VISIT TO NORMANDY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25561, 14 June 1944, Page 5

VISIT TO NORMANDY

MR CHURCHILL WTH TROOPS GENERAL SMUTS IN PARTY (Rec. 7 p.m.i RUGBY, June 12. Mr Churchill, General Eisenhower, and other Allied leaders have visited the Normandy beach-head. Mr Churchill was accompanied by General Smuts and General Sir Alan Brooke General Eisenhower landed at 11-l< a.m, to-day, and for five hours toiired the American sector with Admiral E. J. King, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Fleets; General Marshall, United States Chief of Staff; and General H. Arnold, Commanding General of the U.S.A.A.F. „ Mr Churchill landed from a duck, followed by General Smuts and General Brooke. Soldiers were taken by surprise, but when they saw the Trinity House tie, black‘cigar, the forefingers of the right hand raised in the V sign, the cry quickly went round: “ It’s Churchill.” He was soon followed by a cheering crowd. He spent seven hours with the men, watching troops and supplies being landed. While being driven through a village,, Mr Churchill noticed a large German propaganda poster showing him as an octopus enslaving Europe. Mr Churchill spent two extremely busy hours in the battle zone, and had lunch in’General Montgomery’s caravan, after which he had a 30-minute secret conference. Then Mr Churchill drove to headquarters and conferred at length with General Montgomery and his staff.

When the conference broke up Mr Churchill, standing near headquarters, saw a German plane, flying at,a great height, streak in from the sea and drop a stick of bombs across shipping lying at anchorage. Three great plumes of water shot up, and then the anti-air-craft batteries opened up. Two Spitfires suddenly appeared and got on the German’s tail, and within a few minutes the enemy dived to earth, a flaming mass. Mr Churchil Hater visited the troops and spoke to men who.were unloading stores on the beaches. He received rousing cheers wherever he went. He saw large formations of British and American bombers flying towards the German lines. Later he boarded H.M.S. Kelvin and cruised around battleships, cruisers, and monitors while they bombarded shore targets, and he stood on Kelvin’s bridge when she joined in the firing. Mr Churchill’s party left England just after dawn with H.M.S. Scourge as an escort. , Mr Churchill, -General Smuts, and Sir Alan Brooke stood on the bridge wearing lifejackets. H.M.S. Glasgow passed Kelvin with the crew wildly waving, and overhead endless streams of bomber formations were going to France.