Page 17 - ABA Salvoes 1999-2024

The bombardment of coastal batteries at Cherbourg was mostly carried out by air observation, but it was one of the few occasions when battleships and cruisers had to bombard under way and at considerable speed. By the end of September only one unit remained in action to give flanking support to the advance.
By VE Day, there were two troops in the Mediterranean and one troop in Belgium. The remainder were withdrawn and a fresh unit formed from them to relieve the unit which was due for repatriation from the Far East. This sixth unit flew out to India to join the invasion of Malaya. In fact the operation was unopposed as the Japanese had
surrendered, but the unit was fully deployed and used as a communication network and was very valuable to Corps Headquarters. No article on the units would be complete without mentioning the two officers whose labours have contributed so greatly to the success of the units. Colonel L Seccombe, as CBU steered the units from their infancy until the end of 1944, and then handed over to Colonel FKR Long who had commanded the Mediterranean unit throughout its life. Very shortly all the units will have completely disappeared, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that yet one more successful task has been added to the journals of the Regiment.
Travels with FO4 Maxwell Davidson’s War
Maxwell Davidson joined the Gunners at the beginning of World War 2 aged 18, and as seems fairly typical, spent his first couple of years training and being moved from regiment to regiment within the UK. He served in 66 Medium Regt RA TA, at Woolwich in 5 Training Regt RA, and after OCTU, in 132 Field Regt RA, first in Northumberland and later on the South Downs. His baptism of fire was at Imber Down when the RAF tragically engaged the spectators during a fire power demonstration. Maxwell may have thought that working with the RN was a safer bet, for after completing the mandatory two years service he volunteered for the COBU course run at Dundonald Camp, Troon. Now read on:
The unit was run by Lt Col Lionel Seccombe, and the chief instructor was Maj Freddie Long, who later commanded 2 COBU. The course included much physical activity, not too dissimilar to that being carried out by the Commandos; landings on rocky isolated beaches, communication exercises and of course live naval gunfire exercises on a range on the Arran side of the Mull of Kintyre. Also in the syllabus was Davis Escape from submarines and a three week canoe training course with the SBS based at Fareham. By now I had teamed up with Sgt Gomme (of G plan furniture connections) who was my canoe partner and team Sgt. Not long after having been taught the rudiment of canoeing, the course was sent on a night navigation exercise. The route was from Fareham to the Calshot Lighthouse, Spithead and finally Portsmouth Harbour. That night the wind and sea became much rougher than forecast, the exercise was extremely hard work and not without danger over the fourteen miles route. Sgt Gomme and I completed the course, and were then given a right royal rocket for not turning back as all the other canoes had done. My response was to the effect that we thought that we would be RTU’d if we failed to complete the exercise. Numerous other exercises followed, making the teams proficient canoeists, navigators and escape artists. After being briefly posted back to 132 Field Regt I applied to be posted to an active COBU. Within days I was back at Dundonald Camp where I met up again with Sgt
Lieutenant Colonel Seccombe RA
Gomme and the two RN members of his team, Leading Telegraphist Percy Pieroway from Newfoundland, and Leading Signaller Smith. We moved north to Scapa Flow and to HMS KING GEORGE V and HMS JAMAICA. Here we became FO4 of 2 COBU, whose strength was about 40 all ranks.
After three weeks training as both liaison officers and forward observers we reported to 1st Regt, 1st US Inf Div based in a tented camp at Pollock House, Glasgow. We were kitted out with full American equipment, uniforms, webbing, M1 carbines and “walkie-talkies”. We also used the US type 100 radio set and the Aldis Lamp, batteries were charged using a bicycle charger. In due course FO4 embarked in the liner Reina Del Pacifico for an unknown destination, which eventually turned out to be Op TORCH, the assault on North West Africa. We landed at 0300hrs on D Day, East of Arzeu, and took part on the assault of Arzeu Port, which was captured by 1100hrs. From then on there was no contact with the bombardment ships, which
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