The heroic story of CSM Stan Hollis - the only man to win the Victoria Cross on D-Day
On one of the most important days in military history, one British soldier distinguished himself in action, becoming the only person to be awarded the Victoria Cross that day.
Company Sergeant Major Stan Hollis was deployed during the first wave of the Normandy Landings on Gold Beach with 6th Battalion the Green Howards at 07:32 on 6 June 1944.
During the operation he managed to save the lives of his men while simultaneously eliminating a heavily defended German position - actions and heroism that would win him the only Victoria Cross awarded on D-Day.
The 31-year-old former Merchant Navy serviceman and Dunkirk veteran was no stranger to combat before the invasion of France.
A year earlier in 1943, CSM Hollis took part in the invasion of Sicily and was wounded during the Battle for Primasole Bridge.
During the D-Day landings, he was wounded once again when he burnt his hand on the barrel of a machine gun whilst returning fire on a German bunker.
He later said that was the worst wound he received during the war.
His objective was to destroy a German artillery position known as the Fleury Battery, located in the village of Ver-sur-Mer.
In his way was a series of machine gun nests and pillboxes, which CSM Hollis and his men were assigned to neutralise.
During the mission, he was able to reach one pillbox, climb on top of it and throw a grenade into the machine gun slits. He then proceeded to kick in the door and capture the surviving German soldiers inside.
Before the end of his mission, he captured another German bunker on his own after reaching it through a trench.
In the aftermath of this first engagement, 30 prisoners had been captured by CSM Hollis.
Despite already accomplishing an important objective, the Green Howards were deployed back into combat at 11:00 that day.
After their Commanding Officer was killed in action, CSM Hollis became acting commander of 16 Platoon.
Armed with a PIAT spigot mortar, he and two of his men armed with Bren guns advanced on the heavily defended position.
When German fire pinned down his comrades, CSM Hollis once again advanced on his own and this time used the Bren himself.
He distracted the German soldiers long enough for his men to withdraw safely.
These two incidents led to CSM Hollis becoming the only recipient of the Victoria Cross as a result of his actions on D-Day.
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