Lieutenant Norman Bradshaw

Lieutenant Norman Bradshaw was the Cipher Officer of 6th Airborne Divisional Signals. He was born in Liverpool on the 18th January 1923, the son of John and Sarah (nee Kenworthy). He enlisted at Prestatyn on the 29th January 1942, shortly after his 19th birthday, and received the army number 2384893. He was first posted to 2nd Depot Battalion, Royal Corps of Signals, and following basic training went to Catterick on the 3rd July 1942 to join Increment Company, 1st Operators Training Battalion, 1st Signal Training Centre. While here he was posted to 150 Officer Cadet Training Unit, and was granted an emergency commission on the 16th March 1943. As a 2nd Lieutenant, Bradshaw was posted to No.3 Intelligence School, Holding Wing, on the 7th April 1943. Having seen a notice calling for volunteers for the newly formed 6th Airborne Division, he joined 6th Airborne Divisional Signals on the 21st May 1943, and later completed Parachute Course 114 at Ringway, which ran from the 30th April to 15th May 1944. He parachuted into Normandy on the 6th June 1944; Captain Windrum recorded that he had "a photograph of a large glider nose up-ended which made a cosy den for our cipher officer Norman Bradshaw". At a later date, Bradshaw was forced to declare that the slidex and codes had been compromised when he found an unattended vehicle and equipment, declaring "I had to compromise the whole bloody lot". He later accompanied the 6th Airborne Division to the Ardennes and Holland before taking part in the Rhine Crossing on the 24th March 1945. The glider in which he flew crashed and all but himself and several others aboard were killed. Badly injured, he was discovered in a ditch several days later by his Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Bradley. His service record noted that he was "dangerously ill", and spent over a year recovering in several hospitals. He relinquished his Commission on account of his disability on the 19th November 1946, and was granted the Honorable rank of Lieutenant. He married Daphne Day-Lewis, and led a long and successful life until he passed away in January 2001. Copyright: Mike Bradshaw.

Believed to be 150 Officer Cadet Training Unit, 1942/43. Norman Bradshaw is third from the right on the middle row. Copyright: Mike Bradshaw.