AS a young able seaman on board the cruiser HMS Wild Goose, George Atkins knew something was up in those late spring months of 1944, but not quite what.

In the first week of May, Wild Goose had been recalled to the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow for its boilers to be cleaned and a general overhaul in preparation for a major operation.

"We then started doing war exercises not knowing at the time that it was preparation for the Normandy landings," said George, who is now 82 and lives in Canterbury Road, Worcester.

The cruiser was one of six making up the famed 2nd Support Group. All were named after birds - Woodpecker, Starling, Wren, Magpie and Woodcock were the others - and all had been specially built to detect and sink U-boats.

Between June 1, 1943 and March 13, 1945, while protecting British convoys, the group sank 26 U-boats and never lost a ship.

In the middle of May, '44, the cruisers were ordered to proceed to Moefle Bay, off Anglesey.

"Assembled at Moefle Bay were approximately 40 escort vessels doing exercises as a group," George added.

"Everyone was waiting for the word to open the Orders, which were in sealed boxes so that no one knew what was about to happen.

"Eventually the word came to go, but on June 5 the weather was so bad with gale force winds, the invasion was cancelled for 24 hours.

"The next day, 40 Escort set out to patrol the English Channel, along with about 350 Allied aircraft, to make sure the U-boats stayed below the surface so they couldn't make so much headway.

"By the time the Germans realised the main landings were committed to Normandy, the Western approaches escorts and aircraft had established a deep line of patrols from Ushant to the Scilly Isles.

"We did this patrol for approximately one month and during that time 10 U-boats were sunk by ships or aircraft using different methods.

"By dropping depth charges and bombs from aircraft at intervals, it seemed as though the Germans knew they could not succeed in getting through our defences and it appeared they gave up.

"At this stage we were told to proceed to Liverpool for a ship's boiler clean and overall refit."

However, dropping depth charges was not always so successful.

"On one occasion, at the sinking of U264, we dropped 200 charges and they dodged every one," said George.

The U-boat was eventually sunk some time later when it surfaced.

During the D-Day Landings, 2nd Support Group was led by the charismatic Captain Frederick John Walker, a triple DSO, who collapsed three weeks after D-Day from a stroke brought on by exhaustion. He died on July 5, 1944, in Liverpool Hospital.

In the 21 days following D-Day, his cruisers sank six U-boats and played an invaluable part in protecting the landing forces from nautical ambush.