Diary: 81st LCM 1 Flotilla
By Billy Lindsay, AB, RCNVR of Victoria, B.C.
"Four Canadian flotillas of landing craft - incl. the 81st - laboured
in Sicily, 1943" Photo Credit - Imperial War Museum (IWM)
in Sicily, 1943" Photo Credit - Imperial War Museum (IWM)
Invasion of Sicily -
June 29: Sailed this morning about 10 o'clock in small convoy for Alexandria. American ships and Ennerdale with us again.
June 30: Arrived in Alex. this morning. Lots of ships here - a big port. _____ and _____ jumped (ship) and got caught.
July 1: Ships around us loading troops. Raid not far off now.
July 3: ____ and _____ rejoined ship. Sailed this afternoon. Big convoy, British, Yankee and Canadian ships in it. cruisers, battlewagons, corvettes.
July 4: They told us where we are going to strike this morning. Sicily next Sat. Canadian Army to take part too.
July 6: Torpedoed a ship in our convoy this morning. Listed forward and burned but we go on. Yeh man!
July 9: Paratroopers went tonight at 10:30. Gliders first assault 2:30 a.m.
July 10: Arrived off Sicily. Plenty of ? ashore. Boats in water at 8:30 ferrying trucks and men ashore. Beaches small and very shallow.
July 11: Gerry and Italian planes over bombing but are kept high. Sank a hospital ship. RAF very few but hot when around. 11 raids since yesterday at 4 a.m.
July 12: Planes sunk four ships. Liberty ship burning now. Gerries over this morning again about nine o'clock. What shit going up in the air.
LCT 416 draws alongside a supply ship (right: Carley float, truck,
crane are visible) while another ship burns in the background.
Photo - St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 1, Pg. 184, D. J. Lewis
July 13: Raid at five this morning. Stuka divers, another convoy came in this morning. Bombed and sank a Liberty ship, 12 out of 50 saved.
July 14: Couple of raids today. unloading ships in a hell of a hurry. We are eating good... had chicken last night.
July 16: Have got Syracuse now. Ships going in there to unload. Ships still coming here.
July 17: One week here. Everything going good. Italian prisoners working on the beaches unloading craft.
Photo - St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 1, Pg. 185, D. J. Lewis
July 21: Unloading ammunition for our Canadian Sherman Tank Corps. Supposed to be our last day in this place. Going to Syracuse and then - who knows.
July 24: Went into town of Noto this afternoon for a little while. Prov. Town. had some ice cream and lemonade, came back to the barge early.
July 27: Carrying all kinds of stores - food, gas, ammunition. Gerries over again. 45 air raids.
August 1: Unloading Empire, Rosaland. Gerries over last night. Did not stay long. Still working, slackened up.
August 2: Buzz (rumours) that we are leaving this week. A lot of the boys in hospital with everything imaginable.
August 6: Left 'How Sector' to go up coast on our way to Malta. Nice weather. Went off coast about 30 miles unchased.
Landing craft in Malta, likely before the invasion of Sicily
Photo Credit - Times of Malta
Dry Dock in Malta -
August 13: Air raid but very quiet again. They are nearly a thing of the past here.
August 14: Empire Charmain* is here in harbour. We must be going to use her again in the next raid.
August 16: Took first two of our boats to be re-fitted for the next raid in about a month from now. It's supposed to be from shore to shore, wherever it is.
August 20: Went into dry dock this afternoon. About 40 of us in it at the same time. Will be in for about four days or so. Air raid tonight.
August 21: Saw General Girard here yesterday afternoon. Buzz is that we are going back to Sicily to make a raid on Italy.
August 22: Still aboard our barges in dry dock. Just minor repairs to hulls and shafts and props.
August 23: Eating aboard an LST now. Meals aren't bad. We are going back to UK pretty soon.
August 31: Still here in this grim place. Boy, will we ever be glad to get off this island of Malta.
September 8: News that Italy fell - surrendered. Came to us as a surprise. War will be over soon, I guess. France next.
September 9: Part of Italy's fleet is supposed to come here to Malta. Boy, our next job will most likely be france, the last job.
September 15: Almost went on draft yesterday. Maybe today. 80th (Flotilla, i.e., LCMs) boys are back from Italy.
September 19: Went aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable tonight about midnight. Our salvation at last.
October 4: Left Gibraltar for England at last. The ship is grim but it isn't that now.
HMS Formidable took part in N. African landings in Nov. 1942, Sicily landings
in July 1943, and Salerno landings in Sept. 1943. After her Mediterranean duties
she took part in an Arctic convoy in Oct. 1943. Link to Photo and Caption Credit
The above entries were selected from the dozens listed re activities from June 28 to October 10, 1943. To read the full account please link to AB Billy Lindsay's diary at St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol.1 pages 186 - 188.
*She had been known as Empire Charmain, a popular spelling, but baptized "Charmian" after one of Cleopatra's slave girls in Shakespeare's "Anthony and Cleopatra". David J. Lewis
Please link to Short Story re Sicily, "Airborne Mishaps"
No comments:
Post a Comment