Corporal Henry D McDermott

Henry D McDermot volunteered for the airborne forces after previously seeing service with The Royal Artillery.

He was parachute jump trained at RAF Ringway on Course 103. This course was conducted from 15 to 28 February 1944. Harry's instructor noted this about his performance: "Good performer, talkative and nervous. Popular with the Section". 

Harry's family believe that he was involved somehow in the D-Day operation, but  don’t know the details. However, they found the following entry by David Woods in "ww2talk" about Pte. Eric W Clitheroe of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company and his involvement in Operation Varsity. This report mentions a list of casualties that Mr. Woods had found, and this list includes an entry ‘3320189 Pte. H D McDermott 24.03.1945 WIA.’. We have other casualty reports for Harry one of which seems to match up with the one mentioned above. His daughters remember him saying that the scars on his knee were results of injuries he received as he was descending by parachute, but they don’t know the date or location of this incident. We know for sure that he was in Honfleur because that is where he met his future wife who lived there. His wife’s younger brother told the family that Harry was fighting in Pont-Audemer where a sniper in a bell tower killed Harry’s colleague.

It is also believed that Harry served in North Africa as he told the story of when he arrived at the camp and gave his name, he was told that a McDermott had left that morning only to find that it was his brother John.  Harry received a Liberation of Norway certificate. His involvement in that operation is unknown. Harry used to tell a short story about being involved in a raid on a hotel in Oslo where they captured German officers, some of which were found in bed with local women.

Harry left the army after the war on 21 April 1946, but because of the lack of work in the UK, he was persuaded by his brother to re-join the army and he was very soon after sent to Korea. Nothing is known about his service in Korea, but it is believed he also spent some time in Japan. His daughters believe that he sold his medals, possibly because of lack of cash after the war.