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Information received towards the end of 1943 proved that the Division of which the Battalion was part, had been retrained in England for an even greater and more dangerous job of work..the long awaited invasion of Europe.

For ten days prior to D day the Battalion was ' sealed ' in a camp which allowed of no entry or exit. officers and men were then split up into their various boat loads, and on D minus 2

started to embark on Landing Craft Infantry.

One might have expected very high tension in face of such a mighty undertaking, but on the contrary, the feelings appeared to be calm as if yet another of the many exercises on similar lines was about to take place. Food on board was very satisfactory, and fresh vegetables and bread being supplied to augument the ' Compo ' Rations.

The Journey across was uneventful, the sea being comparitively calm until approximately two hours before the landing, when it became rather choppy and made a number of people seasick. Though tablets to prevent this had been issued, which proved a great help to some. The huge convoy of which the Battalion was part and the enormous number of Allied aircraft seen making for the Continent kept spirits buoyant. Just before the convoy

turned inwards towards the shore, German coastal batteries opened fire and shells fell

in the convoy; this delayed the landing slightly whilst the the assault brigade put them out of action. At 12 noon on D Day, the 6th of June, 1944, the Landing Crafts Infantry containing the Battalion touched on the beach of Normandy at a spot slightly west of Ouistreham, at a pleasant French summer resort with a wide sandy beach fringed with sand dunes. Here the Battalion caught first sight of the enemy as batches of snipers with hands over their heads were being rounded up from the houses and sand dunes lining the beach. By This time the sea had developed a considerable swell . The Battalion was wellused to wet landings when carrying out exercises but this was without any doubt the wettest on record, most people landing in at least four feet and many in as much as five and a half feet. The majority became soaking wet from the top of their heads.Although the beaches had been almost cleared of the enemy , hostile shells and mortar bombs were falling in fair quantities. Consequently even the Battalion was part of the reserve Brigade in the Assault Division, the landing was made very difficult and uncomftable.

Many of the riflemen being small in size were finding it difficult to get ashore, particulalry in view of the fact that over and above their normal kit - heavy enough- they were carrying a bicycle ! Company Sergeant Major walsh of A Company, and Rifleman Ryan M.M , of B Company did great work by getting a life line ashore from the Landing Crafts Infantry, and holding them in such a manner that others were able to beach themselves with greater ease. Few casualties only were experienced on the beach. those being from shell and mortar fire.

The Battalion then quickly made its way from the beach to Lion-sur-Mer. a small village about half a mile inland which was the assembly area. here they were met by O.C. H.Q. Company , Captain M. D. G .C Ryan and his party of guides, who had landed an hour previously with one of the assault brigades to make a reconnaissance of the assembly area.

Shelling and mortar fire was still coming down resulting in a few further casualties. the brigade commander was wounded and evacuated, the Colonel assuming temporary command of the Brigade. the loss of the Brigade Commander was a sever blow as his enthusiasm and charm during approximately two years with the brigade had made him particularly popular with all ranks of the Battalion. Another blow was the loss of Captain A.G Sellers, the Mortar Platoon Commander , who whilst in the assembly area was wounded in the legs by small arms fire, probably from a sniper. Fortunately his No 1, Sgt McCutcheon, had been with the platoon for many months and was capable of assuming command.During the move from the assembly area, the Battalion was greatly cheered by the sight of Airborne troops flying over and landing some distance away. Having assembled together and sorted itself out from the inevitable tangle which such a landing makes, the battalion was ordered to occupy the high ground at a point slightly

North-East of Periers Sur Le Dan, where it dug in for the night in readiness for a quick move forward. On the way to this area, seven German snipers had been captured and ten other prisoners of war, together with a fair quantity of weapons and equipment. The Colonel had returned to the Battalion, the Brigade having been taken over by a Colonel, who was not unknown to the Brigade, having been with it a few months prior to D day.

On The 7th of June the Battalion was ordered to move in a South- Westerly direction to capture Cambes, a small village thickly wooded, and approximately six miles inland from the coast. The battalion moved via Le Mensil, with D Company

commanded by Captain J. R St. L. Aldworth as vanguard . It was believed that Cambes was lightly held, but as the two woods surrounding it were themselves surrounded by walls some ten feet high, it was not possible to observe the enemy's actual disposition. D Company was therefore ordered to proceed forward and capture cambes with the rest of the Battalion closely following in reserve.

At about 5p.m on the 7th of June, D Company moved forward supported by one squadron of tanks; the rest of the Battalion remained halted at the side of the wood. A Short diversion was provided here as four enemy fighters suddenly appeared and machine gunned the rear companies, causing no casualties. Here to the first french people were met, who outwardly showed many signs of goodwill. On reacing the wood - the approach having been somewhat costly due to enemy snipers on the forward edge of the wood, and accurate mortar fire dropping on the approach.The company split into half , two platoons under the Company Commander attacking the village through the left side of the wood and the other platoon under the Company Headquarters commanded by the company's second in command ,

Captain J. Montgomery, attacking through the right edge of the wood. Immediately the company had broken through into the wood, cross fire from machine guns opened up, resulting in many men becoming casualties. The Company Commander was killed on the left, and one Platoon Commander , Lieut H Greece, was wounded and unable to carry on. Captain Montgommery deciding that the opposition was too heavy for his depleted company to overcome, ordered a withdrawl from the wood. Owing to the High wall and thickness of the wood, the supporting tanks had not been able to give any effective close support during the attack.The Company then withdrew to the battalion, and the Commanding officer on the information received decided that a Battalion attack would be far to costly without much greater artillery support. During D Company's attack the reserve companies had suffered a few casualties from mortar fire, amongst whom were Captain H.M Gaffikin, the carrier platoon commander, who was wounded but not evacuated.

The battalion withdrew to Le Mesnil where it took up defensive position ( This is the position our display is based on )

The attack had cost D Company one officer and fourteen other ranks killed, one officer and eleven other ranks wounded and four other ranks missing, with two stretcher bearers from the medical section killed whilst tending the wounded.

On The 8th of June the Commanding officer made a reconnaissance for a Battalion attack on Cambes, this time attacking from the village Anisy, some 1200 yards to the west of Le Mesnil, and 1500 yards north of Cambes.This recce was carried out with the Commander , 33 Field Artillery, who was killed later in his tank, and Colonel Commanding the tanks, protected by the battalion snipers under command of Sgt . F . Pancott. As a result , Company Commanders were given the plan in outline at Anisy at 4pm, 8th of June , after which they made their recce. The ground from Anisy to Cambes was very open , rising slightly from Anisy for about 400 yards, the remaining 1100 yards to Cambes being quite flat and open. Consequently the Company Commander's recce was not carried out under very satisfactory conditions.

Captain W.H. Baudains, M.M was detailed to make a recce of a route for a night patrol, and took with him the

Platoon Commander and three Section Commanders of 11 platoon. On The way he met an enemy patrol of one officer and ten men, of which five were killed and six taken prisoner without injury to our party of two officers and three N.C.Os

During this time an enemy fighting patrol of about thirty men had attacked C Company in its defensive position at

Le Mesnil and had been driven off, the attack costing us one killed and five wounded. During the night 8/9th June,

C Company retaliated with a nuisance raid on the enemy at Cambes, and the Germans again attacked C Company at Le Mesnil, both these actions causing no further loss to the Battalion. Sporadic mortar fire and machine gun fire was experienced during the night.

On the 9th of June 1944, the Battalion attacked and captured Cambes. The attack was fiercely resisted by the Germans and the Battalion, two thirds of whom had not been in action before, conducted itself with great gallantry

The picture was as follows:- Cambes and Galmanche ( another small village some 800 yards south of Cambes) thought to be lightly held by the enemy, were defended strongly as outposts. Buron and St. Contest, two villages a further 1000 yards or so south and south- west of Galmanche were strongly held. On the east side, La Bijude, some 800 yards south- east of cambes, and Eprons, some 500 yards south of La Bijude were held by the enemy with unknown strength.The general idea was for the Infantry Brigade to capture the St Contest area, the attack hinging on whether Cambes was taken or not. The canadian Infantry Brigade were to give covering fire and anti tank support the the attack from ground which they had captured some 2000 tards to the west.The Royal Ulster Rifles had additional troops as follows:- Under Command, one section Field Ambulance. In Support one 6in, Cruiser, Royal Navy, the whole of the Divisional Artillery, two troops Anti- tank ( R.A ) one ordinary and one self propelled. One company 4.2 inch mortars, one company Medium machine Guns; one regiment of sherman tanks; and finally Royal Engineers in the shape of assault demolition and mine clearance teams.

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