Story: HMC Landing Craft Infantry, Large

The Character of an HMC Landing Craft Infantry, Large (LCI(L)

By David J. Lewis, Kit Lewis and Len Birkenes

Troops coming ashore from Landing ships, during Operation Fabius, an invasion

exercise in Britain, 5 May 1944. Photo Credit - The Observation Post

Introduction: The following short story is found in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945, Volume 2, written and edited by David and Catherine Lewis, and Len Birkenes. Only the first two paragraphs are written as they appear in the book.

The Character of an HMC Landing Craft Infantry, Large (LCI(L)

It was LCI(L) 311, nicknamed by her crew The Gook.* If it had not been for Churchill's political manoeuvring she might never have been seen in European waters. As it was, her kind was turned out by the dozen in American shipyards.** Had it not been for Pearl Harbour, we might just turn up our noses at the likes of her being classified as a "ship". As my only appointment as a Captain, how can I classify my feelings about having been Captain of LCI(L) 311?

She had metal plates welded together to make up 159 feet, nine inches length by 23 feet of war vessel breadth. She was really a hull-wise assembly of steel boxes welded together. Some of these boxes could be used for diesel fuel or water storage. A pair of four Grey Diesel engine assemblies drove her two variable pitch propellers. The engines always turned outwards but they would push forwards, pull back or just spin the prop, depending on the bias of the pitch applied in the engine room to the propellor blades. The long waiting period for the pitch to change from ahead to astern was another of the hazards in ship handling which accounted for many bumps coming alongside.

Illustration and details as found in St. Nazaire to Singapore, page 220

Captain Lewis goes on to describe the craft's profile, "gangways that allowed the hundreds of military men she would carry to invasion beaches to descend to the shore", armaments, and the winch and kedge anchor system "which would pull the craft off the beach when it came time to leave". The camouflage paint scheme gave the LCI(L) "a menacing profile reminiscent of a Sea Serpent, in particular the Loch Ness Monster." Lewis adds that US ships were painted battleship grey, "much less stimulating".

He remarks on her seaworthiness. It was "splendid once she was at speed" in coastal waters but because of her flat bottom and shallow draft, she was a pain to steer out at sea on a windy day. "Her bow tended to wander off downwind," he says. More weight would have been helpful, like "200 pongos sitting around on board".

The Gook's crew is mentioned (RCNVR, 2 - 3 officers, 21 other ranks). "We were gathered from the length and breadth of Canada. The Chief Engineer.... was a Newfie". Names are listed, i.e., Lt. Jack Anderson, Lt. Ian Barclay, Coxswain James Cameron*, Chief Engineer Philemon Haggett, Chief Motor Mechanic David Williams, "Fuzzy" Houston, Gilbert, Murray Baker, Everett Smith, Hadesbeck, Kindersley, Prouk, Sig (Ken) Shepherd, T.O. Glen Parks, ABs (Able Bodied Seamen) Bears, Lallemand and Nick Sparks Lawson.

*Coxswain (helmsman, torpedo coxswain) James Cameron

Photo credit: James' son, Dan Cameron

Lewis writes that the practice of naming the Canadian landing craft went back to the first craft (Little Joe, Wave of Destruction) that were used during "the first big exercises we participated in on the beach of Troon, Ayrshire in the spring of 1942". We learn that a name became known informally in the beginning and "was a surprise to the officers, nearly but not always welcome". And an insignia was often "developed and painted by the crew's natural artist", with a notable exception recalled.   

Illustrations and details as found in St. Nazaire to Singapore, page 222

How did The Gook come by its name? LCI(L) 311 was described as a "benign, amiable and reliable gnome on the ocean waves.... except when approaching immovable objects at speed". Were crew members thinking of The Schmoos from the Lil Abner cartoon strip?

 Photo Credit - Al Capp's Shmoo Comics

The full account of LCI(L) 311 (and others receive mention) can be found St. Nazaire to Singapore, Pages 220 - 222.

*In the first "Combined Operations" book edited by Clayton Marks, the D-Day and Normandy log and statistics of LCI(L) 311 appear, pp 141 - 150. The log which Jewell Marks (Clayton's wife) was to transcribe was found in one of LCI(L) 311's storage spaces. The Gook had been tied up for some time in New Zealand. The log was brought to Canada by a friend of Clayton's. It was written by the late LT. Jack Anderson, RCNVR, The Gook's Number 1.

**As well, the following information about LCI(L)s was found at Landing Craft Infantry, Large:

Under a contract let during FY 1940, New York Shipbuilding designed and built 48 examples of the LCI(L), an odd-looking 216-ton displacement, 158'-6" landing craft capable of carrying 188 troops right to the beach. All 48 were built in the cavernous covered shipway "O", with several building simultaneously along its 800' length. They were delivered to the Navy between October 1942 and February 1943 and commissioned as numbers 1 through 48. A second contract which would have covered numbers 49 through 60 was cancelled, but plans provided by New York Ship were used by several smaller shipyards (Consolidated Steel, Lawley & Sons, and New Jersey Shipbuilding among them) to build nearly 900 more. Some 14 of the Yorkship LCI(L)s were later conveyed to Britain under Lend-Lease. Most of the remainder survived the war to be struck from the Navy list in 1946, though LCI(L)-01, -20, and -32 were lost in action.

Please link to Story: The Craft of Landing

Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 3 (1)

My Dad's Navy Days, 1941 - 1945

By G. A. Harrison

Doug Harrison (left), Buryl McIntyre outside Wellington Barracks,
HMCS Stadacona in Halifax, 1941. Photo credit - D. Harrison

Introduction: I will be making a presentation in November, 2016 regarding my father's WW2 service with the RCNVR and Combined Operations organization, including information about raids and invasions at Dieppe, North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Some of the following posts will link to books, stories and photographs already displayed on the '1000 Men, 1000 Stories' website.

MY DAD'S NAVY DAYS

Part 3 - Halifax Training is Tough, Combined Operations Even Tougher

My father's training with the RCNVR in Hamilton ended with a parade ("a proud moment long remembered") and the following words:

"Our training (in Hamilton) was to stand us in good stead in Halifax. Because if Hamilton was tough, it couldn't hold a candle to Halifax."

That being said, as I read his notes about his time at HMCS Stadacona, Halifax I find there are only a few words about the type of training administered there, and more about his introduction to Combined Operations, the organization that was to shape and direct most of his World War 2 activities and adventures between November 1941 and September 1945.

Here are the few words about his training:

"Training was very severe in Halifax.... Can you imagine running outside in temperatures in the low twenties in T-shirts and shorts? We did, morning after morning."

Not much to it, is there? He actually says more about what someone else did to get out of training, i.e., the running part.

"O/D Seaman Ward of Niagara Falls was very heavy so he jumped on the street car and then met us at Stadacona's gate and fell in at the rear. Never ran a step, still no one ever squealed on him."

Here are a few other details about his training days in Halifax: His group was known as Effingham Division, they served under "the good old White Ensign" and "time passed quickly." After arrival in Halifax they "went six weeks before being allowed to go ashore" and after that they received "permission for a few hours leave every other night." His Rolex Oyster wrist watch was stolen, he was almost run over by a street car after sliding down Citadel Hill and he recalls seeing a sign in a restaurant window that read 'Dogs and Sailors not allowed'.

Dad may have written little about the physical training because it was similar to previous work in Hamilton, and some or most classroom work would not likely have held his attention. (He hadn't finished high school; a steady 'hands-on' job at the Norwich Co-op had fit his temperament better).

In William Pugsley's book, Saints, Devils and Ordinary Seamen, the following paragraph is found about training for new recruits at HMCS Cornwallis, N.S., 1942:

"I can see I'm going to have trouble with you guys," continued the Subbie (Sub-Lieutenant, a Divisional Officer or D.O.), grinning. "However, here's the set-up." He then went on to tell us about the course. There'd be field training and gun drill, then classes in ammunition, fire control, torpedo, and anti-gas. After that there'd be one week spent as working party around barracks, three weeks of seamanship, and finally one week at sea. (Page 19)

Pugsley goes on to write about the early morning P.T. that my father encountered "morning after morning":

A couple of days later our training routines began, and with them came our first real contact with the horrors of war. This was the early morning P.T.... At six o'clock every morning came that damn' bugle.... many sought to escape the P.T. They hid in the attics, behind lockers, etc. (even empty rain barrels).... The rest of us turned out resignedly in wispy cotton shorts and jerseys to patter in a herd before dawn through the cold, damp, windy streets of Halifax. (Page 19-20)

Caption: Evening in one of the older barracks: a time for catching up on

personal chores. Photo - Saints, Devils and Ordinary Seamen, Page 98

Finally, in memoirs written by Lloyd Evans (RCNVR, Combined Operations) of Markham, Ontario one can read these lines about early training for young Canadians in the Wavy Navy:

We spent a few months in (basic) training there (Ottawa) and then we were posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The new entry training there was at the ex-army Wellington Barracks (then C Block of HMCS Stadacona). The training consisted of knots and splices, rifle drill, semaphore, Morse code, ship and aircraft recognition, gunnery drill and parade drill. The highlight of the training was a one-day trip to sea on a Minesweeper for gunnery practice. The whole ship rattled and shook when the 4-inch gun went off. It wasn't all fun - one of our boys was so seasick he pleaded to be thrown over the side.

Little can be found about what these new recruits to RCNVR thought lay around the corner. Where would they be placed? Would they serve on shore or on a ship?

In late 1941, for about 90 new recruits including my father, the answer was to be found on a single 'Help Wanted' bulletin.

Part 3 (Halifax Training is Tough, Combined Operations Even Tougher), to be continued.

Please link to Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 2

Story: The Craft of Landing

The Craft of Landing - LCI(L) 255

By Jack MacBeth, Lt. Cdr., RCNVR, (Rtd.)

Crew members of LCI(L) 255, aka "Da Bum", 264th Canadian Flotilla

Photo - Harry Trenholme, St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 2, Pg. 216

The following short passage, found on pages 215 - 216 of St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945, Volume 2, is likely introduced by David Lewis. He writes that the passage was reprinted from Jack Macbeth's book entitled Ready Aye Ready by permission of the publisher Key Porter Books Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, 1989. It is claimed that Lt. Harry Trenholme, CO of LCI(L) 255, allowed Lt. 'Happy' Kidder to write the stories in the book.

David Lewis continues in the introduction by saying, "RCNVR Lieutenants Harry Trenholme and Kendall "Happy" Kidder had both served in the Mediterranean aboard RN 'minor' landing craft, the thimble-sized flit-abouts that could carry a jeep or two and maybe a platoon of soldiers into a hostile beach. With that experience, presumably, they were ideally suited to take command of one of the LCI(L)s (Landing Craft Infantry - Large) for the impending assault on fortress Europe. For short runs, these ungainly twin-ramped barges could carry up to 500 troops at speeds of about fourteen knots.

Lewis informs us that Trenholme and Kidder reported for duty aboard LCI(L) 255 in the spring of 1944 "at South Shields on the Tyne." They were to take the craft and crew of twenty to Southampton (southern coast of England) and join the three Canadian flotillas there (already involved in landing exercises).

Caption: Exercise Schuyt 1, before D-Day (Normandy): In this exercise,
the first of two involving LCI(L) 264 Flotilla, the orders called for soldiers
to re-embark as well as land. The weather having roughed up, a number of
soldiers were lost by drowning. Fortunately not so in our Flotilla. This is the
reason that the careful reader will have observed that the soldiers are walking
out to sea rather than into land. Following this tragic lesson (loss of men by
drowning) a crew member took a line ashore from each of our ramps to steady
the heavily laden troops in the water. A perilous task on defended beaches.
Photo - David J. Lewis, St. Nazaire to Singapore, Pg. 214

A Foretaste of the Future: A mad scramble after Exercise Fabius 2 to make
(reach) the anti-submarine gates into the teeth of a Force 9 Wind. Four days
of bad weather was to wreck one of the two Mulberries (artificial harbours
built by the Brits) and imperil the whole of the Normandy Beachhead. 

Photo - David J. Lewis St. Nazaire to Singapore, Pg. 215

Kidder recalls the trip to Southampton:

"Neither Trenholme or I had ever driven one of these big things before, but we seemed to be doing okay until we made our approach to the tidal dock at Grimsby at a pretty fair clip. At the appropriate time, Harry gave the usual order, full astern, to stop her. Nothing happened."

The LCI(L) came equipped with variable-pitch propellors but, without proper instruction, Trenholme and Kidder were both in the dark about how to slow or stop the craft.

"How in hell were we to know?" Kidder says. "So all we could do was grab hold of something and watch open-mouthed as we plowed straight into the dock gate."

The gate was quickly smashed wide open and the LCI's bow buckled. Because it was the time of ebb tide, water poured out of the dock in torrents and freighters were left "sitting there high and dry." Fortunately for our stalwart Canadian officers, though local navy brass didn't enjoy the crash-up, no issue was made of it.

"Happy" Kidder writes:

"Once the damage to our bow was repaired, we were allowed to continue southward (to Southampton)." And one night, while on route, Kidder noticed light escaping from around a poorly fitting door and ordered it repaired "real quick" in order to escape the attention of German guns at Calais.

"Next thing I knew, there was an unholy white flash that could have been seen all the way to Paris!"

Out of the fry pan and into the fire? One can read Kidder's account and its conclusion at the following link: The Craft of Landing

Lewis added this note as well to Kidder's account, "It is sad to report that the ever popular "Happy" Kidder has passed on, as has Jack MacBeth, author of several naval books."

Please link to Story: Hands to Beaching Stations (with Sketch)

Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 2

My Dad's Navy Days, 1941 - 1945

By G. A. Harrison

Doug Harrison and his sister Gertie, Bay St., Hamilton, 1941

Introduction: I will be making a presentation at a local library in November, 2016 regarding my father's WW2 service with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) and Combined Operations organization. I will share facts and details related to his initial training (much of it aboard various landing crafts) and the raids and invasions at Dieppe, North Africa, Sicily and Italy. 

The following posts related to my presentation will link to several of the books, stories and photographs displayed on the '1000 Men, 1000 Stories' website, and more.

MY DAD'S NAVY DAYS

Part 2 - Early Training at HMCS Star in Hamilton, 1941 

After Dad made up his mind to join the Navy - in his case the RCNVR - he left his job at the Norwich Co-op and moved to his sister Gert's apartment on Bay Street, Hamilton, mere steps from HMCS Star. When I am asked why he would enlist in Hamilton rather than in London, a bit closer to his hometown, I will say, "Free accommodation."

In his notes he recalls his first rating, i.e., "probationary", and early introduction to training:

I went on probationary strength at HMCS Star in Hamilton, corner of McNab and McNutt streets, a building which was at one time a cider mill. By probationary I mean I went nights from 7 to 10 p.m. and took instructions on semaphore, rifle drill, marching, compass work, bends and hitches, knots and splices, etc.

And later he adds the following about his progress, and supplies more details about the training regimen:

After approximately six weeks probationary, I was taken on full strength and was made an Ordinary Seaman.... Space at H.M.C.S. Star was not large enough for all-out training as H.M.C.S. Star is now. Rifle drill, route marches, frog-hopping up hills with 60 pound sacks on our back (frog-hopping is hopping in a squat position), and gunnery under the gunnery officer who always wears black garters. Everything is done on the double. It was a madhouse. They really toughened us up. Hold a Lee Enfield rifle (approximate weight - 12 to 14 pounds) in front of you in one hand and double change to the other hand, over your head, behind your back, then watch black garters (i.e., training instructor) walk away and forget all about you and you are still running. 

In a book published in 2010 entitled Citizen Sailors: Chronicles of Canada's Naval Reserve 1910 - 2010 one reads these statements about the initial training young sailors received:

While each individual unit (e.g., HMCS Star, Hamilton; HMCS Prevost, London) was responsible for designing its own training syllabus in the early stages of the war, most involved some type of instruction in seamanship, marching, rifle drill, rope work, physical training and communications. The lack of equipment and a shortage of qualified instructors contributed to the ad hoc nature of this training. It was replaced in February 1941 by a more structured eight-week course designed to produce a sailor who would arrive at the coasts (i.e., East or West Coast, at HMCS Stadacona or Cornwallis in Halifax, or HMCS Naden in Esquimalt, or Givenchy III in Comox, Vancouver island) adjusted to naval life and prepared for his advanced training. As the war progressed the larger and better-equipped facilities on both coasts became increasingly responsible for almost all aspects of reserve training. (Page 61)

My father's last words about his training days in Hamilton are about a proud moment and what lay ahead:

When eight weeks of training were over we were shipped to Halifax, but not before the 80 of us, led by our mascot (a huge Great Dane led by Scotty Wales who was under punishment) and headed by a band, did a route march through Hamilton in early evening. We really were proud and put on a display of marching never seen before or since in Hamilton. Shoulders square, arms swinging shoulder high, thousands watched and we were roundly cheered and applauded. This was a proud moment long-remembered, but soon we were bound for Halifax after a goodbye to Mum and family.

Again I say we were a proud division and our training was to stand us in good stead in Halifax. Because if Hamilton was tough, it couldn’t hold a candle to Halifax.

“Shoulders square, arms swinging shoulder high.” Hamilton, 1941

Photo credit - Doug Harrison (front row of ratings, 6th from right)

 "Note the Giv. III notation, top right. Givenchy III was a later posting, 1944"

 "Sailors were at times referred to as 'Ratings', signed up for 'Hostilities Only'"

Doug Harrison, RCNVR, Ordinary Seaman in Hamilton, June 1941

The chapter of my father's memoirs that includes more details about his time in Hamilton can be found at "DAD, WELL DONE" Chapter 1

Please link to Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 1

Story: Hands to Beaching Stations (with Sketch)

Hands to Beaching Stations

By David and Kit Lewis and Len Birkenes

Sketch of LCI(L) 271 by the war artist of 'Smear'

In the book St. Nazaire to Singapore, Volume 2, one will find many stories by Canadians in Combined Operations, WW2, who served aboard large landing crafts like LCI(L) 271 (above) during the invasion of France at Normandy in June, 1944.

David Lewis, one of the editors of Volume 2, may have written this short, light-hearted piece about the able-bodied crew of LCI(L) 271.

The piece begins as follows:

"This sketch by the war artist of "Smear", the Weekly Pictorial, shows the smooth working team of our LCI(L)s in action - after they found the right beach. By the bow we see AB Roger Gee starting his cross Channel swim with the grass line."

"Roger Gee takes the plunge, lower left, above a few signatures"

The two men at the front of the landing craft, one leaning over the bow with a boat hook, are identified next and we soon learn that it is "Buck" Buckham (formerly of the Prince David, aka "House of David") that is aiming the cannon toward the sky, "shooting down a couple of our own".

Lieut. Jack Dean is mentioned (a veteran of the invasion of North Africa) as are others on the bridge. The light-hearted tone continues with, "On the bridge things are quite calm - for a change."

 "The kedge wire (far right) seems to have two of the pongos tied up to the can"

Stokers and coxswains all get a mention and twenty signatures were secured at the time to authenticate this "revealing document".

The signatures belong to the following Canadians in Combined Operations:

Bev Stark, "Red" Eagleson, Buck Buckham, Glen Baird and more.

Link to Hands to Beaching Stations, concerning LCI(L) 271

As well, please link to Story: Introduction to the LCI(L) 271

Photos are from St. Nazaire to Singapore, Volume 2, pages 212 and 213.

Website: Landing Crafts at Juno Beach Centre

Landing Crafts and Other Ships at War, WW2

LCA 1050 leaving side of HMCS Prince David, loaded with soldiers of the

Régiment de la Chaudière, 9 May 1944. Photo by R.G. Arless. DND

The information presented here concerns various landing crafts manned by Canadians during World War 2. More facts, details and photos (and links to info concerning other types of crafts, e.g., motor torpedo boats) can be found at the website entitled Juno Beach Centre which deals with Canada in the Second World War. The link is provided below.

A brief introduction to the material follows:

Landing Crafts

The different landing operations, in Dieppe, in Sicily and in Normandy, required that new types of ships be built, especially designed for carrying troops and material in preparation for an amphibious assault.

Landing Ship Infantry (LSI)

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) bought two pre-war steamers from Canadian National Steamships, which were converted for transporting troops: HMCS Prince David and Prince Henry. They could carry 550 infantrymen, as well as six LCAs and two LCMs. Their role was to get within a few kilometres from the landing beach and to launch the LCAs and LCMs tied to the davits.

Troops of 1st Canadian Scottish practice loading into LCA

Please use this link to view Landing Crafts at Juno Beach Centre

As well, please link to Website: Sicily, Operation HUSKY, July 1943

Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 1

My Dad's Navy Days, 1941 - 1945

By G. A. Harrison

Canadian sailors on their way by train to Comox, B.C., Jan. 1944

(One of several photos* that has inspired my curiosity about

Dad's four years in RCNVR and Combined Operations)

Introduction: I will be making a presentation at a local library prior to Remembrance Day 2016 regarding my father's WW2 service with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) and Combined Operations organization.

I will share facts and details related to his initial training in mid-1941 at HMCS Star in Hamilton, subsequent training in Halifax later the same year, and how he came to volunteer for Combined Operations (under the heading of 'Hostilities Only' or "dangerous duties overseas"). With the Combined Operations organization he trained aboard various landing crafts at various sites in England and Scotland, all in preparation for raids (e.g., Dieppe) and the subsequent and significant invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy. I will share stories written by veterans of Combined Ops concerning their adventures associated with training programs, raids and invasions.

After the invasion of Italy in September, 1943 many Canadian members of Combined Operations (including my father and mates seen in the top photo) returned to Canada for further duties or 'general service' (e.g., at a Combined Operations training centre on Vancouver Island), while others prepared - in the UK - for the invasion of France in newer and larger forms of landing craft. I will share sailors' personal memoirs and stories related to their service both in Canada, the UK and Normandy.

The following posts related to my presentation will link to several of the books, stories and photographs mentioned and displayed on the '1000 Men, 1000 Stories' website and may provide for readers a concise way of learning, i.e., all in one place, about how some Canadians valiantly and faithfully served during WW2 - without skipping from heading to heading, etc., all over the website.

MY DAD'S NAVY DAYS

Part 1 - Signing Up for the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve

My father, Doug Harrison, was born September 6, 1920 and he celebrated his 19th birthday within a few days of the time both England and Canada declared war on Germany in 1939. He had a steady job at the Norwich Co-op, just a block from his mother's house in the west end of Norwich, Ontario, and stayed in its employ for about another year and a half before volunteering to serve with the RCNVR, the Wavy Navy.

He was, like many other young men, undoubtedly influenced in a variety of ways to 'sign up' and support the Allied forces against their declared enemy. Newspaper stories of the war, radio broadcasts, enlistment posters, news reels in movie theatres, Sunday sermons and more would have bombarded his senses and made him wonder if and when he should enlist.

My father didn't have a father of his own at the time. Roland Sr. had passed away when Doug was ten. But he had older brothers who surely bent his ear with an opinion or two, and there were at least two older gentleman in town that influenced or motivated him in some way to sign his name. Both are mentioned in one of the many newspaper columns he wrote for the Norwich Gazette in the 1990s.

In an article entitled Merchant Mariner ‘TRUE NORWICH HERO’, Doug writes:

Norwich has its pioneers and its heroes. One of the heroes, according to this observer, is Lorne ‘Skimp’ Smith, a wireless operator once attached to the United States merchant marine during the Second World War. Skimp was born in the only house on Mary Street....

Photo credit - The Norwich Gazette

I know little of Skimp’s early years, possibly because he spent quite a bit of time in the U.S. He was already a wireless operator aboard an American yacht, the Acadia, when we met while he was home visiting with his parents, probably in the summer of 1941.

The war was on and I was working at the Norwich Co-op, about 60 hours a week. Skimp was laying on the lawn enjoying the sun as I rode by on my bike. I knew he was connected to the sea, so I stopped and began to chat with him; I was seriously thinking of joining the service.

Skimp was a tall and happy man, and like so many people of Norwich, I immediately liked him. He was a magnetic character.... I asked him where he had learned to operate a wireless, and he recalled acquiring most of his skill from Al Stone, the likeable station agent at the west end railway station....

Jim Malone (left) and Doug Harrison cross the equator aboard the

Silver Walnut. Photo credit - The Norwich Gazette, Doug Harrison

I told Skimp that my high school principal, the late J. C. St. John, wanted me to join the army in the Elgin Regiment. He must have forgotten how much I disliked high school cadets. After further conversation I recall Skimp asking me what I wanted to do. “Join the navy,” I replied. His response was akin to ‘then go for it.’

I would curse him later, many times, but on that day and with the urging of Skimp, the die was cast. It was to be navy blue for me.*

* * * * *

Add in the facts that one of my father's boyhood heroes was Admiral Horatio Nelson, and one of his favourite war stories as a boy concerned the raid on Zeebrugge in 1918 (featuring HMS Vindictive and - unknown to Dad - Sir Robert Keyes, who later commanded the fledgling Combined Operations organization). Consider also that his own father had been a stoker, for over ten years, with the Royal Navy for a time, and indeed 'the die was cast'.

And off to HMCS Star in Hamilton, Ontario he did go in the spring of 1941.

More to follow.

*The full article appears in "DAD, WELL DONE", my father's navy memoirs, a compilation of his hand-written notes, newspaper articles, newspaper interviews and submissions to St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945.

Please link to D. Harrison's Memoirs re Combined Operations

Story: Introduction to the LCI(L) 271

LCI(L) 271: Lessons in Hope and Equanimity

By W. R. Sinclair

The Highland Light Infantry of Canada load onto Landing Craft, Infantry, Large,

LCI(L) at Southhampton, 4 June 1944. Photo credit - Highland Light Infantry

The following short story, about a young officer's early introduction to handling a large landing craft on his own, is found in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945, Volume 2 (pages 209 - 211). The two-volume set of stories, by Canadian veterans of Combined Operations, was inspired by the book Combined Operations by Londoner Clayton Marks and produced in the mid-1990s. The collection is very rare but available for viewing at some large libraries (e.g., Toronto Public) and museums (e.g., Canada's War Museum, Ottawa). As well, it is available for viewing online at Our Roots, University of Alberta in Calgary as a PDF file.

The first two short paragraphs of the story by W. R. Sinclair follow:

"Early in April (1944) it was evident that the refit would soon be finished. Our crew of twenty-one was complete. The youngest was about eighteen and the oldest, the Chief Motor Mechanic, some thirty-five. I was Captain or CO, and twenty-three. We had another officer, the First Lieutenant. He was from Toronto."

"On 14 April, 1944 we had full power trials of our engines down the river Thames. First, we had the Locks Pilot (come aboard and man the bridge), then the River Pilot and finally a "Sea" Pilot as we neared the mouth of the river. That day we received a signal directing us to proceed to Southend-on-Sea, on the north shore of the Thames, for routing instructions."

Sinclair goes on to write that his Landing Craft Infantry, Large or LCI(L) would tag along behind a coastal convoy to Southampton "where the rest of the Canadian LCI(L)s were based." He was happy to hear about "tagging along" at the back because he had "never given a helm order" or commanded the landing craft himself until then. He recalled that the pilots that had come aboard "were uncomfortable working with LCI(L)s", likely because of their shallow draft, high superstructure and big differences in handling compared to a similar-sized freighter.

On Saturday, April 15 Sinclair's LCI(L) arrived at Southend-on-Sea in the early afternoon and anchored in the channel. The next day Sinclair was picked up and delivered by boat to a significant meeting on shore, where he was given sailing instructions - a single sheet of paper - for a lengthy trip (and one that turned out to be nerve-wracking) to Southampton. Though Sinclair was likely relieved to hear certain ships would lead him on his way, news that they "might encounter German E-Boats" would not have lifted his spirits.

Privately, Sinclair told a commander that "(he) had never had any vessel under (his) command" and that he was "most concerned about (his) ability to see the convoy through safely to Southampton."

The Officer put his hand on Sinclair's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, my boy, you'll get there somehow."

And somehow, though "very puzzled and disturbed by (a certain) turn of events", Sinclair made his way to Southampton, crash landing and all!

Readers will find the full story at Lessons in Hope and Equanimity

Please link to Story: 1944 - A Year of Climax, Reshuffle, Achievement

Story: 1944 - A Year of Climax, Reshuffle, Achievement

1944 - A Year of Climax, Reshuffle and Achievement

Assembling the Allied Armada for D-Day

Editted by David and Kit Lewis and Len Birkenes

Troops approach Normandy coast. Photo credit - Imperial war Museum

The following short story is found in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945, Volume 2 (pages 207 - 208). The two-volume set of stories, by Canadian veterans of Combined Operations, was inspired by the book Combined Operations by Londoner Clayton Marks and produced in the mid-1990s. The collection is rare indeed but available for viewing at some large libraries (e.g., Toronto Public) and museums (e.g., Canada's War Museum, Ottawa). As well, it is available for viewing online at Our Roots, University of Alberta in Calgary as a PDF file.

The first paragraph follows:

"The Year 1944 continued and greatly amplified the amazing experiences we have covered to date. It was the fulfilment of what those years had led up to. We did have some weeks and months of leave which passed quickly enough. We found ourselves appointed to different ships and different waters. The Prince Boats were on the West Coast of Canada and getting to them brought us our first east west transcontinental trips, chugging along the CPR track, day after day for five days." (Page 207)

Five Canadians (Combined Ops) take a smoke break at Hornepayne, Ont.

during their 'transcontinental trip' to Comox, Vancouver Island.*

Photo credit - Doug Harrison, RCNVR, Combined Ops

David, Kit (Catherine) and Len then tell readers that some Canadian officers and sailors saw that the Prince Henry and Prince David "were being adapted to being Landing Ships Infantry - Medium", i.e., LSI(M)s, smaller but more heavily armed than LSI(L)s. After a commissioning ceremony the ships, with Canadian crews aboard, sailed via the Panama Canal to New York (on Prince David) and Bermuda (Prince Henry). Shortly thereafter they were "back in the Clyde Estuary at Gourock and Niobe" where they joined up with three Canadian Flotillas of LCI(L), the 260th, 262nd and 264th.

Aboard the LCI(L)s

We read "LCI(L)s were 160 feet long, heavily powered and swifter than any of the other landing craft but presented peculiarities that made them challenging craft. Their crew was 22 with two officers (three officers for invasions). They had four 20mm cannons. Their ability to carry men was 200 for longer distances and 500 as a short trip on a calm sea. As noted before, they could manage the Atlantic successfully, being sent over up to 20 at a time."

David, Kit and Len go on to say that some of the LCI(L)s were plagued with poor equipment that caused inconsistent handling. "Electrical breakdowns occurred.... steering errors were the most dramatic", and bumps and grinds along many a jetty took place "even after the skipper had learned to give engine room orders well ahead of time."

Canada planned to take part in the invasion of Normandy with 30 LCI(L)s for the Canadian troops and later included three LCI(L) Mark IIIs from the US. We are told the LCI(L)s "were good to live in and generally created a closer family atmosphere than had been the case in smaller Landing Craft and larger vessels."

The Canadians aboard the LCI(L)s participated in individual running-in exercises as well as flotilla exercises and witnessed the assembly of the "tremendous force" that was developed to invade France. "Thousands of ships, hundreds of thousands of men, skies full of planes" are recalled, as is the invasion and follow-up duties (albeit briefly).

The full story can be found at the following link:

St. Nazaire to Singapore, pages 207 - 208

*The six sailors, including D. Harrison (and several others), trained raw recruits and participated in other Combined Operations activities on 'The Spit', aka Givenchy III, Comox, from Jan. 1944 to late summer, 1945.

As well, please link to Story: Overlord - Operation Neptune, D-Day, Parts 1 - 6

Audio: George Richmond - Combined Ops, Normandy

George Richmond, Navy and Combined Operations

D-Day Landing with Life Line as found in Combined Operations, (Pg. 111) C. Marks

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript.

Please link to audio files at The Memory Project (Page 94) related to the activities of George Richmond, Navy, and Bill Renwick, Army, that touch on their memories related to war time experiences in France. George was a member of an LCI(L) crew, along with approx. 20 other Canadians in Combined Operations, in Normandy, June 1944. Bill, from Hamilton, was a member of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and before becoming a prisoner of war had a memorable experience shortly after landing in France.

Link to George Richmond, Navy, Combined Operations at The Memory Project

Part of George's transcript follows:

After fourteen months on the ship I joined a thousand other naval types and volunteered for combined operations. We found ourselves on a troop ship bound for England. We were assigned to repair and man three flotillas of infantry landing craft for the invasion of France. Altogether, they transported about forty-five hundred Canadian troops to the beaches on D-Day. When temporary docks were put in place, the smaller craft were not used as much and they began disbanding the landing craft flotillas.

Please link to Bill Renwick, Army at The Memory Project

Part of Bill's transcript follows:

I seen a man... I seen a man with a cart about the second day. We were going down to check out an area to see if we could find out how many Germans was in it. And he was walking up the road and he had his daughter in his hands and he had a tarp over the... the wagon. And one of our guys, who spoke pretty good French, asked him if he'd seen any Germans up the road. He took the time to say they were around the bend where we were coming, there was a German machine gun nest. He couldn't thank us enough for coming. And yet you could see he had been crying and that. And in that cart, we found out after when the tarp was moved, that his wife and his son, who had been killed by our bombs - our bombers. And yet he could take the time to try and explain to us because here we were finally setting them free after four years or so under the Germans. It don't make any sense. You lose a family and yet you're shaking somebody's hand or kiss them on the cheek and saying, "Thanks for coming." Your mind becomes fuddled when you start seeing some of these things. Three days after D-Day, I became a prisoner of war.

Please link to Audio: C. W. Robinson, "We Had to Crawl Back"

Video: Allied Soldiers and Landing Craft, Sicily

Allies Head Towards Sicily, July, 1943

Anti-aircraft tracers over the harbour of Alexandria,

Egypt, as seen by Ian Mair, before sailing for Sicily in July, 1943. 

Photo credit - Ian Mair, at The Memory Project

Introduction: The website 'Critical Past' has an extensive collection of videos and still images, and many concern significant events during WW2 in which Canadians in Combined Operations were involved. A price tag is attached to high-resolution videos and stock images but one can find access to the same material in low-resolution video but with the website's title displayed in the centre.

Please note: The above photo and the video (link) presented may not be concerned with the same troops at the same location.

Link to Critical Past - Allied Soldiers get onto landing crafts

Synopsis:

Allied invasion of Sicily, Italy during World War II. Allied warships underway in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Sicily. Explosions occur in the background on the coast. Soldiers come down a landing net onto a landing craft. Soldiers loaded onto a landing craft as it pulls away. Landing crafts head for the beach. U.S. Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton looks through a pair of binoculars towards the shore.

Location: Sicily, Italy
Date: 1943, July

Duration: 1 min 4 sec
Sound: No

Another link to Critical Past - Pontoon Causeway, Unloading Ammunition

Synopsis:

Allied invasion of Sicily, Italy during World War II. Three landing crafts in surf. The landing crafts approach the shore. U.S. troops get off a landing craft. Allied soldiers at a beach as they unload ammunition cases from a landing craft. The soldiers dig emplacements on the beach. Equipment and vehicles on the beach. An American flag planted in the sand. Soldiers come onto the shore from a pontoon causeway. The pontoon causeway leading to an LST (Landing Ship Tank). Soldiers walk along the causeway and come onto the beach at Gela. Some vehicles on the causeway.

Location: Sicily, Italy
Date: 1943, July
Duration: 2 min 2 sec
Sound: No

Please link to Video: Allied Equipment Unloaded in Sicily, 1943

Audio: C. W. Robinson, "We Had to Crawl Back"

"It Blew a Hole in Our Engine Room"

Charles William Robinson, Navy

Photo from Normandy after the battle. Landing craft on Normandy beach.

Photo credit - Charles Robinson, The Memory Project

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript.

Please link to an audio file at The Memory Project (Page 95) related to the activities of Charles William Robinson, Navy, that touch on his memories related to his war time experiences in France as a member of an LCI(L) crew in Normandy, June 1944, and a full crew often consisted of approx. 20 Canadians in Combined Operations.

Information included with bottom group photograph: Back in Canada after combined operations duties during the Allied invasion of Normandy are these men of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Landing Craft Flotillas. The Canadian sailors manned the landing barges that carried thousands of troops onto the beaches. All veterans of the first waves of craft to reach the beaches told of seeing landing craft blown to bits by German mines, of the gun fire from the shore, and snipers as the Commandoes marched up the beaches, and the hail of lead, shrapnel and bombardment from the air during D-Day operations.

A portion of Charles William Robinson's transcript follows:

We got on the landing craft, we did all kind of training there before landing troops. You know, so this is it, we were just practising back and forth.... And then they called us in together and they said, this is a secret move, don’t talk to anybody about it at all. But you’re going to go overseas from here. (We) got on our landing craft [LCI(L) 118 of the 2nd Canadian (262nd Royal Navy) Flotilla]. The skipper on our landing craft said, Robinson, when they come aboard, (to) load onto the landing craft.... they may need some seasick pills, so pass them out to them.

And (when) the North Nova Scotia Highlanders come aboard, they said, what’s that for. I said, they’re pills for seasick[ness]. Oh, we don’t need that. I said, wait a minute, I said, you’d better take them, you may need them and they were sick like hell going over because we had a big storm going over. Oh boy. And they were all sick, sick. And they had to go into battle.

We had to circle around the [obstacles] when we got there a few times until the tide raised up. We couldn’t land right away. And the Germans are in there, as we were circling around. The skipper was up on the bridge and he got wounded, just going in to land. We had beach obstacles and mines on that. And it blew a hole in our engine room.

And we got the army off and then we headed back to England again. We had to crawl back because it was dangerous, (we kept) the engine-pump water going, pulling it out because it got lopsided. We had to get home, get repaired and then go back again. And that’s what we did.

Photo of Navy officer and seamen that fought with Mr. Robinson, September 1944. 

Photo credit - Charles Robinson, The Memory Project

Back from Normandy S-2099 (RCN Photo by P.O. Photog. R.D. Keegan, Sept. 1944)

Parmi les hommes de la marine Royale Canadienne de retour en Canada pour un repos bien merite il y a ... matelots du Quebec.

Front (L - R): P.O. Guy J. Gravel, RCNVR, Montreal; A.B. Maurice Fleming, RCNVR, Lachine; A.B. Edward Chipman, RCNVR, Verdun; Ldg. Sto. Gabriel Canuel, RCNVR, Rimouski.

Back (L - R): Sto. Paul Conway, RCNVR, Lachine; A.B. Guy Charbonneau, RCNVR, Montreal; Ldg. Sto. Barney Groves, RCNVR, Montreal; Ldg. Sto. William Bryson, RCNVR, St. Andrews; A.B. Charles Robinson, RCNVR, Verdun.

Please link to Audio: Carvil J. Ritcey, "Our Worst Engagement"

Story: Overlord - Operation Neptune, D-Day, Parts 1 - 6

OVERLORD, D-DAY

OPERATION NEPTUNE, June 6, 1944

By Clayton Marks, RCNVR and Combined Operations

Historical photographs show the true scale of the D-Day landings, during which

some 156,000 Allied troops landed on five beaches along the Normandy coast.

Photo Credit - Imperial War Museum

Introduction - The following story (presented here in six parts) can be found in Combined Operations by Clayton Marks of London, Ontario. The book was printed in 1993 (approx.), is extremely difficult to find, but is nonetheless a pivotal book in explaining the role of the hundreds of Canadians who volunteered for hazardous duties overseas in the Combined Operations organization.

Shortly after Combined Operations was printed and distributed, e.g., at Navy or Combined Operations' reunions, two other related texts were inspired, full of stories written by Canadian volunteers and veterans of the Combined Ops organization. Two volumes of stories are entitled St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945, are extremely difficult to find, but can be borrowed from or viewed at some libraries and museums (e.g., Toronto Public Library, Ottawa War Museum) , and can be viewed online, story by story, at St. Nazaire to Singapore.

 OVERLORD, D-DAY - OPERATION NEPTUNE, Parts 1 - 6

NEPTUNE Part 1 - Assembly of Fighting Vessels

NEPTUNE Part 2 - Mighty Resources

NEPTUNE Part 3 - Canadian Ships Take Their Stations

NEPTUNE Part 4 - Canadian Landing Craft Hit the Beaches

NEPTUNE Part 5 - Canadians Wait for More Work

NEPTUNE Part 6 - The Hardest Worked Craft

Photo credit - From The Canadians at War, 1939/45

Please link to Story: Canada's Early Days in Combined Ops

Story: Overlord - Operation Neptune, D-Day - Part 6

OVERLORD, D-DAY

OPERATION NEPTUNE, June 6, 1944

By Clayton Marks, RCNVR and Combined Operations

Troops of Canadian 3rd Division, leaving their ship with bicycles, at

Juno beach along the coast of Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. 

Photo credit  - Gilbert Milne, RCN photographer

Introduction - The following story (presented here in six parts) can be found in Combined Operations by Clayton Marks of London, Ontario. The book was printed in 1993 (approx.), is extremely difficult to find, but is being reprinted by a London team. I present a short summary of Mr. Mark's 23-page-long account on this site.

OPERATION NEPTUNE, June 6, 1944 - Part 6

Troops and landing craft were held back for other reasons. The hope that Cherbourg's valuable harbour would be wrestled from the Germans, in order to land troops easily and in great volume, slowed the process of moving men to Normandy's beaches. But German defenses held and their aircraft mined the approaches to Baie de la Seine again and more sweeping was required. These things were not explained to landing craft crews and the waiting chafed.

As well, landing craft flotillas were drawn from a pool as required and "some were worked to exhaustion" while others were not. So, "voyages were made as required to whatever beaches or sectors had need of troops" and though a myriad of personnel were moved across the channel (e.g., British infantry, marines, pioneers, air force ground detachments, infantrymen, artillerymen, sections of medical and engineering units of the Canadian Army, American medical detachments, parties of nursing sisters, pay corps men, stevedores, refrigeration companies, balloon units, and many others) not all landing craft crews enjoyed gainful employment.

Though the voyages that did occur involved crossing heavily mined waters and the danger of facing enemy attack, the Canadians generally got off lightly. LCI(L)s in action reported damage caused by enemy bombs and mines and pre-dawn brushes with the Luftwaffe and "a shelling from enemy batteries later in the same day". All crews emerged without casualties. 

It is reported that "ferry work, apart from enemy action, was far from easy." Any troop transport across "the rough Channel was always risky" and beach obstacles and mines - augmented by the wrecks of the craft - still endangered the approach to the beaches. Bombing and shelling had left great craters on beaches, which formed "hidden pools eight and ten feet deep". Charging craft could still be smashed and landing troops drowned.

At dusk on June 10th, five were drowned when LCI 276 beached in the Omaha area on a quickly rising tide. As sailors, clinging to a lead line, made their way ashore through shoulder high water "they began to slip among a nest of bogged-down, half- submerged vehicles". Burdened with heavy gear in a rising surf, men became panicky and let go of the hand ropes. "Struggling men floundered off into water", and before help arrived, five were lost.

Some of the hardest worked craft along the littered beaches were manned by Canadian crewmen, members of the 260th and 264th Flotillas. Their flat-bottomed landing craft were up to the strenuous work of transporting troops and all the material of war but suffered much damage as they dealt with pounding surf and working in proximity to much larger transports. "Propellers were sheared off, anchors carried away, and great gashes knocked in the hulls; and the steady process of attrition soon got ahead of the devoted repair men." Some craft, too badly damaged, were forced to return to England, but not before they experienced a terrible storm in the channel ("which blew up on the night of Monday June 19th").

For three days the gale threatened Operation Neptune. "The artificial harbour in the American sector at St. Laurent was almost entirely carried away. The British harbour at Arromanches was battered and broken" but later repaired. Other smaller shelters were beaten mercilessly and the craft that "suffered most were the landing craft."

LCI(L) 305 saw a section of the St. Laurent breakwater tear loose and was forced to take evasive action. She headed for the beach to anchor, "but within an hour.... she was tossing in the crowded harbour again." 305 was helpless against the storm, was lifted toward the beach and faced total destruction, but with engines at full power, "she swerved and bumped her way out through a mass of other vessels to a patch of clear water," and was saved, thanks to an emergency anchor, "for the next eleven hours." However, by mid-afternoon the next day, LCI(L) 305 was again battling to remain afloat. All manner of anchor cables broke, and "the zigzagging craft, terribly beaten by the wind and sea" was forced upon an obstacle in the water, severely damaged, and scrambled for safety, odds against survival. Finally, however, "around noon of the 22nd", she again risked a channel crossing and at midnight, in Calshot England, "her men (were) enjoying the first hot food and looking forward to the first dry sleep they had had in eighty-two hours."

Other crafts also experienced adventures of the same "melodramatic lengths" due to the horrendous June gale and barely managed "battered and holed, (to labour) across the Channel to Southampton."

The last paragraph of Clayton Marks' significant 23-page account follows:

In spite of similar trials, distributed over all ships in the Channel or at the Normandy anchorages, Neptune weathered the storm. With clearing weather during the latter part of June, the operations of the landing craft began to be stepped up. Craft held in reserve for a landing in the Channel Islands were released to the general pool as the possibility of that landing grew more remote. Canadian craft were to ferry over about thirteen thousand troops in July, and another seven thousand in August, before they were dispersed and their crews returned to general service.

Photo credit - From The Canadians at War, 1939/45

Please link to Story: Overlord - Operation Neptune, D-Day - Part 5

Audio: Carvil J. Ritcey, "Our Worst Engagement"

The Smell of Death was Everywhere

Carvil James Ritcey, Army

Carvil Ritcey landed on the beaches at Normandy in a landing craft

like this one. June 6, 1944. Caption credit - The Memory Project 

"But nothing stopped the shoreward movement. While men fell, and while

the morning air shook with the cacophony of exploding shells, the landing craft

methodically went about the job of disgorging men on to the sands of Normandy.”  

Credit for above quote and photo - G. Milne, RCN photographer (from H.M.C.S.) 

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript.

Please link to an audio file at The Memory Project (Page 95) related to the activities of Carvil James Ritcey, Army, that touch on his memories related to his war time experiences in France after disembarking from an LCI(L), manned by Canadians in Combined Operations, in Normandy, June 1944.

A portion of Carvil James Ritcey's transcript follows:

When I got out of hospital, my regiment had moved to Italy and because I was F5 when I got out of hospital, they left me back in England. So instead of going with the Royal Canadian Regiment, I rejoined the Highland Light Infantry, and on D-Day, I went ashore with the Highland Light Infantry. We had quite an event there for the first month, because we were in combat practically every night. If you were lucky to get back, you were doing great. On July the 8th, we had our worst engagement. It was called 'Bloody Buron'.

[More about Bloody Buron can be found at Canada at War.]

We lost about two hundred and eighty men and practically all our officers in that engagement. Our unit was with the 12 Platoon of the Highland Light Infantry. We were attacked by eight tiger tanks, and if it hadn't been for the help of a self-propelled seventeen pounder, we would have been eliminated. They knocked out three of the German tanks, and the rest retreated. So that was our worst engagement. Then we went on to the Falaise Gap, and at the Falaise Gap, our Canadian corps was roughly about a hundred thousand men, and we captured over three hundred thousand Germans. It was the worst scene I'd ever seen in my life. There was nothing but dead horses, dead Germans, and broken and crippled tanks all over the place. That was about the worst memory I had during the war, because the smell of death was everywhere.

Please link to Audio: Ronnie Taylor, Navy, Utah Beach, D-Day 1944

Audio: Ronnie Taylor, Navy, Utah Beach, D-Day 1944

Ronnie A. Taylor, Navy and Combined Ops

At Utah Beach, D-Day Normandy, June 1944

Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division wade ashore at Victor sector, Utah Beach,

on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Amphibious tanks are lined up at the water’s edge.

Photo credit - U.S. War Department/National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript.

Please link to an audio file at The Memory Project related to the activities of Ronnie Albert Taylor, Navy, that touch on his memories related to his war time experiences aboard an LCI(L) at Normandy, June 1944.

A portion of Ronnie Albert Taylor's transcript follows:

We landed at Utah Beach.... on the Cherbourg Peninsula. And we landed.... right around 7:00 in the morning. The Germans were on like a hillside and Omaha Beach was next to us. US soldiers were below where the Germans were, and the Germans were shooting down at the soldiers and landing craft. 

Our landing craft was a little to the left of Omaha, and we were hit by shrapnel on one side of the craft. Fortunately, no one was injured. We let the ramp down and tanks disembarked with the American troops on board. The tanks went around to the back of the hillside where the Germans were shooting down at our troops. The tanks got at the Germans. And that was a successful mission.... then after we discharged the tanks we pulled off the beaches and went to get more stuff. 

We kept on going in and out and there’d be cargo ships, big cargo ships coming and bringing stuff over and they put it on the landing craft. And the landing craft would take it into the beach. And then eventually, they built what they called Mulberry Harbour. And Mulberry Harbour was some cargo ships and a couple of old naval ships, and they sunk them there and made an imitation harbour. If it was bad weather or anything like that, they’d bring their landing craft in and they’d take it into Mulberry Harbour and they were protected from the weather then. And they’d load stuff onto the landing craft from the cargo ships and they could take it into the beaches then. But it was a really good experience.

Please link to Audio: Ed Rushbrook, Combined Ops, D-Day, June 1944