The 6th Airborne Division was dropped on D-Day in June 1944 in Normandy, fighting on the left flank of the bridgehead under command of I Corps.
The Division landed by air (parachute and glider) in the early hours of 6th June to capture the bridges across the River Orne and Caen Canal between Caen and the sea. It achieved these objectives including what later became known as “Pegasus Bridge” at Bénouville during the night. The Division held its ground for a week following D Day and later advanced eastward along the coast capturing Pont Audemar on the River Lisle on 26th August. The Division was in continuous action from 6th June to 26th August sustaining losses of 821 KIA and 2,709 WIA.
(Major General RN Gale).
3rd Parachute Brigade.
8th (Midland Counties) Bn. The Parachute Regiment.
9th (Home Counties) Bn. The Parachute Regiment.
1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.
5th Parachute Brigade.
7th (Light Infantry) Bn. The Parachute Regiment.
12th (Yorkshire) Bn. The Parachute Regiment.
13th (Lancashire) Bn. The Parachute Regiment.
6th Airlanding Brigade.
12th Bn. The Devonshire Regiment.
2nd Bn. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
1st Bn. The Royal Ulster Rifles.
Divisional Troops.
6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps.
22nd Independent Parachute Company, The Parachute Regiment.
53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery.
3rd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery.
4th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery.
2nd Airlanding Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery.
2nd Forward Observation Unit (Airborne), Royal Artillery.
3rd Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers.
591st Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers.
249th (East Anglia) Airborne Field Company, Royal Engineers.
286th Airborne Field Park Company, Royal Engineers.
6th Airborne Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals.
224th Parachute Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
225th Parachute Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
195th Airlanding Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
716th Airborne Light Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
63rd Airborne Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
398th Airborne Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
6th Airborne Divisional Workshop, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.
6th Airborne Divisional Ordnance Field Park, Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
6th Airborne Divisional Provost Company, Corps of Military Police.
317th Field Security Section (Airborne), Intelligence Corps.