Sergeant William C Collier

Sergeant William Charles Collier was the son of William and Vera Collier, of Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

After enlisting in the Army he volunteered for Airborne Forces and attended Parachute Training Course No 89 at RAF Ringway which ran from 28 October to 9 November 1943. There were 281 trainees on the course from various units and between them they completed 2077 descents.

Sgt Collier received a good course report which notes "Very good all round, excellent jumping". On qualifying as a military parachutist he was posted to the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion.

Just after midnight on 5/6 June 1944 the 13th Battalion dropped from Dakota and Albermarle aircraft on DZ N, North of Ranville near Caen, in advance of the Normandy landings.

Sergeant Collier was killed in the first week of the Normandy campaign.

On the 10 June the Battalion was subject to shelling and enemy attacks in its positions at Ranville. The Battalion repulsed these attacks and in the process captured 91 Germans as prisoners of war, many were from the II/858 Infantry Regiment (346 Division). According to the Battalion War Diary, five men including Sgt Collier were killed repulsing the German attacks.

Sgt Collier died aged 22 years and is now buried in Ranville War Cemetery, Normandy.

Cemetery photograph reproduced by kind permission of CWGC.