Frederick Stanley (Ken) Adams

**Ken Adams’ service record suggests he enlisted at Devonport as part of the Royal Naval Reserve. His initial rank was Stoker, a role often assigned upon enlistment before being promoted based on training and skill assessments. HMS Implacable was a training ship until its scuttling in 1949, and HMS Medina was a training establishment at Ryde, Isle of Wight, for LCA (Landing Craft Assault) operations. There, crews practiced the critical maneuvers of loading and unloading troops and supplies. Each LCA was manned by four Royal Navy personnel: a coxswain, two seamen, and a stoker. These LCAs were transported aboard both Royal Navy and merchant vessels, such as those assigned to Omaha Beach, where they were lowered into the water roughly a dozen miles offshore before proceeding to their landing zones. The LCAs were deployed via davits and continuously transported men and supplies to the shore, often becoming stranded until the tides allowed them to return. The British flotilla consisted of seven transport ships: Amsterdam, Empire Anvil, Empire Javelin, HMS Prince Baudouin, HMS Prince Charles, HMS Prince Leopard, and Princess Maud.**

**Ken’s D-Day Account**

It was the 70th anniversary trip, and I was standing at the head of Omaha Beach, in the cemetery. I approached Ken, who was standing alone, gazing down at the beach. I asked, “Ken, I understand you were providing armament support to the Americans. Can you tell me anything about your landing here?” His response, with a trickle of a tear in his eyes, was, “I can remember wading ashore and having to climb over a wall of five feet of bodies to get onto the beach.” As soon as the beaches were secured, the priority was pressing inland. In those first harrowing days, fallen soldiers remained where they had fallen—both in the water and along the sand. This tragic reality aligns with Ken’s recollection at Omaha Beach, where he described climbing over the lifeless bodies to deliver armaments for the advancing forces.

**Ken’s Service Details** By piecing together what we know, we strongly believe Ken was involved with landing craft operations and played a role in the Omaha Beach landings on D-Day.