Compiled by Judy Hagen
For Black Press
On D-Day, Gordon Blackhall, who was raised in Courtenay, was serving with the RCAF in England. In the following letter to his friend, Jack, he recorded what he experienced on that historic day.
(Editor’s note: this letter has been published verbatim.)
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Dear Jack
I am writing this on what is undoubtedly the most momentous day of all history. The whole this is a long and complicated jig saw puzzle. For weeks, I should say a year, because we have been getting groomed for this day for that long, but is only the past few weeks that real thing has been felt.
I went on a day off last Sat June 3 & and came back on Sun June 4th. I went to London as usual, but this time I had that funny feeling that this would be my last time in “the old smoke” for some time. I didn’t do anything extraordinary. Just the usual rounds. Went out to see a girl I know took on a few lite ales went back to her apartment had ham& eggs a good nites sleep & back to camp. Passes had been cancelled just after we left camp but they didn’t recall us.
Coming out of “the smoke” from Victoria Station on the 9:18 things seemed to take on a more friendly aspect. The trees were lovely & green along the embankment as we came across Vauxhall bridge in the background I could plainly see Big Ben tower rising over the Parliament buildings & in the distance I caught the site of the Tower Bridge. On the way back to camp on the train the evergreen English countryside seemed so peaceful & if it were not for the large number of servicemen on the train one would never guess that there was a war on.
Back in camp we were given lectures but we had had lectures before & this had more or less become routine so we still didn’t have a clue as to when D-Day was going to be, except that the tension was increasing. On the 5th yesterday, great armadas of aircraft streamed out over the coast on their way to the continent. There were all kinds of kites from Forts & Libs down to Mossies, Tiffies and Spits. Being maintenance this didn’t mean much panic for us but the boys in the flites were kept on their toes. Even last night we didn’t a clue as to what was going on. We were just finishing off a game of stash last night (5th) about 11:00 o’clock when hoards of bombers started roaring over with lites on. The roaring hoards of bombers was no novelty to us because we had become quite used to that some months ago, but the fact that they had lites on puzzled us. These of course were the bombers going in to lay down that thousand tons of bombs on the 10 gun emplacement. Then at 5:50 this morning (6th), I was waken up by the thunder of aircraft over head. They were lying low I judged because I could feel the very ground under my body vibrating from the heavy drone of their powerful engines. I didn’t look out from under the tent flap or I would have known right then that the invasion was on because these were the planes that took the paratroops in.
On parade at 8:00 this morning we were told by the orderly officer (F/0 Bud Bowker) that D-Day had arrived & what to expect.
It was a strange feeling that went through the ranks of men on that parade. Nobody cheered or even clapped his hands or whistled. We knew it was coming & the relief that I had arrived was something I have never experienced before. I felt sort of funny all over & couldn’t seem to gather the whole thing in all at once.
Then came the order Shape Arms. By the left, left wheel quick march & off we went to work.
There was nothing outstanding about the days work I slipped off for a few minutes to win a few bob in a crap game & then back to work before my corporal could get wise that I had scrounged off work.
Tonight 4 of the boys & myself went to the Blistet evening & saw Hit Parade 1943 (it was dam good too) these pictures are run by the Canadian Legion who by the way are doing a real job for us over here. All during the picture we could hear the heavy drone of aircraft going overhead. As we came out of the hanger cinema we could see that the sky was literally covered with aircraft returning from the continent & we also noticed that they weren’t the regular bomber but the type used for troop carrying & glider towing. The remaining boys in the tent informed us our return from the cinema that what we had heard in the show was these air very aircraft going the other way.
I’ve seen a lot of planes since we have been over here having been in the southern & southeastern part of England ever since bomber ferries started the heavy raids on the continent, but this is a site I shall certainly never forget.
There were aircraft from horizon to horizon & as thick as stars on a clear winter night.
We have just listened to the 11:00 news summary & things seem to be definitely in our favour.
So ends the first day of the invasion – D-Day-the day everybody has been waiting for nearly 5 years.
Aeronautically yours, Gord
P.S. there goes another hoard of aircraft over thank God there ours. G.
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