History of the British Army postal service bawling through a megaphone at each ship "Are you carrying mail?". This system remained in place until the Mulberry Harbours at Arromanches were established to allow mails to be docked more formally. The 6 Airborne Division Postal Unit RE (commanded by Captain JCG Hine RE and as a unit accompanied the Division on its airborne drops during the night of 5/6 June 1944), and the Beach Group APO S698 made the first despatch from Normandy on D+2 (8 June 1944). The main Base Army Post Office (No 8) arrived in theatre on D+10 (16 June 1944) and established itself in
Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy D-Day landings, it is not possible to determine the exact number involved. However, it has been estimated that about 3,000 Australian military personnel and merchant seamen participated in the operation. The total number of Australians killed on 6 June was 14, of whom 12 were RAAF airmen and two were members of the RAN. The fighting in Normandy continued until August 1944, when the Allies broke out of the region and rapidly advanced to the German border. This campaign dominated the activities of eight of the ten Australian squadrons in the UK, as well as most of the airmen posted