Books photos about executed POWS June 1944

I finally got to view the photos at the tail end of the last page. All very interesting stuff.

I may have already asked, but don't recall asking,,

WHAT were the men (like my Uncle) carrying in terms of POUNDS! Any idea? 100lbs? More?

I know all of these guys had to have been very fit to carry the weight, get at what they needed in a efficiently and in a hurry to what they were carrying, and be able to move quickly and silently ... this all of course has had me wondering for a LONG time now about TRAINING ... (ah come on you guys, you KNEW I was going to get to asking about this part eventually, hey?) I assume that a lot of it was physical training for strength and stamina.

If my Uncle signed on Dec 26, 1941 and wasn't involved in any "actions" then what was he doing for 2 and a half years until heading for Juno Beach? All training? I know he did some training in Canada first, but assume there was a whole lot more in England, and that they would have been trained specifically for D-Day and Normandy (ground combat? is that th right terminology?).

I've read in a couple of places, can't recall where, that the soldiers didn't receive the training they should have, and needed. Is this a fact?

If true, that certainly didn't stop their success in Normandy in spite of that, and all the losses

I don't know if you want to answer any of my questions... or just give me a link to find out for myself

Thanks... Carman