Articles: Canadian Flotilla of Landing Craft in Italy (2).

Canadians in Combined Operations Get Honourable Mention

Able Seaman (AB) Lloyd Evans (Comb. Ops), Ottawa is mentioned in 

the Sept. 1943 news article by Richard L. Sanburn, Ottawa Citizen.

Photo - As found in the Ottawa Citizen (Feb. 1944 issue)

Introduction:

Readers who visit 1,000 Men, 1,000 Stories in order to learn more about the Canadians who volunteered for the Combined Ops organization (for 'Hostilities Only', from 1941- 45) will be happy to find the attached article by R. Sanburn, published shortly after the invasion of Italy in September, 1943.

The full article is in Part 1 of this series, and in it Sanburn mentions the names of seven Canadian seamen toiling in the Mediterranean theatre of war, aboard the landing crafts travelling between Messina, Sicily, and Reggio, Italy, with troops and material of war. Amongst the scores of Allied landing craft was a separate Canadian Flotilla (a very hard-working group, apart from time off for water-skiing). It was designated as the 80th Canadian Flotilla.

Here are the first few paragraphs of Sanburn's report:

In his first three paragraphs, Sanburn mentions a few details that can be explained further now:

(They) "cheerfully tell you they are getting a bit bored running a shuttle service between Sicily and Italy."

Though the sailors could see the shore of the toe of Italy's boot from Messina, the distance they travelled, once loaded with troops or supplies, was approximately seven miles. As well, their transport duties lasted into early October. So, no wonder they enjoyed recreational water-skiing or visiting the mainland once they developed a schedule that included some time off.

The insignia inside the two blue dots above reminds me of the
Combined Ops insignia. It's just a coincidence, I believe.
Photo Credit - Map of Messina to Reggio

 And I wasn't kidding about the water-skiing:

Skiing on The Med.

Photo Credits: From the collection of AB Lloyd Evans, mentioned

in Sanburn's article. 2nd photo looks similar to Comox, B.C.!

Three Canadians in C. O., in Comox, B.C., circa 1944-45

Comb. Ops camp. Centre, Doug Harrison aka Dad.

R. Sanburn continues with other significant details:

"An all-Canadian flotilla of landing craft carried a large part of the Canadian troops to Italy on the historic invasion morning..."

D-Day Italy, aka Operation Baytown, began on September 3, after a devastating Allied naval barrage of Reggio and surrounding areas. In another news account (from a later issue of the Ottawa Citizen; see top photo and caption), featuring AB Lloyd Evans and two of his mates, "all three helped land Canadian units including the famous Van Doos, and Carleton and Yorks Regiment."

It was the first time a Canadian flotilla of landing crafts carried Canadian troops into battle. Though Canadian Army units and four Canadian Flotillas of Landing Craft took part in the invasion of Sicily about two months earlier (beginning D-Day July 10, aka Operation Husky), they landed and toiled on different parts of the island.

Find Pachino on the map below for details : )

Canada's army landed left of Pachino (centre dot); Canada's four landing

craft flotillas transported the 8th Army/supplies to the right of Pachino.

I like Sanburn's apt description of the work of the Canadian seamen. He writes:

(The landing craft) "still are very busy plying back and forth carrying more troops, more vehicles and more everything."

And a lot of the 'everything' was gasoline, as seen in the photograph below: 

Gerry cans atop gerry cans. "Don't light that cigarette!"

Photo Credit - A Scenza Reggio

When Sanburn describes the scene before him he focuses (somewhat like a proud Canadian would) on the "all-Canadian flotilla" and the "Canadian troops." But it should be known that when he mentions "a heartwarming spectacle with hundreds of ships going toward Italy and returning", most would be British landing crafts, albeit with Canadian officers and seamen sprinkled among the crews.

How many all-Canadian landing crafts made up the 80th Flotilla? I do not yet know, but it would be in the minority I think.

About the numbers: Several members of the 80th Flotilla travelled together aboard the SS Silver Walnut and around Africa to reach Port Said, Egypt, before participating in the invasion of Sicily in July. Their names are listed on a Navy hammock that can be seen at the Navy Museum in Esquimalt, B.C., and the names total 16.

But, six of the seven names listed in Sanburn's article do not appear on the hammock, so that leads me to believe that a Flotilla is made up of a goodly number* of crafts and sailors. At least a lot more than 16 officers and ratings. Exactly how many will surely remain a mystery for a long time.

Another mystery is, how many Canadians signed up for Combined Operations? How would one find out? I call the blog/website '1,000 Men, 1,000 Stories' based on the numbers mentioned by Roy Burt and Doug Harrison (both members of RCNVR and Combined Operations, 1941-45) in their memoirs or stories. But I would think there is no official list anywhere.

N. Bowen (lower left) is mentioned in Sanburn's article. My father is listed

on the hammock but never saw it. Photo Credit - HMCS Naden Museum 

Sanburn's opening paragraphs conclude with a few more interesting details, in my opinion:

He says, "This flotilla now includes veterans of four landings - Dieppe, North Africa, Sicily and Italy."

His statement makes we wonder how many members of the 80th participated in all four landings. I know that my father was involved with the training for all four landings and participated in three of the four operations. In his memoirs he states he "missed Dieppe by one day" and returned to Southampton "just as casualty lists were coming in." 

I am aware that there are lists of the members of RCNVRand Combined Operations who were attached to the specific landing parties re the Dieppe Raid (e.g., in Combined Operations by Londoner Clayton Marks), but how many were in the 80th Flotilla in Italy we will likely never know. I have never seen a list of any kind in Navy memoirs, Canadian history books, articles, etc.

However, if only 950 - 1,000 Canadians in the Wavy Navy volunteered for Combined Operations and a flotilla is made up of (e.g.) 50 officers and ratings, then the number of Canadians who participated in all four landings is very low. Though I have gone out on many a limb, I will not go out on one at this time to provide a guess any more precise than 'a baker's dozen'.

Richard L. Sanburn is fairly precise about another matter when he states, "This naval unit represents a complete cross-section of the Dominion (of Canada)."

The aforementioned Navy hammock tells part of the tale: 

Manitoba is near the centre of Canada, and it is represented by W. N. Katana**, a Russian-Canadian who hid under a winch on my father's landing craft on one or more trips ashore during the invasion of Sicily (heavily and regularly opposed by the Luftwaffe) and proclaimed, "Dieppe was never like this!"

Many provinces from across Canada - both left and right of Manitoba - are also represented, with half the entries from Ontario. And since the hammock likely lists only a portion of the members of the 80th Flotilla, other provinces are represented by Canadian seamen as well.

I'm sure many readers who are hoping to find more about the work of Canadians in Combined Operations are also hoping that Richard Lionel Sanburn wrote a lot more articles for Canadian Newspapers during World War II.

More research material is on the way. Example; I just ordered a book online that was written by Sanburn in 1944 about the Allied landings in Sicily and Italy. Hopefully the book will be pertinent to these posts associated with this article.

Stay tuned.

*goodly number. How many is that? When I find out I'll post it here : )

**Stoker Katana's name is stencilled on the Navy hammock, so I assume it belonged to him when it was given to an officer (Sub. Lt. D. Rodgers) who boarded SS Silver Walnut without one. The officer one day painted upon it (and nicely listed the names of the 80th Flotilla who were also on board the Walnut) and returned it to the Canadian Navy many years later at a reunion in Australia. When I helped unroll it at the Navy Museum on Vancouver Island in 2014 I held it to my nose... and the smell of diesel fuel (from a stoker's working environment, approx. 70 year's earlier!) was unmistakeable.

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