Training: A Landing Exercise, May 1942

Photos Dated May, 1942, Possibly Related to the Practice

Exercises in Preparation for the Dieppe Raid

IWM (H 20020) (1/2) Original wartime caption: Troops embarking into assault

landing craft Lockeyear, Walter Thomas (link to 1 - 30 of 3853 photos)

Associated themes - British Army in Britain 1939-1945

Introduction:

Well may one ask, "Where were the following photographs taken?" And I would be the first to admit that I don't have the answer. But I do have a guess, a (somewhat) educated guess. 

The date on the back of the photographs shared below suggests the training took place approximately 1 - 2 months after Operation Chariot (the raid at St. Nazaire, France, late March, 1942) and 2 - 3 months (approx.) before Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid, August 19, 1942. (A raid on Dieppe called Operation Rutter was cancelled in early July, 1942).

Related photo:

Original caption: Final exercise prior to assault landing at Dieppe.

Photo: Library and Archives Canada 4341223

(For more information re Operation Chariot, "a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France" (Wikipedia), please click here.)

(And please click on the link provided here for more information about an excellent book re the raid at St. Nazaire)

A lot of training aboard landing crafts took place in Scotland, e.g., at Inveraray and Irvine (no. 4, no. 13 and 14, below), as well as at numerous locations in England. 

Map and training establishments as found in Combined Operations,

by Londoner Clayton Marks

Because of some clues in the background of the photographs shared below, e.g., well built-up port, sand dunes, I think the photos were taken on England's south coast, e.g., near Southampton or on the Isle of Wight. However, I am open to suggestions, email me at gordh7700@gmail.com

A short set of photographs by Walter Thomas Lockeyear under the heading A Landing Exercise follow:

IWM (H 20020) (2/2) Associated Themes - British Army 1939-1945

IWM (H 20021) (1/2) Troops embarking into assault landing craft

Readers - Q: Where along the coast of England would one find such a build up of buildings?

IWM (H 20021) (2/2) Troops embarking into assault landing craft. (No new

information is shown on the reverse side. This is true for several others below)

IWM (H 20022) Military police, complete even to road signs,

waiting their turn to embark. (No new details on the reverse)

IWM (H 20023) (1/2) Officers watching landing operations

IWM (H 20023) (2/2) Officers watching landing operations

IWM (H 20024) Troops landing from assault landing craft. On reaching shore

they rush to their pre-arranged positions, to overcome enemy strong points.

Only a few seconds pass between the similar photos that follow:

IWM (H 20025) Troops landing from assault landing craft. On reaching shore

they rush to their pre-arranged positions, to overcome enemy strong points.

IWM (H 20026) Troops landing from assault landing craft. On reaching shore

they rush to their pre-arranged positions, to overcome enemy strong points.

And where did the landing craft training possibly take the British soldiers and crews of the Landing Craft Assault (LCAs)? I am assuming, because of the date on the photographs (May, 1942, about four months after 100 - 200 Canadian sailors had volunteered for Combined Operations and had been transported to Scotland, then onward to HMS Northney (on Hayling Island) and HMS Quebec (on Loch Fyne just south of Inveraray for training aboard LCAs and LCMs)) that a few Canadians were sprinkled among the crews in the above photographs, soon to be involved in the upcoming Dieppe Raid, then onward to Operation TORCH (invasion of North Africa, November, 1942), then onto Operation HUSKY, the invasion of Sicily in July, 1943, then next to Operation BAYTOWN at the toe of Italy's boot in September, 1943.

British troops landed on Sicily's eastern coast south of Syracusa beginning July 19, 1943, and four Canadian Flotillas of Landing Craft (55th, 61st, 80th and 81st) served in that region during and well after D-Day Sicily. E.g., the 55th and 61st landed British troops at HOW Beach (north of Avola near Gallina) and GEORGE Beach (a few miles south of Syracusa at Fontane Bianche) before returning to N. Africa after a few days. The 80th and 81st served at GEORGE and HOW respectively, unloading all manner of materials of war from troop and supply ships onto landing crafts into the first week of August. The 80th Flotilla (including my father, LS Doug Harrison) remained in the Mediterranean for three months, and returned to the U.K. in late October, eight weeks after D-Day Italy (beginning on Sept. 3, 1943 with Operation BAYTOWN at e.g., Reggio di Calabria). 

Original photograph of Canadians in Combined Ops, members of the

81st Flotilla of LCMs, establishing a beachhead on July 10, 1943 at HOW

Beach, north of Avola and near Gallina, Sicily (Operation HUSKY). Photo

by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC. At National Army Museum, UK

Please click here to view more photographs by Major Sale, re Canadians in Combined Operations.

Photos by Lt. Lockeyear now continue:

IWM (H 20027) Troops, climbing the cliffs after landing from assault landing craft.

IWM (H 20028) Troops, climbing the cliffs after landing from assault landing craft.

IWM (H 20029) Troops carrying mortar shells after landing on an"enemy" beach

I did check to see the next photograph, i.e., H 20030 as catalogued in the extensive collection (reportedly 11,000,000-plus) at IWM, i.e., Imperial War museum. Would there be more photos of 'troops carrying mortar shells' or - one could only hope! - a close up of the sailors manning the assault landing crafts. "Any Canadians in Combined Ops in the crowd?" I ask myself.

Not this time:

IWM (H 20030) (1/2) The C-in-C working at his desk on his special train.

It will be noticed that he has a telephone with which he can carry on communi- 

cations during stops. Credit to Lt. L. A. Puttnam, official WWII Photographer

IWM (H 20030) (2/2)

If interested, please click here for more information re Puttnam, Leonard Arthur

More photographs by Walter Thomas Lockeyear to follow.

Please click here to view Photographs: Combined Operations Training, November 1942 (2)

Unattributed Photos GH

Photographs: Combined Operations Training, November 1942 (2)

The Black Watch (and a Few Canadian Sailors in Comb. Ops)

Learning the Ropes re Landing Crafts, in Scotland, 1942

IWM (H 25386) Black Watch landing after "touching down.”

6th Ben. Black Watch (at HMS Quebec, Scotland) Nov. 1942

Introduction:

It has been reported that thousands upon thousands of British, Commonwealth, Polish, etc., soldiers underwent training aboard landing crafts at the No. 1 Training Camp for Combined Operations situated about 1 or 2 miles south of Inveraray, Scotland, on the western shores of Loch Fyne. 

Inveraray, located in NW Scotland, is well out of range of most German aircraft so was safe from bombings. And the lochs and terrain in the area were perfect for putting all kinds of craft (and the crews to man them) through their paces. 

The first two drafts of members from the RCNVR who volunteered for Combined Operations in December, 1941 (about 100 sailors, including my father Gordon 'Douglas' Harrison, Norwich, Ontario) passed through Inveraray in the spring - summer of 1942. So, when the photos shared below were originally taken - November 17, 1942 - many of those earliest of Canadian recruits would have been serving upon British (or possibly U.S.) landing crafts (sprinkled among the crews) on the shores of North Africa as part of Operation TORCH which began in early November, 1942.

A12647 American troops manning their landing craft assault from a doorway

in the side of the liner REINA DEL PACIFICO. Two of the landing craft

are numbered LCA 428 and LCA 447. (Hudson, F A (Lt))

(Doug Harrison, second left, about to grab a rope)

A12671 Troops and ammunition for light guns being brought ashore from

a landing craft assault (ramped) (LCA 428) on Arzeu beach, Algeria, N. Africa,

whilst another LCA (LCA 287) approaches the beach. Lt. F.A. Hudson

(Doug Harrison, RCNVR/Comb. Ops, center, welcomes U.S. troops!)

Please click here to read more about Doug's adventures while training in Scotland.

The hired transport Ettrick, at Inveraray: Photo credit - link to combined ops.com]

Please click here for more adventures related to 'early days of training' for Combined Operations.

Badge re HMS Quebec, No.1 Comb. Ops. Training Centre

Art Warrick, RCNVR/Comb.Ops., first draft at HMS Quebec, 1942

More photographs now follow taken by Walter Thomas Lockeyear, War Office Official Photographer, from his very lengthy collection of 3853 photos:

(Editor's note - When I first saw the photo below, a few years ago, I immediately thought that the sailor hanging onto the top of the right side of the LCA (landing craft, assault) was my father. "He's built like my dad, and he wears his hat on the back of his head - like dad." Then I noticed the date on the picture, i.e., Nov. 17, 1942. "Dad participated in TORCH, was in the Med. as of Nov. 8, said he was there 9 - 10 days, almost starved to death except for stealing some grapefruit juice from the Yanks, he said. Can't be him!")

IWM (H 25391) (1/4) Men of 6th Battalion, the Black Watch crouch down

in a landing craft as it approaches the shore, during combined operations

training in Scotland, 17 November 1942.

IWM (H 25391) (3/4) Same caption as above but with poorer quality photograph.

("Unfortunately, the better quality photos are not always available," says GH)

IWM (H 25391) (4/4) Slightly different caption appears on the back of the

photograph. 'Combined Operations Training' (in Scotland), 17 Nov. 1942

IWM (H 25392) 6th Black Watch running ashore on touching down.

IWM (H 25393) (1/2) Original wartime caption: 6th Black Watch negotiating

beach wire defences. Creator War Office official photographers (Photographer)

Lockeyear, Walter Thomas (Undefined) Production date 1942-11-17

IWM (H 25393) (2/2) Original wartime caption: 6th Black Watch

negotiating beach wire defences.

IWM (H 25394) Besides infantry troops, gunners are trained to land guns.

Photograph shows Bofors guns of a Light A.A. Battery landing from a

Tank Landing craft. 91st Light A.A. Battery.

IWM (H 25395) (1/2) A 40mm Bofors gun of 91st Light Anti-Aircraft

Regiment is hauled into a landing craft during combined operations

training in Scotland, 17 November 1942.

IWM (H 25395) (2/2) A modified caption appears on the back of the photograph.

IWM (H 25396) Silhouetted against the first morning light, 25-pounder Field

guns of 77th Field Regiment, R.A. landing from a Tank Landing craft (LCT).

IWM (H 25397) After landing, the 25-pdr. Battery goes into action.

IWM (H 25398) Man-handling 6-pdr. anti-tank guns from a

tank landing craft on to the beach.

Some photos in this series from H25383 - H25398 are filed under the heading “The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939 - 45”

More timely photographs by Lt. Walter Thomas Lockeyear will soon follow, a handful from May, 1942, then a lengthy set taken in December, 1942, just a few weeks after the above set were taken.

I think after filing the photos from mid-November, 1942, Walter got a shave and a haircut (cost only two bits!) and went right back to work.

Please click here to view Photographs: Combined Operations Training, November 1942 (1)

Unattributed Photos GH

Photographs: Combined Operations Training, November 1942 (1)

At the No. 1 Combined Operations Training Camp, The Royal

Kents and More Canadian Sailors are Put Through Their Paces

The 1st Royal Kents "are given a wet landing," as they wade

ashore at HMS Quebec, the No. 1 Combined Operations Training

Camp just south of Inveraray, Scotland. November, 1942.

Photo Credit - Walter Thomas Lockeyear, H25389 IWM

Introduction:

While collecting and sharing photographs re "Training for Combined Operations" by particular official war photographers Lts. Lockeyear and Tanner, I came across a way to collect and share a wider range of photos by both men, first off by searching for them under a slightly different heading, i.e., "Combined Operations Training." Yes, it was that easy to get more than a dozen more of their photos, most of which I'd never seen before. 

(Just as easy was getting more of the headings the mens' work was organized under, e.g., "Combined Operations Exercise." More and more pics soon to follow out of the 5,000 (approx.) organized under their names at Imperial War Museum).

The production date of November 17, 1942 is written or stamped on the back of several of the photos. It is known that several Canadians in Combined Ops - including my father Doug Harrison and his close friend Buryl McIntyre from Norwich, Ontario, Canada, were participating in the invasion of North Africa (i.e., Operation Torch) on that date. However, a few hundred other members of RCNVR had volunteered for Combined Operations after the first two drafts of Canadian sailors (about 100 in all; Doug and Buryl were a part of the first draft of about 50 men) had been shipped from Halifax to the U.K. in January, 1942.

So, it is likely Canadian members of the later drafts participated in training in November, 1942 at some of the Comb. Ops. locations scattered throughout the U.K., including at Inveraray (as seen below in the 1st photograph), home to the No. 1 Combined Operations Training camp.

Please click here to learn more about the training experienced by early Canadian volunteers to Combined Operations, e.g., at Inveraray and elsewhere. 

Shared below are photographs from Lt. Lockeyear's collection:

IWM (H 25383) (1/2) Original wartime caption: The Royal Fusiliers embarking

into American assault craft used for training purposes. Photo Credit:

Lockeyear, Walter Thomas  Production date 1942-11-17

IWM - Imperial War Museum, England

Please click here to learn more about WWII photographers - War Office official photographers 

Click here for more about the WAR OFFICE SECOND WORLD WAR OFFICIAL COLLECTION

More information about the training purposes at the No. 1 Combined Operations Training Camp (about 2 miles south of Inveraray, Scotland) was included on the back of the above photo by W. Lockeyear:

IWM (H 25383) (2/2) Original wartime caption: The Royal Fusiliers

embarking into American assault craft used for training purposes.

IWM (H 25384) Royal Fusiliers leaping from their craft on to

the beach during a landing. Production date 1942-11-17

IWM (H 25385) Royal Fusiliers attacking "enemy" positions after landing.

IWM (H 25386) Black Watch landing after "touching down.”

6th Ben. Black Watch

IWM (H 25387) General view of the 1st Royal West Kents, landing.

1st Royal West Kents

Two photographs of my own, taken a dozen or so years ago during my first trip to Scotland (for research purposes in part), show somewhat the same perspective as the above pic:

Lt. Lockeyear's photos continue:

IWM (H 25388) After landing, the 1st Royal West Kents

scale a sea wall to attack "enemy" coast positions.

Please click here to learn more about the early experiences of Canadians in Combined Operations while at HMS Quebec (No. 1 Comb. Ops. training camp) in 1942.

IWM (H 25389) (1/3) (under the heading “The British Army in

the United Kingdom 1939 - 45” ) Caption - Men of the 1st Battalion,

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment wade ashore from landing craft

during combined operations training in Scotland, 17 November 1942.

IWM (H 25389) (3/3) (also under the heading “The British Army

in the United Kingdom 1939 - 45” ) Similar caption as photo above

this one but with more details provided.

Another WWII photographer, another "wet landing" in almost the same location:

Photo credit - Official war photographer Major W. G. Horton at Inveraray

H 11185 Imperial War Museum

IWM (H 25390) The 6th Black Watch encounter beach wire defences.

Another photo by a rank amateur, but from a similar POV:

H.M.S Quebec, now a caravan or trailer park. GH 2014

More of the 'Lockeyear collection' soon to follow.

Please click here to view more very relevant 'Photographs: Training For Combined Operations, July 1942 (4)'

 
Unattributed Photos GH