Usually we don’t have anything personal on the web site but this year is different; this year is the 65th anniversary of the Normandy D Day Landings.
My Dad, Norman Brodie arrived at the beaches the evening before the landings, he was just 20.
Sadly my Dad died on New Year’s Day 2008. He had suffered terribly; bowel cancer leading to liver cancer, then lung cancer and then bone cancer. His treatment was gruelling and when the going got tough, as it did, he held his hand up for more; he was a brave man
This is for you Dad; D Day, 6th June 1944, changed the course of Word War ll. Thank you
It was D-Day, 6th June 1944, HMS Scourge had undergone weeks of training with the Army in Scotland perfecting landing tactics. “As soldiers stormed the beaches in landing craft we would lob shells ahead of them,” said 80 year old Norman “We were told that 10% casualties in training would be acceptable so that gave us an idea of what was in store. I’ve nothing but admiration and pride for the soldiers on the beaches. Can you imagine the panic as you leave the LCT and you’re up to your chin in water, carrying all that gear, you struggle up the beach soaked and then you have to fight. D-Day was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany but the bullets still killed.”
Norman Brodie had just had his 20th birthday; some of his pals were younger, 18 year olds who didn’t make it off the beaches.
HMS Scourge left Portsmouth on 5th June arriving off Sword Beach, the British and Canadian area, early on 6th June. Scourge was carrying a Royal Artillery Observer whose job it was to go ashore and select the targets for the Scourge to bombard. Simultaneously divers were being dropped over the side, their task to clear safe passage to the beaches.
At precisely 7.25am HMS Scourge opened fire, the bombardment continued all day. During the early part of the morning two of the Flotilla were lost, HMS Swift, hit by a German surface craft, a torpedo boat and the Royal Norwegian Navy ship, The Svenner.
The youngest HMS Scourge crew member was the 17 year old NAFFI Assistant; he survived, others did not.
Ten days after D-Day HMS Scourge and HMS Urania escorted the King on board HMS Arethusa with continuous air cover provided by flights of Spitfires.
Before Normandy HMS Scourge had been part of the 23rd Fighting Destroyer Escort (JW 55B) supporting a convoy to Murmansk; over Christmas Day and Boxing Day 1943 they encountered the Scharnhorst; the Battle of North Cape took place on 26th December 1943
From 1942 HMS Scourge was part of the Russian Convoys witnessing the horrendous seas, weather and ice of the arctic run en route to Murmansk , Archangel and the Kola Inlet.
HMS Scourge was an S Class Destroyer built by Cammel Laird and launched 8th December 1942, she had a complement of 180 men.
HMS Scourge was due to sail for the Far East on 18th August 1945.
If’ you’d like to make a donation to The Royal British Legion’s D-Day 65 Campaign please visit the web site by clicking here
www.britishlegion.org.uk/DDay
Plant your message on a beach for D-Day 65
D-Day was the biggest ever wartime operation. It took the courage of hundreds of thousands of British and Allied Service people to ensure its success and freedom for future generations. 6 June 2009 is your chance to thank and remember each hero who took part. You can leave a message; the beach at Arromanches in Normandy (GOLD beach used by British Forces on D-Day) will be planted with thousands of Union Flags inscribed with messages of thanks and dedication.
Plant a virtual flag
While the planting of physical flags on a Normandy beach will be a great spectacle, it has a restricted audience and time. This D-Day anniversary you can leave a digital message on a virtual flag. Use the link below to visit the beaches of Normandy and select your location. Or read some of the many poignant messages left by others.
Use this link to the Royal British Legion web site to learn more http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/d-day-65/plant-a-flag
