Derrick Cakebread

His Own Story Of His Normandy D-Day Landing

The previous page was: "Tommy Treacher's D-Day Landing"

This is Derrick Cakebread's own story, written by him in 2004. I would like to thank him for allowing me print his personal writings.

I was 19 years old, when I was called up for War Service in March 1942. I had registered to go in the Royal Navy, but found that I had been called into the Royal Marines.

I had to report to Lympstone, Devon. Which was the Royal Marine Depot in those days. Here I met Tommy Treacher and George Hall and several of the other lads with whom I am still friends today.

We went to Scotland to join the 5th Battalion Royal Marines. We went to Carmathen, in South Wales, where we underwent more intensive field training, live firing, field craft, 30-mile route marches, the fact is, it was very hard training.

We then went to Hursley, in Hampshire, where I had supposedly volunteered to be a sniper. In reality, the Sergeant handed me a snipers rifle, and, told me I was a sniper. He then sent me on a sniper's course. That's how it was in those days. whatever they said do, you did. He had seen my shooting on the ranges.

I did several courses on sniping and all its attendant crafts. The training for a sniper involved field craft, snap shooting, judging distance, firing on the range, concealment. While always making sure that you had an escape route, as you often only had one chance to shoot.

If your target is more than one man, then one of them could quite often judge where the sniper was, and you didn't want to be there any more. You wanted to be well gone by then.

I went to the 5th Battalion which became 45 Royal Marine Commando. We were sent to Achnachary, in Scotland, which was the Commando Training Centre. Live ammunition was used in all training, and the training was tough, but there was nothing new to us.

Tommy Treacher's D-Day Landing

After Completing The Commando Course

I went on a further Snipers course, this being my fourth, and did some 'Dear Stalking' in the Highlands. We were sent to Eastbourne, Sussex. There we did non-stop training in preparation for the 'Second Front' the invasion of Europe.

We were in the transit camp for several weeks before D-Day, we were not allowed out of camp. On 5th June 1944, we were issued with our live ammunition and camouflage for our steel helmets. We were later told to leave the helmets behind, and we would go-in wearing our green berets.

When we had put to sea we was told that the invasion was on, at about 8pm. and were told our destination was Normandy. The names we were to attack were new to us then, but would eventually become unforgettable.

With excitement, mixed with apprehension, I wondered if I would get through O.K. and thinking of my mates, how many of us will survive and come out of this in one piece.

When The Dawn Came

I shall NEVER forget the sight that met my eyes. Hundreds of ships; more than I had ever seen in my life; and all at once they started firing at the shore and our aircraft were flying overhead. This vast armada of invasion craft, all drawing steadily nearer the shore. What a sight!!

I thought this time, we couldn't possibly be thrown back off the beaches with this mighty force. We were young, tough, well trained, very fit, well equiped, and I felt confident that we would carry out the task that we were sent here to do.

We landed at Colleville Montgomery at 09:10 hours. on Queen Red Beach, as part of No.1 Commando Brigade. The landing craft next to ours was hit twice (Tommy Treacher's). We were O.K. but had a wet landing.

When The Ramp Went Down

We ran off and saw our objective immediately, it was exactly as and where the photo's, and sand drawing had shown us back in England. There were hundreds of dead lads on the beach. It was a shock to realise that a little while before, they had been laughing and joking like ourselves.

We were young boys really, and to see so many dead bodies, lying crumpled up with terrible wounds; some of them floating in the sea, was a terrible shock. Burnt out tanks, with their crews still in them (Royal Marines Armoured Support Group) were all over the place and the noise of the firing, shelling and bombing was defening.

The Royal Marines Armourd Support Group drove the Centurion tanks on D-Day for the first ten-miles. The Royal Marine Beach Provost Party controlled the landings on the beaches and the Mulberry Harbour, they were commanded by Captain J.P. Kelly R.M.

The Beach Master (also Royal Marines Provost) was shouting for us to get off the beach. We ran and kept running, past the shells that were once houses, we crossed a road and a railway line, and made it to our first objective, a spinney about 1100 yards inland.

We had to cross a swamp to get there, a good job too, as the soft mud saved us from taking more casualties than we did, from the mortar shells and 'Moaning Minnis' which were shells that made a loud screaming noise as they came over.

This of course, was where the training with live ammunition we had done came into its own. We all acted instinctively as we should, in a professional manner.

On Reaching The Spinney

Our Adjutent Captain White, was blowing a hunting horn and those of us who had made the redezvous rallied to that. We then moved off towards Benouville Bridge, which has now become known as Pegasus Bridge. a tribute to the 6th Airborne, whose shoulder flash was a 'Pegasus'.

We fought our way across country to St. Aubin D' Argunay. There was quite a lot of resistance by the Germans of course, heavy shelling and sniper fire. I remember Frenchmen offering us glasses of wine as we went along.

I didn't have any as I wasn't much of a wine drinker then, and we had been warned beforehand to be careful of anything offered, as it may have been tampered with by the enemy.

Arriving At Pegasus Bridge

There were gliders everywhere you looked in the fields, it was marvellous that so many had managed to land so close to the bridge. We were two minutes late on arrival; got there two minutes past midday!!!

Bill Millin, Lord Lovat's piper, was playing his bagpipes; the 6th Airborne had taken the bridge intact. It was still pretty grim, our Colonel was wounded there, as well as lots of others.

We had been carrying collapsible boats complete with paddles, to cross the Orne River and the Orne Canal, in case the Germans had blown the bridge before the Airborne had been able to get to it and hold it. Thankfully, they had, and we were pleased to dump the boats.

Moving off to our next objective, which was the Merville Batteries. We all had narrow escapes, I remember tracer bullets passing right between the heads of my mate and I; just a fraction closer and either him or I would have bought it. We then went on to Sallanelles for the first time.

We went through Sallanelles once more, on the way to Merville Village. If the 9th Parachute Regiment hadn't taken the battery then 45 R.M. Cdo had to do so. However, they had taken it, and we were ordered to dig-in as it was the early evening by then. We saw more gliders going over to reinforce the troops, it was a welcoming sight, I can tell you.

In the early morning we received orders to go back to Brigade who were at Amfreville. Again, we went through Salanelles which kept changing hands, sometimes Gerry had it and sometimes we had it, so you either had to fight your way through, or sometimes had an easier time.

Repeatedly Re-attacked Same Village

Naturally, the Germans didn't give up easily, and were putting down heavy mortar fire and shelling. When we reached Amfreville, we stayed for a couple of hours and were ordered to go back to the original plan, which was to take Franceville, the seaside towm we had been told about in England.

We went back to Merville Village, through Salanelles again, (by then we felt we knew it well) where we discovered it had been re-taken by the Germans.

I heard my name being called, and with another sniper, Frank Horen, we were told to go and clear some Germans out of a wood who were sniping at our blokes and causing casualties. Frank suggested that he'd try to get round the back of them and flush them out, whilst I remained in cover and picked them off. We executed this very successfully.

However the rest of the Commando had moved off by then and we were on our own. We knew the plan though, and headed towards Franceville. We kept to the lanes as the fields and ditches were mined. How we made it without being picked off I will never know, roads and tracks were prime spots used for ambushing.

We found some of 'A' Troop at the crossroads in Franceville, and we then turned right towards the sea. We found a bloke named Saunders who was an interpreter from No.10 Inter Allied Commando. He said he was going to take a white flag and inform Gerry that they were facing a Brigade and to lay down their arms.

I never saw him again. The next thing we knew was we were getting stonked by everything they could throw at us, grenades, small arms fire, mortar, the lot. A few of us were pinned down in a back garden, and then, a stick grenade landed right in the middle of us. Instantly I threw a 77 smoke grenade at Gerry, and we all legged it!

We crossed the main road and went through some more back gardens, back to the crossroads. I went into some woods and got down into a ditch, and covered the main road until we had orders to withdraw.

We withdrew under the cover of darkness and made our way back to Merville Village. The Germans were back in our slit trenches and after a good fight we got them out of there, then we defended our positions all night.

Ammunition Shortage

We ran out of ammunition like some of the lads already had at Franceville, so instead we used German weapons and ammunition. The Germans tried to surround us at some time late in the night of the 8th June, but were ordered to withdraw before they did. We made our way to Brigade at Amfreville once more.

We had lost a lot of blokes over the two days from June 6th, and many more were wounded. Some of our medics volunteered to stay with them when we had to withdraw as they were too badly wounded to take with us. We felt badly about this but had no other choice than to leave them behind.

In the confusion of war we realised that due to being spread-out, we had left about forty of our Commandos at Franceville; a partol was sent to try and round them up. Some were found and returned back, but a number of the lads had been killed, my mate Freddie was amongst them. I missed him, he was a smashing bloke.

We dug in at Anfreville and Le Plein and I did a lot of O.P. work in the church, it being the highest point in the village, O.P. stands for 'Observation Post' and I was there to observe enemy activity, through my binoculars and report back to H.Q.

After a few days the Brigade formed a Sniper Section, being one Sniper from each Troop. It was then I met up with Tommy Treacher again, and found that he was also a sniper in 'B' Troop. I hadn't seen him for a while.

We used to go out into No-Mans land, through Longueville Farm, and then we would split up when we came out of there. 'No-Mans' land is the land between ourselves, and the known position of the enemy. Sometimes Gerry had standing patrols out there, and sometimes we did.

A Snipers Job

Is to penetrate into no-mans land and get as close to the enemy as possible. Needless to say, keeping hidden all of the time. This can take quite a while, and you have to use your knowledge of field-craft to as good effect as possible.

When I felt I had a good position with a good escape route, I would settle there, until I had a good shot in sight. After I had fired the shot, I would withdraw, and hopefully, find another good spot, from where I would wait to get another shot.

If no good target presented itself, I didn't give myself away, I would observe all I could of enemy movements and strength, and report back to H.Q. when I got back.

I was out on my own for mostly six hours, sometimes longer, it could feel a bit eerie, as I could often hear the Germans talking together; we were usually in pretty close to them.

I never took a prisoner, when I was sniping; far too risky!! When I felt I had done enough, I would report back to Brigade, and then more often than not, had to go out with a fighting patrol seeking out the enemy; I seldom missed any patrols.

Most days and night were spent this way when the Commando and all the troops were in a static position, being pinned down. One day Tommy and I were out on our own when I saw a movement. I took a good look through my binoculars and saw it was one of our blokes, waving his arms.

It turned out to be a chap from intelligence, who told us that the Navy were going to do a shoot on the Merville area with fifteen pounders! We got out of there very quickly indeed; I can tell you!!! That was the first four-minute mile by two men, not the one Roger Bannister did!!!

All through the remainder of June, we were fighting in and around La Plein and Amfreville. One morning 'A' Troop was called out and told that the Para's were going to attack Breville. 'A' Troop had to take and occupy a house on the Breville road.

The Adjutant said to take the first twenty men. The rest of us went back to our slit-trenches. We didn't know then, nor afterwards, why it was only twenty blokes wanted, and I was lucky enough not to be in the twenty, because we lost exactly half of them.

It was a hellish battle, Gerry opened up with artillery, mortars, and just about everything else he had, whilst our own artillery was falling short, so we were being hit by our own guns too.

In the end we were all called in and finally managed to take Breville, but at a heavy cost, the Parachute Regiment alone, lost almost two-hundred men, and we lost a lot of our own mates also.

Le Plein And Amfreville

we then stayed at Le Plein and Amfreville until the break-through of the British Army at Caen, where they had been held up by determined German opposition until August. We sent out patrols at night to 'harass the enemy' as the Big Brass called it. The reality of doing that is rather stressful.

We then moved to Le Mesnil where there was a brick factory, It is still there, but makes tiles and garden items now, more than bricks.

The Commando had a rough time there; again we were within range of German 2 and 3-inch mortars. We took a lot of casualties, especially when we were going for our rations. Gerry had that covered pretty good. Mind you soldiers get so hungry, the enemy would target our grub anyway!!

We held our positionthere until it was no longer necessary and were sent to, The Dives doing infiltration and so on. The fact was that really, we held very little of Normandy at the time, and the German Army was still extremely strong.

Until the Break-through at Caen, we were in a static position and could only make things as difficult for them as possible. In order to prevent the enemy from settling, and getting proper counter-attacks going, you have to infiltrate their positions and cause disorder.

These Actions Took Place Nightly

The objective is to get right into their positions, and try to take their Head Quarters if possible. As soon as it gets dark the leading section sets off, laying a white tape, for the other sections to follow. It is essential to make as little noise as possible.

When you are in behind enemy lines, and hopefully in their head quarters, you open up with the weaponry you've got. The noise and confusion is awesome. You cause as much damage as you can, and hold your positions until Brigade is called upon and comes in and tries to open up a bridgehead.

You are of course, effectively cutting yourself off, behind enemy lines. It was in one of these actions that Captain White was killed, and the rest of 'A' Troop were cut-off and left behind.

We had been ordered to try to take a bridge, in order to open up the front, as the fields were flooded on either side. Naturally, Gerry had the bridge pretty well covered, and we were unable to capture it that time.

We made our way back to Brigade, and tried again later. This is when our Officer was killed along with a couple of more Marines. We were pinned down, under heavy fire all day, and during the night we took the chance to withdraw under cover of a smoke-screen.

While the rest got out, Lieutenant Thomas and I stayed behind, firing away, so that the enemy would think that the patrol was still there. We did this type of fighting for most of the rest of our time in Normandy.

Early In September

The German opposition in our area had more or less been eliminated by early September. We had done our job, and held Gerry back for three months, and we were relieved to hear that the whole Commando Brigade was to be sent back to England.

I cannot remember all of the names of the places we fought in, I most probably didn't know them then, but we did learn later, that we were at Brucourt, Bavent, Varaville and Branville.

Our last action in Normandy, was at Beuzeville, to cut off the Germans as they were withdrawing from that area; and where we were told we would be having a 48-hours rest at Honfleur. It was the first time since we had landed on D-day that we had been out of range of enemy mortar and small arms fire.

On 7th September, we were to Arromanches where we spent the night in the hedgerows; then early morning we got on boats at the Mulberry Harbour and returned back to Tilbury, in England. I can't remember the boat we boarded as by then I felt so tired, I only wanted to sleep!!!

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The Normandy Campaign

Well, this is all I can remember of the Normandy Campaign as far as it effected me personally.

After re-grouping and getting reinforcements to bring 45 R.M. Commando back up to strength; we trained for the Far East, probably to do the landings in Japan, but, whilst in transit; the Allies found themselves in trouble in Holland, and we were sent back to Europe on 15th January 1945.

We fought our way through Holland, Germany and ended up at Eutin, near Kiel. We crossed five rivers and I am proud to wear the tie that shows I was involved in all five. The Maas, the Rhine, the Wessel, the Aller and the Elbe.

Alltogether, it had been a dreadful time. So many deaths, pain, and so much destruction, but the strange thing is once that is over, you find that you wouldn't have missed it for anything.

The friendships and comradeship you found with your mates is something very special. I don't believe you'll ever find it again throughout your whole life. When you have shared something as fundamental as this, nothing is ever quite the same again; in fact you, yourself, can never be the same person.

None of us who were there will ever forget, which is why when old servicemen get together, they love to talk, and to remember the friends we lost who are as clear in our memories as if it were yesterday.

I have been going back to Normandy for over 30-years, and when I stand in the places we fought so hard to get, and remember the mates I had, and all the laughter and hardship we shared, I know how fortunate I am, to still be here, and have a family, a joy denied to so many.

The next Link below will be: "Derrick Cakebread's Rivers Of Fire"

Derrick Cakebread's D-Day Landing Derrick Cakebread's Rivers Of Fire

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