Harmon DCM

*Corporal 'Bill' Harmon was Arthur Looker's platoon leader on D-Day. He dedicated his book, In at the Deep End, to Bill.

Extract from interview posted on the BBC's People's War site by William's son, David.

"We had left Cambes — our job to hold that area against seven German divisions had been successful — it allowed the USA and others to move into the Cherbourg Peninsular and port and in an advance from there created the pincer movement of the Falaise Gap. The Germans lost equipment — tanks and guns and 100,000 men. That was the initial move — then we chased them via Rouen into Paris and onwards into Belgium over the Escault canal into Holland. And by Christmas 1944 we were on the borders of Germany. The weather had held up the proceedings, preventing our Planes from getting up."

You can find the full article here, which includes the details of William's time after Normandy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/54/a2870354.shtml

"When C and D Companies emerged from the woods into the heather they were met by MG crossfire. L/Cpl W. Harmon of D Company crawled out into the open under heavy fire and flung two hand grenades into one MG, then rushed it firing his Sten, killed the machine gunners and immediately did the same with the next MG post." Page 120, Monty's Ironsides by Patrick Delaforce

There's a photograph of Cpl Harmon receiving his DCM from Field Marshall Montgomery here