HISTORICAL CONTEXT

3rd Armoured Battalion, Irish Guards, Guards Armoured Division embarked on 1 July 1944 and landed on Gold Beach, east of Arromanches on 2 July 1944.

They established their base at Saint-Martin-des-Entrées. Their first engagement was in Operation Goodwood which was fought to the east of Caen. As they were probing forwards near Cagny on the first day of the offensive they encountered a 70 ton German Tiger II tank.

During the engagement he had his head out of the turret and he was decapitated when he was hit by a shell from the Tiger II tank.