Page 18 - ABA Salvoes 1999-2024

were occupied in destroying the French fleet at Oran 50 miles away. In our area the French position at St Cloud did not capitulate and as a result 1st US Infantry Div carried out a 20 mile outflanking loop south in order to unblock the coast road linking Oran to Arzeu with St Cloud in the middle. During this outflanking loop we were unable to contact the BLOs in the cruisers on account of high mountains in the way. By D+4, contact was made with one ship but it was out of range of our targets on the Eastern approaches to Oran. A few days later we re- embarked in the Reina Del Pacifico and we returned to the UK to be re equipped with British uniforms. In UK we trained with 6 SEAFORTHS, part of 5 Div, and underwent commando training at the Combined Training Centre, Inverary. We became very fit! In April 1943 we embarked in the MV Tegelberg bound in convoy for Suez via the Cape of Good Hope. The trip took 10 weeks and eventually we rejoined 6 SEAFORTHS and 5 Div in camp South of Damascus. After the Div had carried out landing and pursuit exercised near Aqaba, we embarked in the Polish liner Sobieski and sailed for Sicily. The Sobieski had been converted to a landing ship and was equipped with LCIs. As we steamed along the north coast of Africa we carried out numerous bombardment exercises in preparation for the Sicily landings. D Day for the Sicily landings was 9 July 1943 and we landed with 6 SEAFORTHS near the Simento Bridge at the North end of the landing zone beaches. On the way in through cleared lanes in the minefields we saw many gliders and survivors in the sea. The towing aircraft had apparently released the gliders because of flak. In fact the towing aircraft should not release the glider; it should be the other way round, otherwise the cable tends to snap back onto the glider. Once ashore we made contact with the monitor HMS EREBUS (2x15”). By late afternoon we had reached some high ground on the south bank of the River Simento, 5 miles south of Syracuse. The CO of the KOYLI battalion in the area asked if I could bombard a battery of enemy field guns firing on our infantry from behind a slope beyond the river. The battery was 800 yards from our position so I gave a prudent map reference 400 yards north of the enemy battery. HMS EREBUS was 20 miles away amongst the landing ships. She fired one ranging round which, much to my delight, landed exactly where I expected. A correction of 400 yards south, followed by 14 rounds of 15’’ shells, completely destroyed the battery position. This mission was carried out using Morse Code. The BLO on board was using the Clock Code correction system. The battery being disposed of, the troops powered across the bridge, which had been held by our glider troops, and were into Syracuse within two hours. Later when I crossed, much to my surprise and delight, I met up with my brother who had skilfully managed to land his glider on dry land despite, having been released too early. What was even more extraordinary, the next day we both met up with our eldest brother with his Basuto railway repair squad. Syracuse having been taken, FO4 and the SEAFORTHS moved north and I found an excellent OP overlooking
Augusta and its Naval Base. By now we had a Sherman tank, with disabled main armament, but the MG and radios were serviceable. Targets were engaged personally by the CO of the SEASFORTHS, passing the map references to the party who in turn passed the data to the ships, among which I recall were the cruisers HMS MAURITIUS and HMS ORION, both with 9 x 6”. We fired some 7,000 rounds over the next few days, and were visited by General Montgomery. Eventually FO4 left Sicily for Tripoli to join up with 4 Guards Brigade, with whom we trained for a month before departing for Southern Italy. Teams had already been allocated and attached to the units earmarked for the Anzio landings, so having time on my hands, I completed a parachute course at Goia Airfield, jumping from Wellington Bombers. Not being involved in the Anzio affair, we returned to the Middle East in order to train up teams and ships heading for the Far East. We were located at the Cairo Base Depot but spent most of our time either in the Red Sea or on the ranges at Raz Matarma, west of El Alamein. While carrying out this task I worked with an interesting character, Capt Guthrie Jones, who eventually became a circuit judge in the Liverpool area. He was a fine bombardment officer. On completion of our training task, FO4 was sent to the east coast of Italy, first of all to Ban and later to Ancona, from where we carried out raids on the German occupied islands of the Adriatic. Our operational commander was the future Admiral Morgan Giles. He was titled SNONA, standing for Senior Naval Officer North Adriatic! For these missions we normally had Hunt Class destroyers, each with 2 x 4”. Our mode of transport was MTBs and Partisan Boats. We had many narrow escapes carrying out these operations, as we were landed on islands held by the Germans while we shelled other islands, also held by the Germans; they were exciting times. On one occasion FO4 was landed on Rab Island by MTB in a small cliff ringed cove. Rab Island is only about four miles across and our OP was about two miles from Rab Town and harbour, which was our target. HMS ALDENHAM fired star shell for observation, followed by ten minutes fire for effect from her 2 x 4”. In the town the Germans did not realise they were being engaged by NGS and set off their air raid sirens. Meanwhile the star shells had turned night into day in such a spectacular fashion that our waiting MTB felt very conspicuous and had put out to sea, so when we climbed back down into the cove on completion of our mission it was nowhere to be seen. Using a torch we signalled out to sea “FO4” in morse and shortly afterwards our MTB came in sight. The boat could not approach the cove and so we had to wade and swim the last 50 yards to re embark, prior to returning to our forward base on Mulat Island. During this phase of about two months we carried out landings on Sando Island to bombard the Lusing Grand Island Battery, and the attack on Rab Island already mentioned. We also landed on Cherso Island where at least two of the four naval guns on Lusing Major were destroyed. Finally we landed on Pag Island with the aim of bombarding the Karlobag Coastal Defence Battery on mainland Yugoslavia,
16 | Amphibious Bombardment Association