Frank Jowett

In August 1944, the 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (known as the "Tigers") fought in the Normandy breakout and the Allied advance toward the River Seine in northern France. Serving under the 147th Infantry Brigade in the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division ("The Polar Bears"), the reformed battalion had landed in Normandy in early July to replace a heavily depleted unit.

Jowett was killed on August 23rd as the battalion sustained heavy casualties. Despite the Wehrmacht conducting a tactical withdrawal, 23 August 1944 proved to be one of the battalion's costliest single days of the entire North-West Europe campaign. Section-strength reconnaissance patrols probing German rearguard positions ran into fierce resistance, resulting in 22 men killed in action—many of whom are buried at Rocques Churchyard.

Operating alongside the First Canadian Army, the 49th Division held and pushed along the left flank of the Allied offensives running down the Caen–Falaise axis. This pressure helped close the northern jaws of the Falaise Pocket as German forces began retreating eastward.

As the Battle of Normandy concluded and the drive to the Seine began, the battalion advanced across the Calvados region toward Lisieux. On 23 August, the battalion liberated the village of Saint-Désir (northwest of Lisieux) and pushed through nearby Le Fournet.

Following the fighting around Lisieux, the battalion continued its rapid advance northeast toward the River Seine, setting the stage for its September operations to capture the port of Le Havre.