| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | PR00453 |
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | 1 wallet: 1 cm. |
| Object type | Memoir |
| Maker |
Petry, Thomas Joseph |
| Place made | Australia |
| Date made | 1973 |
| Access | Open |
| Related File This file can be copied or viewed via the Memorial’s Reading Room. | AWM371 94/0831 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Petry, Thomas Joseph (Sub-Lieutenant, b.1924 - d.1989)
Description
'The Beach: a Short Story' was written by Petry in the earlier 1970s after a visit back to Normandy. The story reminisces about taking part in the D-Day landing on June 6 1944. The story describes taking part in intensive exercises, practising beach landings, loading the ships with tanks and young infantrymen, the bad weather they encountered on the way to France, navigating to the landing site, the tanks and troops disembarking, the beach being alive with tanks, soldiers, explosions, guns and smoke, and how the beach is now deserted and unchanged and the hope that the beach remains unchanged.