Discovery of the Landing Position of the First Glider to arrive above the Merville Battery
In August 2016, Chuck Aitkenhead, son of a former member of the 7thParachute Battalion, kindly contacted me. He had found an aerial photograph showing Glider CN28, the first glider to arrive over the Merville Battery, just before the attack went in. With Colonel Otway’s men being unable to illuminate the Battery due to the loss of mortars, the glider was unable to see the site and eventually landed somewhere to the east. For many years it has been the subject of conjecture as to just how distant the glider had landed from the Battery, with some books saying up to four miles away !
However, it is now apparent that the actual landing site was half a mile (750m) east of the village of Gonneville, and ‘as the crow flies,’ a mile (1.5Km) from the Merville Battery.
Veteran Gordon Newton, ‘A’ Company, 9th Parachute Battalion, was on board the glider, and armed with a flamethrower. As the Horsa circled above, looking for the Battery, flak began to rise. “It was coming through the floor and out the roof. Under the seats, which are along the full length of the glider. You had all the other equipment, and there were mortar bombs, high explosive, there were replacements for the flamethrowers…. The whole thing was not just a tinderbox, it was very high explosives, and if it had got a tracer in the right place it would have just disintegrated. Had we been sitting crossways, people might have got hurt. I was sitting in the back seat, the pilot put me there and I wasn’t very happy with that. So I went and sat next to Foster, the other flamethrower, whereupon they opened the door. In order that I didn’t get thrown out the door, I went and sat the other side. As soon as I did this, where my head had been, something came through the floor and out the roof.”
The pilot, Staff Sergeant Bone, thought he saw the Battery and so cast off, descending to 500 feet. However, this turned out to be the bombed village of Gonneville and he therefore banked the glider away. Gordon Newton remembered: “Through a window I could see a tree and I thought, ‘Hello !’ As it happened it went skidding across the water and the tail came off, and left it about seventy-five yards behind.”
They had landed safely, but would take no part in the assault on the Merville Battery.
Gordon had been going back to Normandy for nearly 50 years, and always wondered where ‘his’ Horsa had come down, so it was a very special moment for him when he was taken there in June 2017.
Sadly, Gordon passed away in September 2018.
My Father was on the Raid on Merville Battery and I have no idea which glider or aircraft he was in. Where the landing was and how things went on the 6th and 7th June. I am attending Merville on 6th June and Ranville Cemetery on 7th June but have, so far, been unable to get any joy in obtaining family and descendants passes for these events, which we have had issued in the past to go in the Veterans enclosure.
6024551, Pte Gibson H F , 9th Para, 6th Airborne. His name used to be on the ‘Roll of Honour’ in the Battery until it was refurbished a few years ago. Love your publications immensely
Hello Barry, thanks for the message.
There has been no mention of any passes being required for the Airborne ceremonies, and so attendance should not be a problem. At Merville, if there is an area reserved for 9th Battalion veterans and family members (there may be for the ceremony to open the new entrance building), then ask for Pascaline Dagorn, the Directrice of the Battery, and she will help you out.
The information I have is that he was Lt Bill Mills’ batman. This would have meant that he was part of the seaborne party. He was killed in a sudden barrage at Brigade HQ, just down the road from the Le Mesnil Crossroads. RSM Cunningham was another killed in the same incident.
If you have a photo of him, I can see that it is included when they update the ‘Rogues Gallery’ in No 2 Casemate.
Hopefully our paths will cross out there.
Best wishes,
Neil.
It was really moving to see Gordon Newton seated at the site where his glider landed on D-Day. Well done in getting him there Neil and thank you for posting the photo taken by Robin Savage.
Regards …
Chuck, I can’t thank you enough for sending the aerial photo. Gordon was absolutely thrilled at finally knowing and visiting the location. It was Robin and a colleague who got him there (this was actually a taken during second visit. The Reunion Club had got him there the previous June too). It was quite a story on how they produced a Heath Robinson lighting set-up ! Regards, Neil.