D-Day 6 June 1944
Arthur Agar was born in Leadgate in 1925 and joined up in March 1943 at the age of 17. These are largely his reminiscences. My Mam, Dad (Arthur) and I revisited the Normandy beaches in 1987. We were going to go in 1984 but once my Dad heard that Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were going it took him three years to get over it. Arthur Agar (Dad) “I enlisted at Formby, Lancashire on March 18th 1943.
This was the depot of the East Lancs Regiment and the Kings Own Liverpool Regiment. After Formby I was transferred to Hadrian’s Camp at Carlisle to train as a wagon driver. I met Billy Millhouse, who was a builder from Consett. He was a driving instructor at the Camp and I passed first time with a commendation. His family also had the Mermaid fish and chip shop in Seymour Street in Consett.
There was a real shortage of fat at this time so Billy used to ‘borrow’ fat from the cookhouse and I used to take it to the Consett fish and chip shop. This suited me because I was getting leave every weekend. I also visited Uncle Alf and Aunt Nora in London Road, Carlisle.
“On Sunday night we always went to the Pentecostal chapel in Carlisle. There was a great sing-a-long and we got a free supper. (See photo below) – Arthur and comrades at the Penticostal Chapel in Carlisle on a Sunday evening, Arthur 3rd from the right 2nd row May 1943
After Carlisle I was posted to Gloucester where we transported ammunition and supplies to all the anti-aircraft defence camps throughout Gloucestershire. We were stationed at Quigley Court, a big house in its own grounds. We stocked up the ammunition dump adjoining Cheltenham racecourse.
I moved on to Cornwall, to Truro, and we spent our first night over-run with rats in an old church hall. From there we went to Skegness to form a new company and receive a fleet of new wagons ready to start on our invasion training. After getting our new Canadian Dodges, an all-steel truck with hydraulic tipping gear and a gun turret on the passenger side, we moved to Brentwood in Essex.
We were under canvas in Epping Forest and went to the local lunatic asylum for a weekly bath. We were sealed in behind barbed wire and started waterproofing all our vehicles and we knew it wouldn’t be long to the invasion. We were issued with French money.” (See below)
This card was sent to the families of the invasion force shortly after D-Day.
Brewing Up on D-Day
Consett Guardian June 1984
An old soldier today thought back to how he was served a mug of hot tea minutes after landing on the beaches of Normandy. Arthur Agar who represents Consett on Durham County Council was speaking on the 40th anniversary of the D- Day landings. The Labour member recalled: “I was with an advance party of the 26th Tipper Company and had been at sea on board the American ship S.S. William Carson before a landing craft took us to the beaches. “When we landed there was plenty of stuff lying around. It was pretty scary. We made our way up the beach when a voice shouted “Do you want a cup of tea, Geordie?” Dug in and brewing up was a soldier with the Border Regiment. He obviously recognised the accent. “It was foul-looking stuff but having been at sea for so long it tasted like champagne. “I don’t often talk about the war years. But every time I tell that story people chuckle. I’ll never forget the D-Day landings.”
Raymond
When we went back to Normandy in June 1987 my dad had a really good recollection of what had happened in those first weeks. Almost immediately we found the beach where he had landed. Most of the beaches were flat and so looked very similar but the beach on which my dad (Arthur Agar) landed was just to the left of the only headland near Arromanche. The road which led off the beach was also remembered and the fact that the first night was spent in an orchard. After a fruitless search for the orchard we carried on up the hill to a crossroads where my dad described solemnly how the soldier guiding the traffic was killed by a sniper.
Around the corner was a farm and suddenly my dad had disappeared, to reappear with more excitement in his face than I had ever seen before. He had found the barn where he had slept on the second night.
After these spectacular discoveries we went searching for a hill where my dad had watched the docks in Caen being bombed by the Allies. Unfortunately, despite ascending dozens of hills we couldn’t find the hill concerned.
Dad had received a new lease of life from this historic visit. This was particularly important to us all as he passed away only 3 years later.
Arthur’s War Record
After the successful invasion on D-Day Arthur took his truck across northern France, through Belgium and Holland and was then billeted in Germany until 1947. Arthur had a great respect for the people of all the countries he visited but it was the Germans, in particular, who he respected. He learnt the language and made friends, particularly with the girls!
