Operation 'Overlord' - A midshipman remembers

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 540, 14 June 1994, Page 8

Operation 'Overlord' - A midshipman remembers

Ohakune resident Dennis Beytagh concludes his account of Operation Overlord - the Normandy Invasion of 1 944, from his personal experiences aboard HMS Versatile. It was while we were relaxing at our anchorage in the Solent one late June evening that we heard and saw for the first time a new and most unusual 'aircraft'. We heard it before we saw it ... the deafening 'clatter' was unlike anything we had heard before though we had become quite familiar with the characteristic 'throb' of the diesel engines with which the Germans equipped their aircraft. Then, as we rushed up on deck, we saw this huge winged and pilotless projectile heading directly towards the anchored fleet at a very low elevation and a very fast speed. It must have cleared our mast and rigging by only a few feet as it passed over and headed towards Portsmouth and Southampton. And then, after a eerie silence lasting several seconds, there was a massive explosion as this strange 'aircraft' dived into the ground. It was the first V 1 (Vergeltung - German for 'reprisal' ) flying bomb to be directed towards the south coast of England though these 26ft, 2-ton 'secret' weapons with their 1,800 high-explosive charges and speed of 375 mph were first launched against London two weeks earlier on 13 June. No sooner had we finished discussing this new phenomenon when, some 20 minutes later, we heard it again as another approached from the same direction but, thankfully, at a slightly higher altitude. Thereafter they appeared at 20-minute intervals but gaining altitude each time ... obviously the Germans at their launching site across the Channel were making some fine adjustments to their fuel and gyro controls.

Once the 20-minute pattern was established several of the anchored ships decided to use this unique opportunity for some target practice ... but only with small weapons in that congested space. On board Versatile rifles were issued to ratings and revolvers to officers and our Oelikon gunners were ordered to man their weapons - anything heavier would have created havoc amongst the anchored fleet. It was only when one of the largest cruisers with the tallest mast - 1 think it was HMS Arethusa - had part of that mast shot away by an over-enthusiastic gunner on a nearby ship that a General Order was issued to "Cease all firing". It had been an exciting though frustrating interlude: one could never tell if the flying bombs had been brought down when hit by anti-aircraft or small-arms fire or whether they had simply run out of fuel. . As the theatre of war moved away from Normandy and deeper into continental Europe (Paris was liberated on 25 August) HMS Versatile made fewer trips across to France. In early September I decided, with the unpleasant prospect of possibly having to return to the North Atlantic or follow the Allied advance up the North Sea, to opt for a warmer climate and apply for a transfer to the Royal Indian Navy. My automatic promotion to Sub-Lieutenant had come through in mid June when I reached 19 & half and many of my family were in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps in Shanghai (where I was born), Hong Kong and Singapore while others were already serving with the armed forces in India and Burma. My application was approved and, after a short spell of overseas leave, I sailed for Bombay in the troopship Stratheden. Sequel Many year later, while working as a free-lance artist and designer in Wellington, I was asked by AH & AW /

Reed to illustrate and produce a jacket design for a book 'The Freshwater Admiral' by Vice Admiral Harold Hickling who had retired to live in New Zealand so that he could pursue his favourite sport - angling - in Turangi. I was to meet Harold Hickling during the course of that commission and it was then that I learnt he had been Rear Admiral Tennant's senior officer and immediate superior at the Admiralty while Tennant Was aboard Versatile during the Normandy invasion. Equally, Harold Hickling was also interested to hear that I had served on HMS Versatile during Operation 'Overlord' and had often shared the bridge watches and the same wardroom with Rear Admiral Tennant when he was aboard. In the late 1950's or early 60' s when Admiral Tennant took his own retirement from the Royal Navy he decided to visit his old friend Hickling in Turangi and catch up with other friends and former colleagues at the Navy Office in Wellington. As a former Midshipman I didn't think for a moment that I would fall into that category or qualify for that league - senior naval officers always referred to midshipmen as 'Snotties' - but I had not been counting on the thoughtfulness of Harold Hickling. Imagine my surprise therefore when I got a phone call one day inviting me to come to a party with Admiral Tennant in Wadestown where we could "reminisce over old times". Acknowledgement I would like to thank former Captain Richard Baker of Manurewa for providing much of the cross-reference details from his comprehensive library of naval literature.