Gordon Morton King

ST. MANVIEU WAR CEMETERY, CHEUX IX. A. 3. FRANCE

In June 1944, the 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) crossed the English Channel to join the Battle of Normandy. Operating under the 227th (Highland) Infantry Brigade within the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, the battalion went from staging in England to entering some of the heaviest initial breakout battles against entrenched German forces.
Staging and Embarkation (Early June)

The battalion spent the first half of June finalized in concentration areas across Southern England. While the main Allied D-Day landings occurred on 6 June, the 15th (Scottish) Division was held back as a follow-up force, preparing vehicles and weapons for specialized continental deployment.

Arrival in Normandy (18 June)

On 18 June 1944, the 10th Battalion officially landed on the Normandy beaches (roughly 12 days after D-Day). They moved into assembly positions inland, acclimatising to the dense Norman bocage landscape—marked by thick hedgerows, narrow sunken lanes, and hidden enemy defensive pockets.

Operation Epsom: The Odon Breakthrough (26–30 June)

The battalion’s first major action of the war began on 26 June under Operation Epsom. This major British offensive aimed to outflank and seize the German-occupied city of Caen by breaking through the Axis lines and crossing the Odon River.
• The Advance on Cheux: Advancing alongside Sherman Crab flail tanks, the battalion pushed through intense mortar, artillery, and sniper fire toward the heavily contested village of Cheux.
• The Battle of Mouen (28 June): The battalion pushed south into bitter, close-quarters fighting around Mouen to capture key objectives protecting the flanks of the main advance.
• Casualties: The battalion suffered its first heavy casualties of the Western European campaign during these final days of June, with many men lost to hidden German machine-gun nests and defensive artillery.

King was killed in action at the height of Operation Epsom. His death occurred as the 10th Battalion pushed south into bitter, close-quarters combat to capture and clear the village of Mouen to protect the flanks of the main Allied advance toward the Odon River.

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