Page 10 - QARANC Vol 16 No 2 2018
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8 QARANC THE GAZETTE
208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital Battlefield Study
Corporal Alex Riley and Lance Corporal Jess Hindley were part of a 24 strong party from 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital that took part in Ex Mersey Landings, a Battlefield Study to Normandy. The Battlefield Study was led by Major Richie Blase, assisted by Captain Jan Jordan, who used her French language skills to good effect throughout, and Lieutenant Corporal Dermott Crowley provided expert military analysis of the D-Day Landings. 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital Commanding Officer, Colonel Ron Siddle also attended.
An in-depth overview of the D-Day Landings took place before we travelled, with topics including Operation Overlord, Operation Neptune, Operation Fortitude and Operation Bodyguard. We were briefed on medical care during 1939– 1944, and this led to a thought-provoking group discussion surrounding the moral and ethical use of medicine in deception operations. These discussions helped us to grasp the magnitude of the Normandy invasion.
During the week in Normandy we visited the most famous sites captured by allied forces throughout the Normandy invasion in June 1944; Pegasus Bridge, Sword Beach, Gold Beach, Omaha Beach, Hillman Bunkers, Merville Gun Battery and Pointe du Hoc. This was followed by visits to various museums, memorials and the American (Colleville sur Mer) and British (Ranville) cemeteries. We were split into three groups and as we visited the different sites we discussed our allocated questions. For Corporal Riley this was to research the use of ‘Hobarts Funnies’*; for Lance Corporal Hindley it was the Mulberry Harbours and PLUTO (Pipeline under the Ocean).
The visit to Pegasus Bridge museum was followed by a visit to Sword Beach, where we learnt the facts surrounding the most famous airborne assault as part of Op Overlord. The bridge was situated across the Caen Canal at Benouville and was captured intact and in less than 10 minutes after Horsa gliders landed within metres of the bridge. The success of this operation helped to determine the course of events on D-Day and it proved critical in the liberation of France as it provided a secure path from Sword Beach to the landing grounds.
We visited Sword Beach, and the memorial set in stone on the beach. Sword Beach was the eastern-most landing site
Lance Corporal Jess Hindley with Corporal Alex Riley pictured with a Dakota at the Merville Gun Battery
Group picture with the Commanding Officer Colonel Ron Siddles second from right
along the Normandy beaches, where allied forces initially met little resistance and managed to land 29,000 men.
During our visit to Hillman Bunkers and Gold Beach, selected unit members discussed their allocated questions. Hillman Bunkers, which was the Command Post for the Germans Coastal Defences, contained sleeping areas, a communication centre and were connected by underground passages. The mission to take these bunkers proved vital as it severed German communications and disrupted their ability to mount successful counter attacks.
At Gold Beach, which was the centremost of the five landing areas, we learnt about and discussed the Mulberry Harbours and the advance on and capture of Arromanches.
At Omaha Beach, best known for the opening scenes of the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’, the defences were significantly stronger, which led to a massive loss of life with an estimated 2,000 – 4,700 soldiers killed. This earned the beach the name ‘Bloody Omaha’. Despite this, allied forces still managed to break through the coastal defences and advance inland.
Whilst here we took a moment to stop and think about the events that had occurred and we felt overwhelmed by the eeriness on the beach and tried to think about the lives of all those soldiers who had taken part in the Normandy D-Day Landings. It was a very poignant moment.