Sunday, December 16, 2018

Links to Resources

A Variety of Materials re Canadians who served
in Combined Operations During World War II

Photo: A12649. American troops landing on the beach at Arzeu, near Oran, from
a landing craft assault (LCA 26), some of them are carrying boxes of supplies.
Photo Credit - RN Photographer Lt. F. A. Hudson, Imperial War Museum

Introduction:

Resources related to WWII are apparently limitless, the presses are still rolling, and each week a few more black and whites are found in dusty shoeboxes - under the back stairs! - in one country or another. 

Resources concerning very specific topics (e.g., the 950 - 1,000 Canadians from the Royal Canadian Navy or RCNVR who volunteered for the Combined Operations organization) is definitely limited. However, to my knowledge there are two growing websites related to the Combined Operations Command and the Canadians who volunteered for it, along with a variety of materials that reveal and enlarge their experiences during WWII.

Some worthwhile links are provided below. Questions and concerns can be directed to the Editor via comment section (bottom) or email (see SUBMISSIONS Contact Us, in right hand margin).

Websites:

Combined Operations Command (by Geoff Slee, Scotland)

1000 Men, 1000 Stories (by Gord Harrison, London, Ontario) -

Memoirs:

Lloyd Evans, RCNVR, Combined Ops

Photos:

Imperial War Museum, Search our Collections - the link should take you to photo A12667 by Lt. F. A. Hudson, Royal Navy official photographer

Histomil.com - leads to a wide variety of topics, including links to almost
limitless German photographs at Bundesarchive Photos 1939 - 1945

Photo: A12671. Troops and ammunition for light guns being brought ashore
from a landing craft assault (LCA 428) on Arzeu beach, Algeria, N. Africa,
whilst another  LCA (LCA 287) approaches the beach. Nov. 8, 1942.
Photo Credit - RN photographer Lt. F.A. Hudson

Naval Museums:

CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum - links to Canadian navy newspapers eg Crows Nest

Readers can link to memoirs by AB Lloyd Evans (first on left, above). I located 
the photo of Mr. Evans and two mates in March 1944 issue of Crow's Nest



Newspapers:

The Winnipeg Tribune - digitized

Links to 10 great online newspaper archives.

More Links to Resources to follow.

Happy Hunting.

Please link to Books re Combined Operations

Unattributed Photos GH

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Articles: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (1).

Combing The Winnipeg Tribune

[A painting by Canadian war artist Charles Comfort, of the Allied raid
on Dieppe in 1942. Photo Credit - The Canadian Encyclopedia]

Introduction:

The first raid on Dieppe, known as Operation RUTTER, was attempted on July 7, 1942, but was very quickly cancelled.

Operation JUBILEE, the more well-known of the two operations concerning the seaside city in France, took place five to six weeks later, on August 19, 1942. Should it have been cancelled as well? My father definitely thought so.

About 100 Canadian sailors, my father included, members of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) and the earliest to join Combined Operations* trained for these actions. Many participated in them, never to forget.

(*Combined Ops was a British organization focussed on offence, including Commando raids on Germany's western front (e.g., in Norway and at St. Nazaire, France) and then subsequent invasions in the Mediterranean, e.g., Operation TORCH, invasion of North Africa, November 1942 for starters. The raids and invasions required 100s of sailors to man the small landing crafts (larger ships made larger targets and would never reach or tie up on shore), a call went out to the Royal Navy Reserve and Canadian Navy for volunteers ("for dangerous work overseas, on small crafts, nine days leave thrown in"), and men from across Canada stepped forward, so to speak.

The first two volunteer drafts of about 50 Canadian sailors each, joined Combined Operations in late 1941 and sailed to Scotland in January 1942. They were soon involved in training aboard landing crafts in southern England and then northwest Scotland.


Eight Canadians in Combined Operations at Northney III, their first training
camp on Hayling Island. Photo Credit - Joe Spencer, circa Feb. 1942.

L - R: Al Addlington, Joe Spencer, Chuck Rose, Doug Harrison, Art 
Bradfield, Don Linder, Joe Watson, Jake Jacobs. All from SW Ontario

Some very good material (news articles, stories, photographs, etc.) can be found related to RUTTER, and much more can be found about JUBILEE. Though some links to material are already found on this site, I now add more and hope that readers are encouraged to send other links and offerings as well.

I share news clippings from The Winnipeg Tribune (digitized) that are dated at least two weeks before the official date for RUTTER in order to supply context for the times. Some articles relate to action on other war fronts, about the need or call for a Second Front, and other topics that might have been part of conversations or the thoughts of the Canadian sailors. At the very least, the clippings add a bit of timely flavour and a springboard for other items I will share from Navy memoirs.

For example, I start with clips from June 22, 1942, because the date is mentioned in my father's memoirs. He and other Canadians in Combined Ops were sailing toward Southampton and the Isle of Wight to prepare (unbeknownst to them) for Operation RUTTER.

In Navy memoirs Doug Harrison writes:

Chapter FOUR. A TASTE OF DIEPPE, 1942 

It is very difficult to put a finger on where I was and when I was there because I have only my service sheet and memory to go by and neither seem to be up-to-date. However, I believe we went from Irvine to H.M.S. Quebec (very near Inveraray, Scotland) then to H.M.S. Niobe and then aboard the oil tanker Ennerdale at Greenock in late April, 1942. Our barges were loaded on the ship too, by use of booms and winches. I do recall that before leaving Greenock one of the ship’s crew said to me, “I wish we weren’t going on this trip, matey.” When I asked why he said, “‘Cause we got a bloody basinful last time!” We got our basinful this time too.

During the trip down the west coast of England it seems we pulled into an Irish seaport one night; however, farther down the coast of England we headed south past Milford Haven, Wales, and all was serene.

We usually had a single or maybe two Spitfires for company. There were eight ships in the convoy; we were the largest, the rest were trawlers. Of course, the Spitfires only stayed until early dusk, then waggled their wings and headed home.

On June 22, 1942, my mother’s birthday, O/D Seaman Jack Rimmer of Montreal and I were reminiscing on deck. We must remember there was daylight saving time and war time, and to go by the sun setting one never knew what time it was. Jack and I were feeling just a little homesick - not like at first - and it was a terribly hard feeling to describe then.

Our Spitfire waggled his wings and kissed us goodnight though it was still quite light, and no sooner had he left when ‘action stations’ was blared out on the Klaxon horn.

Eight German JU 88s came from the east, took position in the sun and attacked us from the stern. It was perhaps between eight and nine o’clock because I had undressed and climbed into my hammock next to Stoker Fred Alston. When the Klaxon went everybody hit the deck and tried to dress, and being the largest ship, we knew we were in for it.

I got my socks on, put my sweater on backwards and got the suspenders on my pants caught on the oil valves. I was hurrying like hell and nearly strangled myself - scared to death. They needed extra gunners so Lloyd Campbell of London, Ontario (later to die of wounds suffered at Dieppe) said, “Let me at him.”

The bombs came - and close. They really bounced us around. The gun crew on the foc’sle of the ship was knocked clear off the gun by the concussion and fell but were only bruised.

The attack was short and sweet but it seemed an eternity. A near miss had buckled our plates and we lost all our drinking water. I ventured out on deck immediately and picked up bomb shrapnel as big as your fist. I noticed the deck was covered with mud from the sea bottom. I kept the shrapnel as a souvenir along with many other items I had but, alas, they were all lost in Egypt.

We arrived at Cowe (Isle of Wight) the next day with everyone happy to be alive and still shaking. It indeed had been a basinful. Incidentally, two German 88s were shot down. Norm Mitchinson of Niagara Falls was credited with two planes shot down during the course of the war; one at Dieppe and one at Sicily. Both were low flying bombers. His weapon was a strip Lewis 303.

The next evening, June 23*, 1942 there was terrific activity. Motor launches by the dozen headed out to see what was going on, and it turned out to be the aborted attempt on Dieppe.

(*The date listed may be as much as two weeks off, if he was in fact referring to Operation RUTTER).

The next one on August 19, 1942 should have been aborted too. I wasn’t there because I was on leave but came back early (because, though I didn’t know where, I knew there was a raid coming) and was in position to see the Duke of Wellington carrying barges, my oppo and other buddies to Dieppe and certain death for the soldiers.


There was a mishap before they even got to sea, i.e., soldiers were readying hand grenades and one somehow exploded and four were killed and many injured. It was an ill omen.

(Pages 19 - 20, from "Dad, Well Done")

News clippings from The Winnipeg Tribune, June 22 - 27, 1942:





My father wrote about a clash on the southern shore of England on June 22 as his ship approached Southampton. That city is mentioned at the end of the following article.




Talk about, and hope for, a Second Front is definitely in the air.


Though most of the war activities took place miles from Canada, there were several incidents that kept Canadians on edge: 






Photos related to the Dieppe Raid, from other sources:

Wrecked Allied tanks and landing craft lie strewn across a beach at
Dieppe, France, following the failed raid there in 1942.

Bodies of Canadian soldiers of the Calgary Regiment lie dead on the beach
at Dieppe following the disastrous Allied raid there on 19 August, 1942. 

Infantrymen of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
boarding landing craft before the raid on Dieppe on 19 August, 1942.

Editor: A caption did not accompany this photo at
The Canadian Encyclopedia website (see below)

The four photos immediately above, and the four that follow, are located at The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Link - https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dieppe-raid

There we read the following:

During the Second World War, on 19 August 1942, the Allies launched a major raid on the French coastal port of Dieppe. Operation Jubilee was the first Canadian Army engagement in the European theatre of the war, designed to test the Allies' ability to launch amphibious assaults against Adolf Hitler's "Fortress Europe." The raid was a disaster: More than 900 Canadian soldiers were killed, and thousands more were wounded and taken prisoner. Despite the bloodshed, the raid provided valuable lessons for subsequent Allied amphibious assaults on Africa, Italy and Normandy. (More details available at website).

The beach at the village of Puys, east of Dieppe, where Canadian soldiers
landed on 19 August, 1942.

A photograph on an interpretative panel in France, showing the bodies of
Canadian soldiers piled up on the beach at the village of Puys,
following the raid on Dieppe on 19 August, 1942.

The graves of Canadian soldiers -- buried head-to-head in the
local style -- at the Canadian War Cemetery at Dieppe

Enemy fortifications are examined two years after the raid. Photo Credit -
KEN BELL, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA134448

More clippings from The Winnipeg Tribune, June 25 - 27, 1942:


The call for Canadian involvement in a Second Front is getting louder, and coming from 'the top'.





We know from history that when the Dieppe Raid took place (affected by loud calls and strident urgings for a Second Front?), the majority of soldiers involved were from Canada. Canadian political and military leaders were in full support of Canadian involvement in subsequent operations, and were in fact pushing for it:



Ten days before Operation RUTTER was to occur, the above headline and next article appeared in Canada. Is the idea of diverting German strength away from the Russian Front and toward "coming operations" connected to the Dieppe raid? The answer appears to be, "apparently so."


Hitler apparently has his ear to the ground:




During the course of WW2, recruits for RCNVR came forward from across Canada in large numbers, almost a 10 to 1 ratio compared to recruits for the RCN.

From Central Canada: One sailor turned left, the other right!

More articles and photographs to follow.


Unattributed Photos GH

Monday, December 3, 2018

Editor's Research: Beginnings - The Dieppe Raid.

Books, News Articles, Photographs.

["The Story of the Disastrous 1942 Expedition" by R. Neillands]

Introduction:

Recently I presented the last post in a series of nine that related to photographs depicting various aspects of significant activities associated with OperationTORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa, November, 1942. While doing so, I admitted that there are very likely many more photographs available for viewing at various sites. So, I may return to North Africa in the future, and any information from readers - links to books, news articles, photographs, memoirs, etc. - is greatly appreciated to assist in my search for and collection of materials, especially any connected to Canadians in Combined Operations.

Now I am going to turn my attention to collecting and sharing more information about the Dieppe Raid and the two operations that are associated with it, Operation RUTTER (July7, 1942) and Operation JUBILEE (August 19, 1942). Again, assistance from readers will be appreciated.

I will first focus on books in my possession, news articles (digitized) from The Winnipeg Tribune, and photographs from the Imperial War Museum. I will salt my presentations with information from memoirs of Canadians in Combined Operations, including details recorded by my father Doug Harrison and other Canadian members of Combined Operations. Then I will widen my search by following leads that present themselves.


The above photo from Robin Neillands' book is from Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa) and is labelled as PA 113243. Hopefully, there will be a number of other photographs available for viewing online, or at the Library and Archives in our nation's capital, with captions that will inform interested readers about the role(s) of Canadians in Operation RUTTER and JUBILEE. Will we learn where and when these training activities took place and whether journals and diaries can inform us further?

Time will tell, of course.


I have seen the above photograph at the Imperial War Museum, and have included it in earlier posts (likely related to "training for Combined Operations"; see click on HEADINGS, side margin), but questions remain about exactly when and where it was taken, and what is the nationality of the sailors in the background. Canadian, British, or both?

Much information concerning the Dieppe Raid is already available for reading and viewing on this website, and more will soon follow.

A11219. Heading - THE BRITISH NAVY'S PART IN THE COMBINED
OPERATIONS DAYLIGHT RAID ON DIEPPE. 20 AUGUST 1942.
Troops on board a destroyer after the action. Photo Credit - 
Lt. L. Pelman, RN photographer, Admiralty Official Collection

Please visit Dieppe to view the earlier entries.

Unattributed Photos GH

Friday, November 30, 2018

Photographs: Imperial War Museum - N. Africa, 1942 (9).

Operation TORCH, Invasion of North Africa, 1942

TORCH Sets the Stage for HUSKY, BAYTOWN and AVALANCHE

[Photo: A13046. HM Ships anchored at the Naval harbour of Mers-el-Kebir.
Photo - RN Photographer Lt. C.H. Parnall, Imperial War Museum. IWM.] 

Introduction:

Undoubtedly, more photographs can be found within various archives and collections that pertain to Allied action during Operation TORCH, November, 1942. In the future I may find more at my favourite site for clear photographs and informative captions, the Imperial War Museum, London UK. And if I do so, I will add them to this set of nine posts.

Canadians in Combined Operations went back to various bases and camps in the United Kingdom after their work in North Africa was complete. There they participated in more training aboard landing crafts (LCAs and LCMs and more) in preparation for future, significant operations or planned invasions in the Mediterranean, i.e., at Sicily in July and Italy in September, 1943.

Many posts that feature news articles, photographs, videos and more about those operations in '43 can be found already at this website. Please use the "click on HEADINGS" in the right hand margin re Sicily and Italy to begin your search if desired.

More photos and accompanying captions about action in North Africa now follow:

A13047. HM Ships anchored at the Naval harbour of Mers-el-Kebir.
Photo Credit - RN Photographer Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM

A13688. SCENES IN ORAN HARBOUR AND MERS-EL-KEBIR, 22, 23 NOV. 1942.
Ships scuttled by the French before the landing parties arrived, lying on the bottom
of Oran Harbour. Photo - Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

A13689. BRITISH SAILORS AND FRENCH DOCKERS WORK TOGETHER
NEAR ORAN. 22, 23 NOV. 1942, ORAN AND MERS EL KEBIR.
British naval ratings and French dockyard workers work together
after the cease fire at Mers-el-Kebir, north west of Oran.
Photo Credit - Lt. C.H. Parnall, Imperial War Museum

Editor's Note: I am reminded, when I see the above and next three photos, that Canadians in Combined Operations were sprinkled among the Royal Navy crews aboard landing crafts, or they manned crafts as a group of three or four while under the command of a British officer. I feel confident in saying that there are Canadians in these rare group photos though we read "British sailors and French dockers work together...."

A13690. SIGN LANGUAGE HELPS BRITISH SAILORS AND FRENCH
DOCKERS TO GET TOGETHER IN NORTH AFRICA. 22, 23 NOV., ORAN
AND MERS-EL-KEBIR. In Mers-el-Kebir, north west of Oran, a seaman ekes
out his French with sign language. After landing at Mers-el-kebir, naval
ratings helped French dock workers in the landing of supplies etc.
Photo - Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

A13691. Heading as above. Caption - In Mers-el-Kebir, north west of Oran, a
seaman ekes out his French with sign language. After landing at Mers-el-kebir,
naval ratings helped French dock workers in the landing of supplies etc.
Photo - Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

A13692. SIGN LANGUAGE.... 22, 23 NOV. 1942 
Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

Editor's Note: The following two photos illustrate my earlier note about a few Canadians "sprinkled among the Royal Navy crews aboard landing crafts." The first is a single frame taken from a video/news reel that deals with the landings in North Africa and men briefly going ashore. The sailor with white cap and fag on his lip (beside a woman, second from right) looks very much like C. Dale, from Canada.

Four boys in the middle row look very familiar!! 

Mr. Dale appears third from left in the next photo, with a few other Canadians I know by name, including my father (peaking out behind Dale, fourth from left). Portsmouth or Southampton, likely.


And now, back to photos from the Imperial War Museum:

A13693. Heading - THE "V C" SHIP. 22 AND 23 NOVEMBER 1942, ORAN AND
MERS-EL-KEBIR. HMS WALNEY, EX-AMERICAN COAST GUARD CUTTER
LYING ON ITS SIDE BY THE INNER BREAKWATER OF ORAN HARBOUR.
AFTER THE SHIP HAD REACHED ITS OBJECTIVE; TO BREAK THE BOOM
IN ORAN FOR THE NORTH AFRICAN LANDINGS, HER COMMANDING
OFFICER CAPTAIN PETERS RECEIVED A POSTHUMOUS V C FOR HIS
PART IN THE ACTION. THE LOSS OF LIFE WAS HEAVY BUT THE
OBJECTIVE WAS ACHIEVED. Photo - Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

A13694. HMS WALNEY, EX-AMERICAN COAST GUARD CUTTER
Photo - Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

A14013. Heading - HMS HARTLAND ON FIRE AND SINKING AFTER FOLLOWING
HMS WALNEY INTO ORAN HARBOUR IN THE FACE OF A HOT FIRE FROM
FRENCH WARSHIPS AND SHORE BATTERIES. Admiralty Official Collection, IWM.

A14014. HMS HARTLAND ON FIRE AND SINKING
Photo Credit - Admiralty Official Collection, IWM.

A14015. HMS HARTLAND ON FIRE AND SINKING
Photo Credit - Admiralty Official Collection, IWM.

A14313. Heading - THE ROYAL NAVY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
Caption - Naval ratings off duty enjoying a bathe on the North African coast at
Oran or Mers-El-Kebir. RN Official photographer Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

A14314. Heading - JACK TAR IN HIS ELEMENT. 25 AND 26 JAN. 1943,
ORAN AND MERS-EL-KEBIR. Naval ratings off duty enjoying a bathe
on the North African coast. Photo - Lt. C.H. Parnall, IWM.

CNA646. Heading - ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
AND NORTH AFRICA, 1939-1943. Caption - German Type VIIB submarine, U-83,
under attack in the Mediterranean, 80 miles North-east of Oran, Algeria, from a
Lockheed Hudson of No. 500 Squadron RAF based at Blida. Three 100-lb AS bombs
are seen exploding short of the target after the first attack run. The Hudson then
dropped three 150-lb depth charges on the U-83 from 75 feet and the submarine sank.
Photo Credit  - No. 500 Squadron RAF, IWM.

Please link to Photographs: Imperial War Museum - N. Africa, 1942 (8).

Unattributed Photos GH