Written and researched by John Slight (nephew)

William (“Bill”) Richardson was born on the 20th of September 1918 in the village of Trimdon Grange, County Durham. He was the second son of Samuel and Annie Richardson (née Carvil). Samuel was a miner (coal hewer) at the local Trimdon Grange colliery, his family having lived in Durham since the 1830s although they originated from the Wigton area of Cumberland. The family moved to Leicestershire in the 1930s but in 1939, it appears that Bill may have been living with relatives and working in Cumberland, as his service record indicates that on enlistment on the 15th of September, his address was “Low Lodge, Cleator, Cumberland”.

He joined the Border Regiment and underwent basic training at the Border Regiment Infantry Training Centre following which he was posted to the 5th (Territorial) Battalion on the 17th of January 1940 as the 42nd Division, including 5th Border and 126th Brigade had just moved to southern England to make its final preparations before joining the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) in France. It may have been not long after this that Bill became the batman to Lieutenant G. Hewetson who had been appointed as Battalion Adjutant. Lieutenant Hewetson would eventually be promoted to the rank of Colonel and go on to become the commanding officer of the 8th (Midland) Parachute Battalion.

Following the invasion of Belgium and France by German forces and the subsequent retreat to Dunkirk, the 5th Border Regiment was ordered to withdraw to the beaches on the 29th of May. Some of the battalion was taken off the beaches on the 1st of June, the remainder embarking for England from the mole. Bill was one of these men. Home defence followed for the next three years. The 5th Battalion was converted to an armoured unit, becoming the 110th Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps. While stationed in Yorkshire during this period, Bill met and married Phyllis Gould.

They subsequently had a son, Denis, who was born in 1943.

However, in October 1943, Bill transferred to the Army Air Corps, as his officer, George Hewtson who had by then risen to the rank of Major had already done so. Bill qualified as a military parachutist on course 93, which ran at RAF Ringway from the 29th of November to the 13th of December 1943. The course notes record that he was: 'Good. Keen but lacking a little in control.' He then joined ‘C’ Company of the 8th Parachute Battalion on the 14th of December 1943 and continued to act as batman to Major Hewetson. The 8th Battalion were billeted at Tilshead camp, on Salisbury Plain. Training was intense for the men of the battalion in the months leading up to D-Day on the 6th of June.

D-Day

On D-1 the Battalion moved from Blakehill Farm Airfield Transit Camp to Blakehill Farm Airfield. The aircraft towing gliders took off first at 22:40 and were then followed at 23:11 by aircraft of A' Flight 271 Squadron. They were carrying the parachutists of ‘A’ Company, ‘C’ Company, Battalion HQ "B" Party of the 8th Battalion and Lt. Marquis and his Royal Army Medical Corps stick (224th Parachute Field Ambulance).

One of Bill’s comrades, Pte. John Russell, provided an account of the flight to Normandy in which he described what happened as the AC47 Dakota crossed the French coast:

"Private Richardson was Major Hewetson's batman & was seated No.2 on the starboard side opposite the open "door". I believe No.4 was Private Cooper (all kit-bag men were seated near the exit.)

It was dark there when we boarded & very little was spoken on the flight (by anyone!). I was No.6. C.Q.M.S. Peters (No.20) came along during the flight, to Pte Donovan who was having problems with his kit-bag; I believe he was No.7 (he was slightly forward of me in the aircraft, not opposite). We approached the French coast - I could see what looked like the Le Havre peninsular & the R. Seine mouth (looking past No.4 & the "door" opening).

A bloke, perhaps No.9, suddenly asked, "What are those flashes?" Someone answered, "Flak." Silence. Then came a tremendous "crack" like a greatly magnified rifle bullet going past. (I presumed it was an 88 shell passing.) Exploding shells could be heard, but their "Karumph"s seemed some distance away - then came a much closer "Karumph" & shortly after a terrifically loud metallic-sounding "Bang" (or "Klang") as a fragment hit nearby.

Richardson gave a short gasp. Silence. Then either No.1 Major Hewetson or No.3 came across, & with No.4 unhooked Pte Richardson. Low voices; then the plane violently switched from side to side as the pilot took evasive action. Damn right slithered off my seat as the kit-bag lurched about. I braced feet & shoulders whilst holding my kit-bag with right hand & pulling No.4's kit-bag against the seat to control that for No.4 was holding Richardson presumably to prevent his body going slipping towards the exit.

The aircraft kept jigging about & all of us were concentrating on first staying seated. Either No.3 or No.5 muttered "Bugger this!" & those were the only words to reach me - otherwise nobody nearby spoke. I don't recall hearing any noise from the wounded man. The plane steadied & the "Red" came on, we stood & waited for the "Green". Richardson was on the floor just ahead of me it seemed. He gave a low moan or groan, then exhaled a sigh, followed by a deeper sigh, that ended in the "death rattle" as his lungs emptied."

The Station's Medical Officer’s report for the Month of June 1944, from RAF Station Record Book, Blakehill Farm reported: 6.6.44 Only 1 plane had any casualties and that was a dead paratrooper who had been hit by S.A.A. (small arms ammunition) before he jumped from the plane. No planes lost. That paratrooper was Bill Richardson.

It appears that he died around 12:50am on the 6th of June and was therefore one of the first British servicemen to be killed in action on D-Day. 

Bill was buried in Watchfield Military Cemetery, near Swindon and his wife added this personal inscription to his headstone "NOT JUST TODAY BUT EVERY DAY IN SILENCE WE WILL REMEMBER. PHYLLIS AND DENIS". He is also commemorated on column number 10 of the D-Day wall at the British Normandy War Memorial, at Vers-Sur-Mer, Normandy.