Memories of Communications Sergeant at Lymington ALG

HSS_041 - northern France, Winter of 1945

Herbert Simmons in centre.

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Author: Gareth Owen

An oral history interview with Herbert S Simmons. Interview Date 03.06.14

Herbert Simmons was born in Iowa, USA, 1922. Came to Lymington in April 1944 as a Communications Sergeant. He was based briefly at Lymington Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) with the 81st Fighter Squadron. His role was as part of the ‘directional finding (DF) station’ working to locate lost pilots mainly returning to Lymington ALG from missions. A lost pilot would ‘ping’ a signal that the DF team would receive and record the planes position. This was then plotted on a map and the information and bearings for home would be relayed to the pilot. Herb comments that technology progressed so fast that their manual methods were fast superseded. Herb goes on to talk about his landing at Omaha Beach four days after D-Day.

Photo HSS_035.
Herb sitting on the wing of a Spitfire, northern France 1945. He is holding a 45 Cal “Burp Gun”.

Photo HSS_037. Landing in France D-Day 6 June 1944.
Talks about the landing and seeing hundreds of dead soldiers on the beach.

Photo HSS_039. Plane P47 Thunderbolt “Freda Belle II”.
The pilot’s name was Alex de Graaf. The name of the plane is Freda Belle II, as Freda Belle was Alex’s wife, who he had married just before the War.
Herb is second in from the left.
Tommy Asburry, centre of photo.
Ignatius, wing maintenance man.

Photo HSS_041 Winter of 45.
Herb centre.
Left (Cherokee Indian)