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I’ve always been amused that either SSgt Wallworth or SSgt Ainsworth were the first allied  man to touch French soil on June 6, and the deciding factor is simply which unconscious body thrown through the windshield of the glider managed to hit the ground first.

It took them less time to take both bridges than it took me to watch this video. Extremely efficient assault and capture.

15:00 “we’re here, piss off” 🤣🤣

Imagine playing someone in a movie about an event that you yourself participated in and you’re not playing yourself but someone else that you knew. That’s gotta be a bizarre feeling.

"Hold until relieved." - Major John Howard played by Richard Todd - The Longest Day (1962)

Those glider pilots don't get enough recognition for their incredible navigation and flying skills.

14:20 - Minor point - A platoon is never leaderless.... This is a basic point of military organisation. Platoon Sergeant immediately took over - it is a command chain. The Chain is never broken, even if a Senior private takes over.

Richard Todd played Major Howard in the longest day.  I’m real life he was a soldier taking part in the operation.  He was offered to act his real part and declined saying he was too old for that but could be major howard

It's amazing what the Allied Forces did to pull this off. In less than a year the war in Europe was over.

One story a guide told Normandy told me was that Soviet advisors arrived to D-Day a few months after the landing. They asked the British why they moved the gliders at Pegasus so close to the German fortifications after the battle, and were told that those were the landing sites.

The Pegasus Bridge mission if first Call of Duty! Anyone remembers that?

Great video, as always!

Fantastic video, my great uncle Frank Leonard was in number 2 glider during this operation :) later killed during operation varsity. I Went to Pegasus bridge last year for D-Day 80 and it was great to see in the flesh

Great video as always

I'm watching this on Memorial Day, 2026 in the US.  Even though these were British rather than American troops, it shows the courage and resilience of the Allies.  The greatest generation on both sides of the Atlantic.  Thank you!

Glider borne troops are tough, brave , quick and crazy. Basically you are crash landing in the enemy’s backyard in a flimsy glider. Then engage the enemy regardless of your condition after the crash with limited supplies.

2:19 Cafe Gondree is still there and (I believe) run by their daughter

It's amazing those gliders could get off the ground with the sheer weight of bollocks they were carrying.

I was lucky enough to work with Billy Gray in the 1990’s. He was a brilliant man. After they hit the ground they were all knocked out for a few moments. Billy was woken up by Major Howard banging him on his helmet with his Sten and shouting ‘gun out!’. Billy was first out as he had the Bren (the biggest gun they had).

I wouldn't exactly call it a "raid". What characterizes something as a raid is that you don't stick around after you've achieved your objective. You do not take and hold ground in a raid. You get in, you achieve an objective of some sort (probably involving doing some sort of damage), and then you leave. But in this operation they captured ground and then held on to it.

Jim Wallwork came over from Canada in 2005 for the 60th Anniversary commemoration. There was a ceremony on the seafront at Arromanche and he was interviewed for BBC television.
He looked very smart in a blue blazer with his medals and regimental crest on the breast pocket and wearing a regimental tie.
The interviewer, can't remember his name but it might have been David Dimbleby - was walking alongside S.Sgt Wallwork as the cameraman dollied backward.
Asked how he'd managed to achieve such a precise landing he turned his head to check and see if anybody could hear and said "Between you and me we were bloody lucky!" - the man was being broadcast on British national television and was worried in case somebody might hear!
After the war a bronze bust of Major Howard was erected on the site and marker slabs placed where the gliders landed. They were unbelievably close.
The video almost makes it seem like they just crewed up and flew off on their mission - there were 42 practice landings carried out back in England before D-Day. They were lucky but most of it was down to skillful piloting.
The comment about visibility is interesting because Wallwork's own account says: "Halfway down the crosswind leg I could see it all, the river and the canal like strips of silver in the moonlight. Visibility was good- the temptation to fly in was forgotten as training, training and more training took over."
For the full account of Deadstick from Jim Wallwork's point of view, in his own words, take a look at:
https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663334-ssgt-jim-wallwork-dfm-pilot-of-the-first-glider-to-land-at-pegasus-bridge-recounts-his-personal-story