D-Day Memories: Lieutenant David Hamlyn Thomas and the 591 Antrim Airborne Squadron Royal Engineers
Lieutenant DH Thomas and his Troop of Sapper Engineers in 1944. Lieutenant DH Thomas is standing at the rear of the group.
This blog tells the D-Day story of Lieutenant DH Thomas of 591 Antrim Airborne Squadron Royal Engineers, as told by his son – Museum volunteer Guy Thomas.
On 6th June 1944, Lieutenant DH Thomas landed in France with an important mission. As a civil engineer and pathfinder, he had been chosen to clear the anti-aircraft poles (known as Hitler’s asparagus) on the ground, to enable Gliders with D-Day troops to land at first light.
During a family camping trip to France, Guy had asked his father about his wartime experiences. He said that he had landed in France via parachute in the darkness with little idea on where he was, due to the poor weather conditions and being dropped ‘off target’, though he was able to gather his troop together and head for the small village of Ranville, close to the drop zone, with Pegasus Bridge just across the river.
Lieutenant DH Thomas had been chosen for the operation as he had recently qualified with a BSc in Civil Engineering from Swansea University. Just 24 years old, he had tried to join the Army but was refused due to being employed in designing underground aircraft factories, a job of ‘national importance’. However, when the newly formed Airborne Division required engineers shortly after, he was a natural fit.
Known as ‘sappers’, the 591 Antrim Airborne Squadron Royal Engineers, 6th Airborne Division were tasked, as ‘pathfinders’ to destroy the guns as well as lending engineer assistance to the assaulting battalion. It didn’t work out that way however, and the Battalion were decimated with casualties and marred by the inaccurate dropping of parachutists.
Despite this lack of defence and against the odds, they eliminated the enemy garrison and destroyed their guns. Guy states that his father understood this was an important mission, ‘Everybody knew it was part of a major initiative, in fact it was going to be the largest seaborne invasion ever’. What they didn’t know was the detail of where they were going to be dropped, until their briefing shortly before take-off.
The weather conditions that prevailed at the time were windy and wet, so to drop them at the operational height required (500 feet) over the drop zone (DZ) and to avoid casualties from gunfire, was quite a challenge for the RAF.
While the Battalion’s mission was taking place, 591 were dropped into the area. The aircraft Lieutenant DH Thomas and his troop parachuted from was a DC3 Dakota, although the aircraft missed the drop zone, they all landed within a reasonable distance, and they were able to shelter in nearby woods and orchards to regroup.
Douglas Dakota Mk. III
Six Douglas Dakotas Mk. III in flight
By 1am, twelve men had been gathered and Lieutenant DH Thomas began to lead the pole clearing operation. Fortunately, the poles were flimsier than expected and there was no need to use explosives to blow them out, instead they could be pulled down by hand. The team worked quickly but cautiously to create four strips running parallel to each other across the fields. At 5am, the Squadron had completed their task and moved to defend their position.
However, having completed their task, due to sparodic enemy gunfire, Lieutenant Thomas had been shot in the shoulder, one of several sappers who had been injured. While not keen to talk about his experiences, he recalled that there was no medical support at 5am as the main invasion had not started. This meant he was bandaged up and temporarily sheltered in a ditch beside a garlic field. (after that experience, he never liked garlic!) At first light the medics shipped him back to the UK to recover from his wound.
Post D-Day and after making a full recovery, Lieutenant DH Thomas made another airborne drop into Norway and helped liberate the Norwegians in Oslo. After the war, 6th Airborne were sent to Palestine where he, ‘lost more of his colleagues than in Normandy.’ He remained modest about his actions despite his young children pestering him with questions. After the war he returned to work as a Chartered Civil Engineer, the war acting as an interlude in a successful career.
Energetic and active throughout his life, in his eighties Lieutenant DH Thomas fell out of a tree while trying to remove a beehive. Airborne training still instilled within him, he executed a drop and roll and managed to avoid breaking any bones.
His son Guy keeps the RAF story alive by volunteering at the Museum as a tour guide. Keep an eye out for him on your next visit to our London site!
Sources:
www.pegasusarchive.org.uk
First-hand interview with Guy Thomas
Image Credits:
Crew: Guy Thomas
Dakota fleet: RAF Museum
Dakota: RAF Museum
