Lt. Jack Anderson's Diary Aboard LCI(L) 311
Photo - G. Milne, as found in Combined Operations by C. Marks, London
This diary, written by Lt. J. Anderson, R.C.N.V.R., during the D-Day landings, was discovered in a locker aboard LCI(L) 311 by Jock Menzies of New Zealand when he purchased 3 former LCI(L)s (Landing Craft, Infantry - Large) from Harland and Wolf Shipyards in Belfast, Ireland in September or October of 1944. Records indicate the Skipper of LCI(L) 311 was Lt. David J. Lewis, R.C.N.V.R., who later created, with the help of others, a rare book re Canadians in Combined Ops entitled St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War, 1941 - 1945 (Volume 1).
LCI(L) - 311 "DIARY" By Lt. J. Anderson
An abbreviated version of details follows:
On Thursday, June 8, D+2 (D-Day plus 2 days), Jack Anderson writes, in part, that the night was "about the same as the last" with several German planes overhead. A gunner tried to get one but failed. Anderson slept through the noise again and worried he'd be given "continuous duty as an aeroplane spotter." 311 unloaded quite a few troops that day, including about 400 Royal Engineers, Pioneers, and others from the "Leopoldville". They spent much of the evening searching for more troops to unload and later returned to the anchorage.
Friday, June 9 D+3
Anderson writes that a German plane was shot down during the night and that "two men were killed and one wounded during the raid the night before last" and an L.C.P.V. was sunk nearby. Orders came to move Merchant Seamen from "corn cobs", i.e. derelict ships used, upon sinking them, to form a sea wall a harbour. A mixup occurred. 311 was given the wrong number at "Kingsmill" and had a lengthy search for the "Elswick Park", to take its 123 men aboard.
311 eventually collected the crews of three ships - Greeks, Portuguese, Rumanians, a few Scotsmen, Englishmen "and God only knows what else." Anderson said that one Captain, perhaps a Lithuanian, "forgot all his ship's papers in the wheel house of his ship. There's one in every crowd I guess." He also noted that, according to Lt. D. Lewis, "after reading the London papers, everyone seems excited about the invasion except us that sits here near the beach."
Saturday, June 10 D+4
"There is still no sign of any troopers," begins Anderson's diary. He starts to think that the German stories about sinking them in the Channel may be true. Mid-morning, however, 311 receives a signal to go quickly to the troop ship "Lairds Isle". They took off 75 men but, due to so many different directions - some led to wild goose chases - they had trouble finding more troops for some time. Eventually 311 collected about 400 troops from several other LCI's which couldn't beach properly.
Later LCI(L) 311 went alongside H.M.S. "Adventure" for a medical case and Ian (Barclay) went aboard, picked up 60 loaves of bread before and "told the big shots about their lack of organization."
Sunday, June 11 D+5
Early the next morning 311 was told us to tow a LCT (Landing Craft, Tank) again, writes Anderson. They got underway and towed "the damn LCT with great difficulty" alongside a U.S. LCI going back to the U.K. They then hurried to unload the "Biarritz" where they collected 438 men but again hit a delay on the beach. Time weighed heavy and Ian Barclay was convinced he should go ashore to explain 311's situation "to all the big wigs." "Anderson could see planes landing and taking off on shore and that the beach organization improved over the day. He notes that among the German prisoners captured in this area was a Russian boy, aged 13, who had been press-ganged into the service sometime ago.
Monday, June 12 D+6
Anderson writes that his ship was on the way by 9 AM on June 12 to unload the "Queen Emma", as well as a Dutch ship. They later drew alongside "Neuralia" and took a record load to date - 492 men. While landing the troops they ran aground on a "so-called pontoon" and had to be towed off, with great difficulty. A lone Fokke Wolfe 190 came over at that time and dropped half a dozen bombs. Nothing was hit as far as Anderson could see. Spitfires took care of the menace.
Anderson remarks that the battle "must not be going so well inland as the cruisers are still giving covering fire."
The "Neuralia", carrying reliefs for many of the shore party and some of the troops inland, arrived two days late for unloading. From the bridge of 311 Anderson could see that beach organization looked better than a few days earlier, although a goodly number of various-sized landing crafts were stuck in the sand. He writes, "LST's are being beached every day so apparently Rhino ferries did not turn out so well."
Photo - G. Milne, as found in Combined Operations by C. Marks, London
Tuesday, June 13 D+7
311 unloaded troops from "Prince Leopold" in the morning and crews spent the rest of the day at their leisure and "complaining that war was hell."
More to follow.
Note from Editor: The diary, in its entirety, can only be found in Combined Operations by Clayton Marks of London, Ontario. The book was printed in 1993 (approx.) and is extremely difficult to find. However, three of Clayton's family members and I are now in the process of readying the book for reprinting. It should be ready for sale and delivery by June 2016, and an announcement will be made on this site.
Please link to Story: D-Day Normandy - Lt. Anderson's Diary 1
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