Herouvillette
Bures-sur-Dives
Juckes Bridge.
8th ABN Battalion Monument.
Bures Bridges Lt. Col. Alastair Pearson
At 03.30 am, the 8th Bn consisted of 140 men commanded by Lt. Col. Pearson could wait no longer and marched with his men into the Bois de Bavent woodland, from where they would proceed to destroy the bridges. To cover his rear he left an ambush of five men and two PIAT's behind to attack any enemy vehicles moving eastwards along the road. Several hours later, a group of vehicles of the 21st Panzer Division approached these men and hastily withdrew after six of their vehicles were subsequently destroyed.
Moving into the woodland, Pearson set up his Headquarters at a crossroads in the Bois de Bavent, thereafter he sent Captain Juckes and his No. 2 Troop, of the 3rd Parachute Squadron, on to Bures to destroy the two bridges. This was achieved by 09:15. Pearson did not know it, but Major Roseveare, the commander of the Squadron, had himself destroyed the bridge at Troarn shortly before dawn. When Juckes returned from Bures, Pearson sent him off to Troarn with 8th Battalion's No. 9 Platoon to deal with this same bridge. The group, having cut their way through several skirmishes most successfully, accounting for a number of enemy dead and prisoners in the process, set about increasing the damage to the bridge before returning to the woods.