced Division HQ Signals Section. The majority of personnel in any HQ formation is Signals, the HQ section of 6th Airborne contained over 100 signals operators, Drivers, Dispatch Riders and 2 technical staff. Almost twice the size of a normal Division HQ Signal Section and represents the importance of communications and an anticipated casualty rate of 50%.

Thus, we arrive at May 1944 3 weeks before the planned date of the invasion and all troops were incarcerated in guarded camps and briefing for the invasion commenced. We visited a nearby airfield and were shown our aircraft a Stirling, a type we had not used before, a converted four engine bomber like a Lancaster. Capacity 20 men, exit through the floor at the rear, sitting on the floor.

Parachutes, static lines and no reserve, over 90lbs of equipment, ammunition, grenades, plastic explosive, either a Sten gun or a rifle, most carried in a kit bag strapped to the leg, attached by a cord to the belt with a quick release.

So, we come to the actual flight to Normandy. We take-off around 10.30-11pm on 5th June. Weather conditions poor for parachuting, wind gusting up to 20 miles/hour. Lights on inside the fuselage, static lines not attached to wires in the plane, assumed that we would have time before the lights were turned off. We could not take due to the noise of the 4 Merlin engines roaring away. Time taken to get into formation. Then the lights went out and a bit of a panic since our parachutes were not yet attached to the wires in the plane. Eventually we managed to sort out the chaos and we stood inline ready to jump. I was fourth from last; suddenly looking over the shoulder of the man in front of me I could see the dim outline of the hole in the floor, the rest of the stick had gone! I said to the in front “for Gods sake go” and he said, “I can’t move!” So, I picked him up and carried him to the hole and pushed him out and then jumped. When my parachute opened, I found that I was almost on the ground above the trees. I released my kit bag from my leg. Hit the top of the trees with my legs and the chute pulled me out of the trees with the wind and I landed flat on my face which rather knocked the stuffing out of me. Coming to my senses, I was faced with a problem, I did not know where I was! I was in the middle of a large orchard and there was nothing in the briefing maps and models that indicated any possible position.

I had no maps, compass, watch and the clouds obscured the moon. I found my kit bag and equipped myself for battle. The flight of the plane was North to South, so I assumed that I was, because of the delayed jump, south of the proper Dropping Zone, but since I did not know where North and South were, I was no better off. The thing that worried me was that I appeared to be surrounded by anti-aircraft batteries. So I set off through the orchard looking for other people and eventually met another man (RE) who asked me where we were. So, through the night we met others until we were seven.

However about 2 to 3 hours later the Gliders of the Divisional HQ flew overhead. This indicated that since they were still airborne that rather that being south of the DZ, we were north and not far from the coast because of the concentration of the AA Fire. So, we started to follow the flight path of the gliders. I have since concluded that the delayed jump was much longer than I realised and that the plane had turned and was on its way back to England when the last five left the plane.

It started to get light and suddenly squadrons of Flying Fortress’s appeared overhead and they blanket bombed the area. We watched as the bombs came closer and closer, but eventually they stopped half a field away. At least this confirmed that we were close to the coast. Then we spotted a column of airborne troops approaching across the fields. These were the 80 survivors of the 9th Parachute Battalion who had attacked the Merville Gun Battery. They were pleased to take us on as reserves. Their next objective was to take Le Plein a village near Amfraville. The 200 German troops in the village allowed us to take the chateau without too much resistance but there was little we could do to seize the village and sniper fire ensued the rest of the day as we dug in.

The following day we were relieved by No.4 marine Commandos to whom the German Garrison surrendered. I sought a lift from a passing Bren Gun carrier and found my way to Ranville and Divisional HQ. They did not tell me that I was already posted as missing believed killed and this eventually resulted in my wife receiving a telegram.

The division had achieved all its stated objectives, but there was no continuous front line. Individual villages were occupied either by us or the German 21st Panzer Division and everything was “no man's land”. There were attacks by both sides and Divisional HQ received regular shelling from mortars.

On 11 June, HQ were running out of Dispatch Rider because of casualties whilst riding in no mans land. The CO asked whether anyone could ride a motorbike and I volunteered. The message to be taken to Breville just a few kilometers from HQ and he showed me the place on the map in the signals office as no other was available.

So, I set off on a 500cc BSA. The first thing I noticed was everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road (no one had mentioned to me that they did this on the continent). However, I continued along this road where there was no other traffic. I suddenly saw soldiers in the ditches at the side of the road and as I was passing, I realised they were German. They appeared as confused as I was. A bend in the road was approaching as I accelerated round the corner and moving towards me was a column of about 50 Germans. They signalled me to stop which I did, and I became a prisoner of war.

Researching the Army archives after the I discovered that Breville was not captured by the British until 15 June, 4 days after my trip. This ends my story of the Normandy Invasion.

Postscript

Thomas Lee Bentley was subsequently transported to Stalag VIII-C Prisoner of War Camp near Sagan on the Polish border. The camp was finally liberated by the Russian Army who forced the prisoners to march 500 km west to Hamburg through the winter of 1944/45. During this, march in which many prisoner died of malnutrition and the cold, my father suffered severe frostbite of the feet.