The Story of WALLY STOCKLEY

...which I would keep until March 1945 when I would get the job of Battery Captains Driver, more of that later. Anyway in the cab of the vehicle that I had collected was a tatty old leather jerkin I decided to keep it as I thought it just may come in handy.

May 1944
The Regiment moved to just outside Brentwood Essex, where the drivers all waterproofed their vehicles, this entailed covering all the electrical connections and fuel connections with a thick greasy plasticine.

6th June 1944 - D-DAY
We were anchored off Normandy at Arromanches, it was frightening seeing and hearing the Royal Navy firing their big guns for their shells to land on enemy positions further in land. Seeing H.M.S. Warspite firing its big guns was a sight never to be forgotten, every time its guns were fired the smoke from the cordite practically hid the ship from sight.

When the time came, we were told to stand by, and LCT’s (Landing Craft Tanks) came alongside the Liberty Boat. It was then that all our equipment was lowered onto these, the men gained access to the LCT’s by climbing down climbing nets which hung over the side of the Liberty Boat.

This was happening in the late afternoon of the 6th June, the LCT had to drop its ramp a little way off shore, which meant I had to drive through the water before reaching the beach.(Our beach being code named GOLD BEACH) I was more worried and frightened as to if I had done a good job of waterproofing my vehicle back in England than anything else at that particular moment, as seeing a couple of vehicles stop suddenly before reaching the beach knowing water had affected their engines, I prayed like I had never prayed before that I had done my waterproofing right.

My Guardian Angel must have been in the cab with me that day because we reached the beach OK.

On the beach was a Royal Navy Beach master, wanting the beach cleared he was shouting “get off my bloody beach” quietly I said to myself since ‘when did it become your beach? I thought it belonged to the French!’.

After landing on the beach, it was a case of getting to an area which happened to be a field, to get on with the job of stripping off the waterproofing. I donned the tatty old jerkin which I knew would come in handy and started de-waterproofing...