Introduction

This website is dedicated to the 160 or so men of the Royal Air Force 1st Echelon of 21 BDS (Base Defence Sector) who landed at about 5.00pm on D-Day, 6 June 1944, on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.

The inspiration for this website came from the discovery of a diary that my father, Squadron Leader Norman Best, had written during the short time he was seconded to 21 BDS.  I only discovered the diary following the death of my mother in 2004 whilst clearing her effects.

Like many men who serve their country, those who fought in World War 2 did not like to talk about their experiences. This was certainly the case for my father who, despite winning the Military Cross in Normandy, never gave his family any narrative as to how he had won it.

The popular view of Omaha Beach was that it was an exclusively American beach landing.  Not so.  But it was certainly the place where the heaviest casualties occurred during that momentous day all those years ago. No wonder it has been dubbed “Bloody Omaha”.

Any brief summary of what happened on Omaha Beach would not have space to record the tiny but significant contribution that the RAF made to the ultimate success of that landing.  Indeed, even the most authoritative book on the subject, by historian Joseph Balkoski, does not find space to recount the misfortunes which the small RAF Radar and Signals Team encountered. However, this website and the excellent Mark Felton YouTube film seek to redress this.

On p.340 of Mr Balkoski’s book “Omaha Beach D-Day June 6, 1944” (paperback, 2006 edition, published by Stackpole Books) you will find a photograph of the aftermath of D-Day on June 7, D+1. It shows the wreckage of a US Sherman tank and a collection of burnt-out trucks. The trucks shown in the photograph were some of the RAF Radar vehicles which were destroyed by mortar and gunfire as the RAF men arrived.

It is also the main photograph above the Introduction to this website and is such a poignant memorial to the eleven men who died and the thirty-seven who were injured when they came ashore at D-Day.

And yet, the story of the team known as 15082 GCI, and the other RAF and Army units who landed with them, is important historically and needs telling.

This website, together with the Memorial located at Vierville-sur-Mer, which was organised by D-Day veteran Les Dobinson and produced by a Franco-Dutch Group called “Deep Respect” with the help of the Vierville townspeople, is a lasting memorial to all of those who landed with the RAF on Omaha Beach.

Our research has led to us to contact many experts and other men who were actually on Omaha Beach either on 6 June or subsequently.  It has been a wonderful and moving experience too, to meet the wives, sons and daughters of those veterans who have passed away.

With their help, and particularly the assistance given to me by David Heathcote and Ron Muggleton, this website seeks to explain why they were there and what became of them during D-Day and beyond.  It is not a complete story and I hope that it will continue to expand as more information becomes available.