Harwich and Dovercourt Sailing Club warmly
invites any veterans of any service, and any sphere of duty in
the area who would like to join us, to come to the Club and
partake in the short Service, and enjoy a light lunch on LBK6
afterwards, provided by the Club. Contact constable-m@sky.com
for directions of where to find us.
Read the
LBK 6 story here.
75 years of freedom and Battle of the Scheldt 31st August 2019
Dutch Website
Contacts for More Information;
Leon Dewitte
ladewitte@planet.nl
Stef Traas (Bevrijdingsmuseum
Zeeland)
s.traas@bmzeeland.nl
English Translation of
Web Page
In 2019 and 2020 we celebrate the
75th anniversary of the liberation of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands and the fact that we have been living in freedom
ever since. The national kickoff of this anniversary year will
take place on 31 August 2019, at the commemoration of the Battle
of the Scheldt. 75 years after this battle, people gather on the
quays of Terneuzen and on the water of the Westerschelde to
celebrate the liberation of the Southern Netherlands.
What is the battle of the Scheldt?
The Battle of the Scheldt was an
important military operation at the end of the Second World War.
The battle took place in 1944, in the north of Belgium and the
southwest of the Netherlands. With the conquest of both banks of
the Westerschelde, the estuary of the Scheldt was released and
Antwerp became the port of landing for the allied armies. The
Battle of the Scheldt is less known than for example the Battle
of Arnhem or the invasion of Normandy, while this successful
battle was of crucial importance for the liberation of the
Netherlands.
We are proud that the start of 75
years of freedom is taking place on the Scheldt. With an event
on 31 August 2019, the Province of Zeeland, the National
Committee 4 and 5 May and the municipality of Terneuzen want to
make the unknown but from a military point of view extremely
important history of the liberation known to a wider public. We
will also reflect on our freedom that was fought for and for
which the military and civilians made great sacrifices.
What will happen
on 31 August 2019?
The programme is still in full
development, but important ingredients are a fleet parade and a
freedom labyrinth of sea containers. Containers along the
Scheldt offer space for exhibitions, stories and performances,
which together show the history of the liberation of Zeeland and
the southern Netherlands.
Visitors are guided through the
labyrinth using a timeline of events. Nice to know: on 31
August, the NOS will broadcast a programme about the starting
moment, some of which will be live from Terneuzen.
Four we do together
The Battle of the Scheldt is not
only commemorated in Zeeland, and not only on 31 August. It is
up to us all to ensure that we celebrate our freedom in 2019 and
2020. After all, freedom is not self-evident, but requires
commitment from everyone!
Outside the lustrum year, Zeeland also pays attention to the war
past throughout the year. Numerous committees and museums
organise wreaths, exhibitions or other events. We expect extra
events to take place in the lustrum year.
Are you also participating?
Are you also organising an
activity that has its origins in the war past of our province?
Then it is interesting to register your event with the National
Committee. Register your event. On the site
tweedewereldoorlog.nl you will find an online events
calendar. The activity calendar on tweedewereldoorlog.nl is
always filled with current exhibitions, cycling and walking
routes, films and other activities.
The National Committee has also
developed a logo with additional style elements. All
organisations that organise an activity can use this logo. This
increases the recognisability and coherence of all activities.
In addition to this logo, Zeeland parties can also use elements
from the Zeeland brand style.
COMMANDO RAIDS ON THE CHANNEL ISLAND OF
SARK
75th Anniversary Commemorative Event - 27th December 2018
Photos of the event here;
Operation Hardtack 7cx
The Sark
Branch of the Royal British Legion are planning to unveil a
commemorative stone on Thursday 27th December (to
accommodate ferries, the original date of the 28th was brought
forward), on the
75th Anniversary of Operation Hardtack 7 on the
island of Sark. The commemorative stone will be unveiled on the
path on the Hog’s Back at the site of the minefield and close to
the spot where the two French Commandos died. It is planned for
this to take place at 12 noon and is to be followed by a lunch
at Stocks Hotel at approximately 1 pm, for those wishing to
attend the commemoration. More details on the programme will be
promulgated when plans are finalised.
OPERATION HARDTACK 7 - SARK
The Night of the 25th/
26th and 27th/28th December
1943
A
series of Commando Raids were planned under the code name
HARDTACK in late 1943 and were numbered from 1 to 36.
The operations were conducted by men
of
No. 10
(Inter-Allied) Commando,
No. 12
Commando and the
Special
Boat Service (SBS), and took place on the
Channel
islands and the northern coast of
France
in December 1943. Most of the raids consisted of ten men of
various ranks, carried by
Motor
Torpedo/Gun Boats (MTB/MGB) and
dories,
except for one operation, which was an airborne landing. The
raids were ended by order of
Major
General
Robert
Laycock because they caused the enemy to bring up
reinforcements, which could have been detrimental to the
Allies'
strategy for D-Day. In the Channel Islands raids were planned
against Jersey, Herm and Sark. The Herm raid was cancelled in
the planning stage, but the raids on Sark and Jersey went ahead
and both were planned for the night of 25/26 December with the
aims of reconnaissance and capture of prisoners – the Jersey
raid landed safely at Petit Port, climbing the cliff, they
failed to locate a German soldier. On returning to the beach, a
mine was set off seriously injuring a Captain Ayton who was
taken to the beach and returned to England where he died of his
wounds. Like the Jersey raid the Sark raid used men from No. 1
(French) Troop of 10 Commando, 12 Commando and the SBS.
Sark 25/26 December 1943.
Operation Hardtack 7.
The raid on
this night failed to achieve its objectives when the Commandos
were unable to scale the cliff having landed by Dorey from MGB
(ML) 292 on Derrible Point at about 23.15. The Raid was
commanded by an officer from 12 Commando, 10 men from No1 Troop
and 2 men of the SBS, as follows:
Lt Ambrose
McGoniga *12
Commando; Sergeant
Pierre-Charles Boccador * (Translator) 10
Commando; Sergeant Paul
Briat (Radio Operator) 10
Commando; Local
Sergeant Andre Dignac
*10 Commando; Corporal Robert Bellamy * 10 Commando; Corporal
Pierre Vinat (Medical Orderly)10
Commando,
Lance/Corporal Yves Quentric 10 Commando; Private
Marius Pizzichini 10 Commando; Private
Jacques
Gay 10 Commando; Matelot
Joseph Nicot
* 10
Commando; Matelot
Maurice Le Floch * 10 Commando; Captain
David Smee * (Dorey Skipper) SBS; Corporal ? Right * (Dorey
Engineer) SBS
(If anyone knows the name or initials of Cpl Right, please
contact us).
Of the above
men not all went ashore, as the Dorey capacity was 8. Men marked
with * were in the Dorey the remainder stayed on the MGB.
Dignac
(Nicknamed ‘Tarzan’ for his climbing ability) led the climb but
was unable to make the final ascent and at 02.15 gave up the
attempt. Back on the Dorey, McGonigal and Boccador decide to
survey the beach of Derrible Bay and the cliff of the Hog’s
Back, they encountered and brought back a mine. They returned to
the MGB at 04.10 and headed back to Dartmouth. On arrival they
are given permission to try again and planned another raid for
the 27/28 December.
Sark 27/28 December 1943.
Operation Hardtack 7.
MGB (ML) 322
(Took part in the Jersey raid) was their boat for the raid and
left Dartmouth at 16.00. This time the Commandos landed from
Dixcart Bay onto the Hog’s Back at 22.20 and the same men go
ashore again, with Dignac leading the climb and paying out a
rope for the others to use. The rudimentary map they used marked
a minefield and they moved forward carefully but suddenly a mine
exploded and Bellamy is killed almost instantly, the same
explosion also badly wounds Dignac who dies as he is being
injected with morphine by Boccador. More mines are set off as
they escape from the minefield and Le Flock is wounded in the
chest but can walk, as can the wounded Nicot and McGonigal.
Boccador is unwounded and is the one that helps all the others
to the rope and down the cliff. They are on board the Dorey by
02.30 and on the MGB by 03.00 when they set off for Dartmouth,
with Vinat treating the wounded on the journey, on arrival the
wounded are immediately taken to hospital.
The German
report on the raid to Commander Northwest France and made on the
29th December said:
On the
28th between midnight and 2.45 am the raiding patrol against the
Isle of Sark started. The base garrison located in the middle of
the island reported 5 explosions at 1.10 am. At the crack of
dawn 2 soldiers in English uniforms have been found on the
minefield above the steep coast near Dixcart Valley, one was
recognised as French, one was already dead and the other one
moribund. Landing took place at the same spot like in
04/10/1942, supposedly in a small vehicle. Force of command is
unknown. Injuries found originate from small mine pieces.
According to the traces of blood found on coastal rocks more
wounded or dead soldiers are expected. Weapons and armament have
been left behind, among them was a radiotelephone.
Dignac and
Bellamy were buried in the Sark cemetery on the 30th
December. It is said that the Dame of Sark demanded to know the
names of the men for the Death Register of the island.
No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando
Troops for
this Commando were made up from various countries and each Troop
in the Commando was formed up of Nationals from each country, as
follows:
No. 1 Troop
(French). No. 2 Troop (Dutch), No. 3 Troop
(British),* No. 4 Troop ((Belgian), No. 5 Troop
(Norwegian), No. 6 Troop (Polish), No. 7 Troop
(Yugoslavian) & No. 8 Troop (French).
* This Troop
was made up of mainly German (Jewish) Nationals that had come to
Britain as refugees from Nazi Germany, but this did not show in
their title. Each man was given a British name and documents to
support that name. Being German speaking, they were often used
behind enemy lines and as interrogators to gain intelligence.
The graves of those killed in action were marked with the normal
cross, but those were later replaced by the Jewish symbol, the
Star of David.
Lt Col Reg
Guille MBE
Chairman
The
route that PLUTO took across the Isle of Wight
started at the Thorness beach terminal and a
pumping station at Whippance Farm. Then over
14 miles it stretched across the Island,
looping around Parkhurst Forest and Newport to
eventually arrive at a huge storage tank
hidden in Hungerberry Wood above Shanklin.
From there pipes fed two pumping stations, one
housed around a derelict hotel in Shanklin,
the other in a part demolished Victorian fort
and a golf clubhouse at Sandown. From there,
72 miles away in Europe, the Allied forces
desperately needed fuel.
