Memorial to Stanley Hollisof 6th Battalion of the Green Howards.
Stanley Hollis's cabin VC
"Shortly after 7:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944, the 6th Battalion of the Green Howards, which was engaged with the first assault wave, landed here on French soil, Gold Beach (King Green sector). This building, a stop on a small railway line that ran along the coast, was mistaken for a German pillbox by the assaulting troops. Company Adjutant Stanley Hollis, of Company D, later recalled "as we approached the beach, I cleared a Lewis machine gun from the floor of the landing craft, reassembled it, then emptied the entire magazine onto the pillbox".
During the fighting on D-Day, Company Warrant Officer Hollis was awarded the only Victoria Cross awarded that day. He earned it for two acts of supreme bravery. The first for "clearing" a pillbox and several trenches north of Ver-sur-mer, and the second for rescuing his men caught under enemy fire in the village of Crépon. His citation ends as follows: "Wherever the fighting was at its fiercest, Company Adjutant Hollis appeared, and throughout a magnificent day's work he displayed the utmost bravery, and on two separate occasions his courage and initiative prevented the enemy from containing the advance at critical moments. It was largely due to his heroism and potential that the company's objectives were achieved and casualties were no higher. Through his courage he saved the lives of many of his men."
By nightfall, the Greens Howards had fought through the villages of Crépon and Creully then penetrated further inland that day than any similar Allied unit.
This building is dedicated to the memory of Company Warrant Officer Stanley Hollis VC and the men of the 6th and 7th Battalions of the Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment of the Princess of Wales Alexandra) who landed here on D-Day in 1944.
It was purchased and renovated by the Regiment in 2006."
Photo credit Julie Grasset.
Memorial to Stanley Hollisof 6th Battalion of the Green Howards.Stanley Hollis's cabin VC Shortly after 7:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944, the 6th Battalion of the Green Howards, which was engaged with the first assault wave, landed here on French soil, Gold Beach (King Green sector). This building, a stop on a small railway line that ran along the coast, was mistaken for a German pillbox by the assaulting troops. Company Adjutant Stanley Hollis, of Company D, later recalled as we approached the beach, I cleared a Lewis machine gun from the floor of the landing craft, reassembled it, then emptied the entire magazine onto the pillbox. During the fighting on D-Day, Company Warrant Officer Hollis was awarded the only Victoria Cross awarded that day. He earned it for two acts of supreme bravery. The first for clearing a pillbox and several trenches north of Ver-sur-mer, and the second for rescuing his men caught under enemy fire in the village of Crépon. His citation ends as follows: Wherever the fighting was at its fiercest, Company Adjutant Hollis appeared, and throughout a magnificent day's work he displayed the utmost bravery, and on two separate occasions his courage and initiative prevented the enemy from containing the advance at critical moments. It was largely due to his heroism and potential that the company's objectives were achieved and casualties were no higher. Through his courage he saved the lives of many of his men. By nightfall, the Greens Howards had fought through the villages of Crépon and Creully then penetrated further inland that day than any similar Allied unit. This building is dedicated to the memory of Company Warrant Officer Stanley Hollis VC and the men of the 6th and 7th Battalions of the Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment of the Princess of Wales Alexandra) who landed here on D-Day in 1944. It was purchased and renovated by the Regiment in 2006.Photo credit Julie Grasset.
