As part of the events surrounding the 80^th anniversary of D-Day on 6 June, Gazette reader Janine shared with us the experiences of her father, Arthur Battersby.

His first service photograph shows him in 1942, as a youthful and newly enlisted 18 year old, in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) at Aldershot.  

RASC was the unit responsible for keeping the British Army supplied with many of the provisions necessary for the force to function, both during operations and also when not in the field.

Two years later, as a Lance Corporal in 1944, Arthur Battersby was deployed on D-Day +4. He carried this small note, telling him where to go when he landed, and the code name of his rendezvous point: ‘J/K Keats’.

Several days later, using the service-issued postcard (Army Form A 2042), he was permitted to notify his family of his safe arrival, but without giving away any details which might be potentially useful to the enemy.

Such mementos are small yet poignant reminders of the numerous individual stories of the men and women who took part in the invasion of Normandy.​

Images

J Battersby

Publication updated

7 May 2024