Leslie Albert Fisher

Lance Bombardier 6031974 Leslie Albert Fisher 11th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery died 13th July 1944 in Normandy aged 22

Leslie was born 21st June 1922 to Elsie Fisher at Foxboro’ Farm, Stock where her father was working. No father is mentioned on the birth certificate. The date of his birth was Elsie’s 26th Birthday and she was employed as a domestic servant.

When the 1939 register was prepared he was living with his grandparents Albert and Laura Fisher at Maynard Cottage near the Whalebone Public House in Wickford Road, South Woodham Ferrers, now known as Old Wickford Road and working as an improver carpenter which probably meant that he was learning the trade without taking a formal apprenticeship.. His mother Elsie was living in Maldon and employed as a cook although the entry gives her correct date of birth except for the year quoting 1901 rather than 1896.

At some stage Leslie joined the army and served in 11th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery which, until December 1942, had been the 9th Battalion, Essex Regiment.

The regiment was organised with a Regimental Headquarters and P and Q Batteries which were re designated 85 and 86 Medium Batteries from January 1943. Each battery consisted of eight guns divided into two troops of new 5.5 inch guns. The regiment’s training was carried out by 59th(4th West Lancashire) Medium Regiment. The new regiment was then assigned to 9th Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) and continued with training and exercises.

In October 1943 the 9th AGRA was assigned to 21st Army Group preparing for the Allied invasion of Normandy. In April 1944 the regiment was ordered to its Overlord concentration area in the New Forest.

On 6th June 1944 Operation Overlord the Allied landings in Normandy commenced and on 6th July the regiment was ordered to The London Docks where they sailed from West India Dock and landed at Arromanches in Normandy between 12th and 15th July using the Mulberry Harbour that had been constructed there. The regiment fired its first rounds in anger several days later but Leslie was not to see action as he died on 13th July. He was subsequently buried at the Bayeux War Cemetery where more than 4,000 Commonwealth service men are buried of whom 338 are unidentified. It is unclear what Leslie’s cause of death was although a newspaper reported that he was killed in action and that he was the son of Elsie Fisher of Maynard Cottage, South Woodham.

Elsie died in 1991 at the age of 95. Albert predeceased Leslie dying in 1943 aged 74 and was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard, Woodham Ferrers on 3rd April. Laura died on 7th December 1945 in hospital in Colchester aged 75. The death certificate is in the name of Lorenza Fisher also known as Laura Calenda Fisher.

Mulberry Harbour

Two Mulberry Harbours were planned for the Allied Invasion of Normandy, one to be sited at Omaha Beach Mulberry A for the Americans and Mulberry B at Arromanches, Gold Beach for the Commonwealth forces part of which can be seen here. These were to provide temporary deep water port facilities until the Allies were able to gain a more permanent harbour.

They were both up and running within days of the landings but unfortunately Mulberry A was irreparably damaged during a storm on 19th June. Mulberry B continued for ten months landing up to 7,000 tons of supplies and vehicles per day. The statistics are staggering, it is said that during the ten months 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of supplies were landed through Mulberry B.

One of the iconic parts of the Mulberry Harbours was the caissons code named Phoenixes which were huge concrete constructions designed to be floated across the Channel and sunk to provide breakwaters for the harbours. Not all of them made it to there destination and one can be seen at Thorpe Bay and is now a scheduled monument and can be seen in this picture. Remnants of Mulberry B can still be seen at Arromanches.