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Vassili Zaitzev
Master Sergeant
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- #384
syscom3
Pacific Historian
From The Times
May 12, 2009
Captain Terrence Herrick: wartime destroyer captain
Herrick took command of various ships in the Mediterranean and Far East
As a 13-year-old New Zealander, Terry Desmond Herrick had no clear answer as
to why he wanted to join the Royal Navy except that Dartmouth naval college
didn't teach the hated Latin. After training, his early years at sea
included service in the battleship Resolution in the Mediterranean and the
coal-burning fishery protection trawler Colne, rising to second-in-command
as a sub-lieutenant.
In 1934 he was appointed to the sloop Laburnum in the New Zealand Division
of the Royal Navy, based in Auckland. He had been away from home for nine
years, never having met his youngest sister. His family was hardly ever
together. Of his four brothers who joined the Armed Forces, three were
killed flying for the RAF and the fourth was awarded the DSC while captain
of the submarine Uproar.
Herrick married his wife, Janet, in late 1937. "What a wonderful wedding
present," he noted, "to be appointed second-in-command of a fleet destroyer
- Decoy - on the China station". An idyllic period finished when war was
declared and Decoy went to the eastern Mediterranean, Janet returned home
via Canada.
During the next two and a half years as second-in-command of Decoy and
captain of the destroyer Hotspur, Herrick took part in many of the desperate
and bloody battles of the eastern Mediterranean. In his memoir Into the Blue
(1997), he describes the arrival of the German air force in support of the
Italians on January 10, 1941, and the relentless dive-bombing that inflicted
so many sinkings and casualties upon the Royal and merchant navies,
particularly during the evacuations of Greece and Crete.
Receiving a bomb hit while in Alexandria, Decoy was able to steam as a
convoy escort to a Malta dockyard for repair. The aircraft-carrier
Illustrious, badly damaged by the first of the Luftwaffe attacks, was
berthed near Decoy while being patched up for transit to the Suez Canal.
Twelve days of intensive air attacks ensued, fortunately missing Decoy but
scoring one hit on an ammunition ship near by which had to be unloaded in a
hurry by all available sailors. Herrick was full of praise for the courage
of the Maltese dockyard workers: "Amazing how they managed to get on with
the repair work. Great men."
He was awarded his first DSC for his gallantry and resource on Decoy. While
commanding the Hotspur, his second DSC was awarded for his part in sinking
the submarine U79 with the destroyer Hasty after a prolonged cat-and-mouse
search.
Hotspur fought against the Vichy French in Lebanon, ran a series of perilous
convoys to besieged Tobruk and, with a feeling of relief, was transferred to
the East Indies station. Hotspur returned to take part in Operation
Vigorous, a Malta convoy that failed to get through with heavy loss of ships
and lives.
Herrick left for England in October 1942 and was appointed to command the
brand new Hunt-class destroyer Brecon which took him back to the
Mediterranean under vastly altered circumstances - with air superiority the
Allies invaded North Africa and subsequently Sicily and the Italian
mainland. Brecon's guns duelled effectively with German shore batteries at
Salerno and Anzio.
After five years at sea, Herrick was appointed in May 1944 to a training
post in Portsmouth until appointed captain of the large new destroyer
Cockade, arriving in Hong Kong after the Japanese surrender and being
"bounced" into being the secretary of the Hong Kong Yacht Club. He visited
both Hiroshima and Nagasaki and was able to arrange a voyage to New Zealand
with his wife to visit the parents he had not seen for ten years.
His subsequent postwar appointments included second-in-command of the naval
barracks at Devonport, promotion to commander and command of the
Battle-class destroyer Corunna, followed by a tour in naval intelligence
where he met a German businessman who had been an officer captured from U79.
In June 1954 he was promoted to captain and was delighted to be sent to New
Zealand as naval officer in charge at Auckland. The fledgeling Royal New
Zealand Navy was now generating senior officers of its own.
Despite being told that he could expect no more sea duty, Herrick's
trademark cheerful enthusiasm and enjoyment of all that he did took him
through a tour in the Admiralty, captain of the dockyard at Gibraltar and
finally Captain of the Fleet in Singapore - personnel manager and ombudsman
for the Far East fleet.
Leaving the Royal Navy in 1963 after 38 years, Herrick was offered the post
of Assistant Chief of Naval Staff RNZN for a year in Wellington followed by
regional commissioner for civil defence until 1970.
His wife, Janet, predeceased him. Their two sons and a daughter survive him.
Captain Terrence Herrick, DSC and Bar, wartime destroyer captain, was born
on November 12, 1911. He died on April 15, 2009, aged 97
May 12, 2009
Captain Terrence Herrick: wartime destroyer captain
Herrick took command of various ships in the Mediterranean and Far East
As a 13-year-old New Zealander, Terry Desmond Herrick had no clear answer as
to why he wanted to join the Royal Navy except that Dartmouth naval college
didn't teach the hated Latin. After training, his early years at sea
included service in the battleship Resolution in the Mediterranean and the
coal-burning fishery protection trawler Colne, rising to second-in-command
as a sub-lieutenant.
In 1934 he was appointed to the sloop Laburnum in the New Zealand Division
of the Royal Navy, based in Auckland. He had been away from home for nine
years, never having met his youngest sister. His family was hardly ever
together. Of his four brothers who joined the Armed Forces, three were
killed flying for the RAF and the fourth was awarded the DSC while captain
of the submarine Uproar.
Herrick married his wife, Janet, in late 1937. "What a wonderful wedding
present," he noted, "to be appointed second-in-command of a fleet destroyer
- Decoy - on the China station". An idyllic period finished when war was
declared and Decoy went to the eastern Mediterranean, Janet returned home
via Canada.
During the next two and a half years as second-in-command of Decoy and
captain of the destroyer Hotspur, Herrick took part in many of the desperate
and bloody battles of the eastern Mediterranean. In his memoir Into the Blue
(1997), he describes the arrival of the German air force in support of the
Italians on January 10, 1941, and the relentless dive-bombing that inflicted
so many sinkings and casualties upon the Royal and merchant navies,
particularly during the evacuations of Greece and Crete.
Receiving a bomb hit while in Alexandria, Decoy was able to steam as a
convoy escort to a Malta dockyard for repair. The aircraft-carrier
Illustrious, badly damaged by the first of the Luftwaffe attacks, was
berthed near Decoy while being patched up for transit to the Suez Canal.
Twelve days of intensive air attacks ensued, fortunately missing Decoy but
scoring one hit on an ammunition ship near by which had to be unloaded in a
hurry by all available sailors. Herrick was full of praise for the courage
of the Maltese dockyard workers: "Amazing how they managed to get on with
the repair work. Great men."
He was awarded his first DSC for his gallantry and resource on Decoy. While
commanding the Hotspur, his second DSC was awarded for his part in sinking
the submarine U79 with the destroyer Hasty after a prolonged cat-and-mouse
search.
Hotspur fought against the Vichy French in Lebanon, ran a series of perilous
convoys to besieged Tobruk and, with a feeling of relief, was transferred to
the East Indies station. Hotspur returned to take part in Operation
Vigorous, a Malta convoy that failed to get through with heavy loss of ships
and lives.
Herrick left for England in October 1942 and was appointed to command the
brand new Hunt-class destroyer Brecon which took him back to the
Mediterranean under vastly altered circumstances - with air superiority the
Allies invaded North Africa and subsequently Sicily and the Italian
mainland. Brecon's guns duelled effectively with German shore batteries at
Salerno and Anzio.
After five years at sea, Herrick was appointed in May 1944 to a training
post in Portsmouth until appointed captain of the large new destroyer
Cockade, arriving in Hong Kong after the Japanese surrender and being
"bounced" into being the secretary of the Hong Kong Yacht Club. He visited
both Hiroshima and Nagasaki and was able to arrange a voyage to New Zealand
with his wife to visit the parents he had not seen for ten years.
His subsequent postwar appointments included second-in-command of the naval
barracks at Devonport, promotion to commander and command of the
Battle-class destroyer Corunna, followed by a tour in naval intelligence
where he met a German businessman who had been an officer captured from U79.
In June 1954 he was promoted to captain and was delighted to be sent to New
Zealand as naval officer in charge at Auckland. The fledgeling Royal New
Zealand Navy was now generating senior officers of its own.
Despite being told that he could expect no more sea duty, Herrick's
trademark cheerful enthusiasm and enjoyment of all that he did took him
through a tour in the Admiralty, captain of the dockyard at Gibraltar and
finally Captain of the Fleet in Singapore - personnel manager and ombudsman
for the Far East fleet.
Leaving the Royal Navy in 1963 after 38 years, Herrick was offered the post
of Assistant Chief of Naval Staff RNZN for a year in Wellington followed by
regional commissioner for civil defence until 1970.
His wife, Janet, predeceased him. Their two sons and a daughter survive him.
Captain Terrence Herrick, DSC and Bar, wartime destroyer captain, was born
on November 12, 1911. He died on April 15, 2009, aged 97
- Thread starter
- #385
syscom3
Pacific Historian
Lieutenant Peter Goodfellow, who has died aged 90, flew with the Fleet Air Arm throughout the Second World War, scoring several victories and once ditching into the sea; he also witnessed the drama of aircraft being hurled into the air and sliding beneath the waves when the carrier Ark Royal was torpedoed amidships just as he was preparing to land on her.
Last Updated: 6:39PM BST 07 May 2009
Lieutenant Peter Goodfellow
Goodfellow learned to fly in Tiger Moths, and in December 1940 he joined 808 naval air squadron in Ark Royal to fly antiquated Blackburn Skua fighter-bombers. Routine operations included patrols over the Atlantic in all weathers; he was once forced by low oil pressure to make a forced landing at North Front, Gibraltar.
He then flew Fairey Fulmar fighters in intense operations in the Mediterranean against superior numbers of Italian, German and Vichy French land-based aircraft. Between July and August 1941 Ark Royal's aircraft shot down 15 enemy planes; Goodfellow was credited with a share in downing two Italian three-engined Savoia-Marchetti SM79 bombers and damaging a third on July 23.
In September he engaged an Italian SM84 bomber which was shot down by his section of aircraft, but he was forced to ditch and was rescued by a destroyer. When Ark Royal was torpedoed on November 13, Goodfellow was forced to fly off, short of fuel, to Gibraltar.
Having shown himself a superior pilot, he was rested as a flying instructor for six months, then sent to the merged remnants of 807 and 808 squadrons in the escort carrier Battler. These provided air defence for the North African landings, and two Vichy aircraft were shot down, two more damaged and others destroyed on the ground.
After learning the techniques of close air support, Goodfellow gave cover for the Sicily landings. He was then again appointed an instructor, this time in the advanced flying section of the Naval Air Fighter School at Yeovilton. On July 27 1943 he was practising deck landings in a Sea Hurricane on the training carrier Argus when he snagged his tailhook and spilt into the water.
Finally he attended No 2 test pilots' course at Boscombe Down, where he was involved in the development of different aircraft types. He retired from the Navy at the end of the war.
Alan Peter Goodfellow was born on January 19 1919 at Bideford, Devon, and educated at Aldenham before being apprenticed at AV Roe's aircraft factory. Preferring the outdoor life, however, he went to work on an uncle's farm in Oxfordshire, and started to fly gliders with his father.
A member of the Royal Flying Corps as a teenager, his father had shared a tent with Albert Ball, the fighter pilot VC, and was a founding member of the RAF in 1918. He, his sister and brother held pilot's licenses in the 1930s; and on the outbreak of war young Peter, his brother Norman (who flew in 804 and 880 squadrons) and their father all volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm.
After coming out of the Navy Peter Goodfellow studied agriculture at Reading University, then managed a farm in the Waveney Valley before starting work as a buyer for Walls Meats, covering the east of England from a base at Saxmundham, Suffolk. When Walls was reorganised, Goodfellow quickly found a similar job dealing with fruit farmers for the banana company Geest.
His keen interest in wildlife led him to start collecting books on the subject, a hobby which consumed the last 40 years of his life, and he used his business travels as an opportunity to haunt the bookshops of East Anglia. He acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of books about birds and corresponded widely with other collectors. In 2000 he displayed rare items from his private collection at an exhibition in Norwich.
Goodfellow dealt in books, under the name Carlton Books, and the Inland Revenue twice accused him of running a business rather than pursuing a hobby. On each occasion he was able to show that on ordinary accounting principles he was making a loss, and that – were he a business – they would owe him money. No lover of bureaucracy or officialdom, he was rather pleased with these victories.
Goodfellow lived modestly, surrounded by his books, and continued to fly, first with the London Gliding Club. Then, in 1959, he helped to found the Norfolk Gliding Club, based at Tibenham. He owned an Olympia 2b and then a Skylark 4.
A life member of the Spitfire Association, he was a guest at Duxford for the fighter's 70th anniversary, having flown most of its marks. On his 80th birthday he flew his 80th aircraft type.
Peter Goodfellow died on April 11. He married, in 1945, Brenda Stevens, who died in 1969. Four years later he married Jill Thompson (née Nicholls), who survives him with a son and two daughters of the first marriage.
Published May 7 2009
Last Updated: 6:39PM BST 07 May 2009
Lieutenant Peter Goodfellow
Goodfellow learned to fly in Tiger Moths, and in December 1940 he joined 808 naval air squadron in Ark Royal to fly antiquated Blackburn Skua fighter-bombers. Routine operations included patrols over the Atlantic in all weathers; he was once forced by low oil pressure to make a forced landing at North Front, Gibraltar.
He then flew Fairey Fulmar fighters in intense operations in the Mediterranean against superior numbers of Italian, German and Vichy French land-based aircraft. Between July and August 1941 Ark Royal's aircraft shot down 15 enemy planes; Goodfellow was credited with a share in downing two Italian three-engined Savoia-Marchetti SM79 bombers and damaging a third on July 23.
In September he engaged an Italian SM84 bomber which was shot down by his section of aircraft, but he was forced to ditch and was rescued by a destroyer. When Ark Royal was torpedoed on November 13, Goodfellow was forced to fly off, short of fuel, to Gibraltar.
Having shown himself a superior pilot, he was rested as a flying instructor for six months, then sent to the merged remnants of 807 and 808 squadrons in the escort carrier Battler. These provided air defence for the North African landings, and two Vichy aircraft were shot down, two more damaged and others destroyed on the ground.
After learning the techniques of close air support, Goodfellow gave cover for the Sicily landings. He was then again appointed an instructor, this time in the advanced flying section of the Naval Air Fighter School at Yeovilton. On July 27 1943 he was practising deck landings in a Sea Hurricane on the training carrier Argus when he snagged his tailhook and spilt into the water.
Finally he attended No 2 test pilots' course at Boscombe Down, where he was involved in the development of different aircraft types. He retired from the Navy at the end of the war.
Alan Peter Goodfellow was born on January 19 1919 at Bideford, Devon, and educated at Aldenham before being apprenticed at AV Roe's aircraft factory. Preferring the outdoor life, however, he went to work on an uncle's farm in Oxfordshire, and started to fly gliders with his father.
A member of the Royal Flying Corps as a teenager, his father had shared a tent with Albert Ball, the fighter pilot VC, and was a founding member of the RAF in 1918. He, his sister and brother held pilot's licenses in the 1930s; and on the outbreak of war young Peter, his brother Norman (who flew in 804 and 880 squadrons) and their father all volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm.
After coming out of the Navy Peter Goodfellow studied agriculture at Reading University, then managed a farm in the Waveney Valley before starting work as a buyer for Walls Meats, covering the east of England from a base at Saxmundham, Suffolk. When Walls was reorganised, Goodfellow quickly found a similar job dealing with fruit farmers for the banana company Geest.
His keen interest in wildlife led him to start collecting books on the subject, a hobby which consumed the last 40 years of his life, and he used his business travels as an opportunity to haunt the bookshops of East Anglia. He acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of books about birds and corresponded widely with other collectors. In 2000 he displayed rare items from his private collection at an exhibition in Norwich.
Goodfellow dealt in books, under the name Carlton Books, and the Inland Revenue twice accused him of running a business rather than pursuing a hobby. On each occasion he was able to show that on ordinary accounting principles he was making a loss, and that – were he a business – they would owe him money. No lover of bureaucracy or officialdom, he was rather pleased with these victories.
Goodfellow lived modestly, surrounded by his books, and continued to fly, first with the London Gliding Club. Then, in 1959, he helped to found the Norfolk Gliding Club, based at Tibenham. He owned an Olympia 2b and then a Skylark 4.
A life member of the Spitfire Association, he was a guest at Duxford for the fighter's 70th anniversary, having flown most of its marks. On his 80th birthday he flew his 80th aircraft type.
Peter Goodfellow died on April 11. He married, in 1945, Brenda Stevens, who died in 1969. Four years later he married Jill Thompson (née Nicholls), who survives him with a son and two daughters of the first marriage.
Published May 7 2009
RabidAlien
1st Lieutenant
Rest well, soldiers. You've earned it.
Wildcat
Major
Today Australia lost a screen legend in the passing of Bud Tingwell. Apart from being a famous actor, Bud flew PR Spitfires over the Med in WWII.
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
Bud Tingwell: Accidental star - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
parsifal
Colonel
I will miss Bud Tingwell, hes like family to many Austraqlians, hes been around forever, and was always known as a gentleman.
Well done Mr Tingwell
Well done Mr Tingwell
RabidAlien
1st Lieutenant
- Thread starter
- #391
syscom3
Pacific Historian
From The Times
May 20, 2009
Captain Frank Gregory-Smith: destroyer captain and D-Day beachmaster
Frank Gregory-Smith landed in the assault phase on the morning of D-Day,
June 6, 1944, as Principal Beachmaster on Gold Beach. It was little more
than four years since his destroyer had almost been sunk as it evacuated
British troops from Dunkirk harbour in May 1940.
As senior staff and training officer for Force G he helped to plan the
landings on Gold Beach in Normandy, and then landed with his beach commando
as Principal Beachmaster to ensure the constant stream of men and materials
landing on the beach did not turn into a vast traffic jam.
For his professionalism under fire on Gold Beach he was awarded a bar to his
Distinguished Service Cross, and he also earned a reputation as an expert on
amphibious landings. But at heart he was always a destroyer man and it was
as such, as the captain of HMS Eridge, that he fought through 1941 and 1942
in the bitter struggle between the Royal Navy and Axis forces for control of
the Mediterranean. In this theatre he served at the Battle of Sirte, sank a
U-boat, sailed in four Malta convoys and numerous Tobruk convoys.
For his services in the Mediterranean he was awarded two Distinguished
Service Orders and the first of his two Distinguished Service Crosses.
At the Battle of Sirte, March 22, 1942, HMS Eridge was one of five
destroyers that stayed with the four vital Malta-bound supply ships as the
Royal Navy's fleet destroyers and cruisers jousted with the powerful Italian
fleet led by the battleship Vittorio Veneto. While the surface battle raged,
the escort destroyers engaged a relentless stream of high-level bombers,
torpedo bombers and dive bombers, all intent, like the Italian fleet, on
destroying the supply ships bound for Malta.
The attacks were so intense that by nightfall HMS Eridge had almost
completely run out of ammunition. The Italian fleet was beaten off and the
convoy was still intact but it was now well off course. The British cruisers
and fleet destroyers all turned back for Alexandria, leaving the supply
ships and their escorts alone and unable to reach Malta under cover of
darkness.
The convoy dispersed leaving Eridge with the slowest and most vulnerable of
the supply ships, and Captain Gregory-Smith knew that the next day the
bombers would be back and Eridge would be reduced to firing blanks at them
to protect Clan Campbell. As the rest of the convoy reached Malta in the mid
morning of March 23, Clan Campbell was attacked one last time and sunk,
Eridge's blanks having little effect on the attacking German JU88 bombers.
Eridge was left alone in a minefield to pick up survivors for three long
hours under constant watch but, thankfully, without further attack.
Gregory-Smith received the Distinguished Service Order for his part in the
Battle of Sirte. The citation read: "For outstanding services in the
successful defence of the convoy against heavy and sustained air attack
without the support of the Fleet Cruisers or Destroyers."
William Frank Niemann Gregory-Smith was born in 1910 in Ashtonunder- Lyne,
Cheshire. He entered Dartmouth Naval College in 1922 and served as a cadet
on his first warship, the Battle of Jutland veteran battlecruiser HMS Tiger,
in 1927. As a midshipman he served on the cruisers HMS Cumberland and HMS
Suffolk on the China station and in 1932 he was promoted lieutenant on
another Battle of Jutland veteran, the battleship HMS Warspite. A further
period in the Far East followed, this time as first lieutenant on a Yangtse
gunboat, HMS Cricket.
By 1936 the situation in Europe was deteriorating, and Gregory-Smith served
as first lieutenant on HMS Foresight patrolling off the north Spanish coast
during the civil war. At the outbreak of war in 1939 he was first lieutenant
on the fleet destroyer, HMS Jaguar.
Jaguar was stationed in Immingham, Lincolnshire, and almost immediately
began escorting coastal convoys and sweeping the North Sea for signs of
enemy naval activity. She also acted as an escort for the aircraft carrier
HMS Ark Royal during the Norwegian campaign.
However, for Gregory-Smith and the rest of the crew, the war started in
earnest in May 1940 when they were ordered to northern France with three
other fleet destroyers to evacuate troops directly from Dunkirk harbour. It
was a measure of the desperation of the situation that such valuable ships
should be used in such a dangerous role. Almost as soon as they left Dover
the four ships were attacked by JU87 Stuka dive bombers and one ship was
crippled. The other three made it to Dunkirk, and Jaguar embarked troops
while under fierce air attack. As she left the harbour a further air attack
destroyed her fellow fleet destroyer HMS Grenade and crippled Jaguar killing
25 soldiers and crew. The ship did eventually manage to limp back into Dover
but the Admiralty did not use destroyers in this role again during the
evacuation.
Towards the end of 1940 Gregory-Smith was appointed as captain of HMS
Eridge, a Hunt Class destroyer being built by Swan Hunter on the Tyne. After
some convoy work Eridge sailed for the Mediterranean in May 1941. Her first
Malta convoy was Operation Substance, bound from Gibraltar in July 1941.
When another destroyer, HMS Firedrake lost power after air attack, Eridge
was ordered to tow her back to Gibraltar as the rest of the convoy proceeded
east. The 36-hour tow under constant threat of air attack was successful,
and Gregory-Smith was awarded his first Distinguished Service Cross, the
citation reading: "The safe arrival of Firedrake at Gibraltar can be
attributed largely to the fine seamanship, courage and determination shown
by Lieutenant-Commande r Gregory-Smith."
In August 1941 Eridge transferred to Alexandria where the British fleet was
being slowly whittled down by enemy action. Constant convoys to keep the
besieged port of Tobruk open were punctuated by further perilous Malta
convoys. Despite the dangers her crew believed she was a lucky ship, a
feeling confirmed when she sucessfully hunted down U568. Gregory-Smith
received a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order for the sinking of the
submarine.
However, on August 28, 1942, Eridge's luck ran out. Gregory-Smith was
commanding a force of four destroyers conducting a night bombardment of Axis
land positions off El Daba. An Italian motor torpedo boat slipped through
the darkness, and Eridge was hit by a single torpedo amidships, killing five
of her crew and crippling the ship. By daybreak Eridge was still afloat but
could only return to Alexandria under tow, all the while under constant air
attack. The force was only a mile off shore so also suffered bombardment
from shore-based artillery. Despite this the force made it safely back to
Alexandria under Gregory-Smith' s command, and for this he was mentioned in
dispatches. By 1943 he was back in London, appointed to Combined Operations
Headquarters at Norfolk House, where planning for the invasion of Europe was
under way.
After months of detailed planning, including close knowledge of the high
level of expected casualties, Gregory-Smith was somewhat shocked to be
appointed Principal Beachmaster.
He subsequently returned to Combined Operations and attended the Yalta
Conference in 1945 as part of the British delegation.
He remained with the Royal Navy until 1960 but, to his disappointment, his
postwar career was mostly in staffs and not at sea. Among other roles he was
naval attaché to the Non-Arab Middle East in Ankara and Chief Staff officer
(Intelligence) to the Commander-in- Chief of the Mediterranean in Malta.
After leaving the Navy he served as the warden of Wilson House Hall of
Residence, St Mary's Medical School.
Gregory-Smith' s wife, Jean, whom he married in October 1940 in her native
city of Dundee while HMS Jaguar was undergoing urgent repairs, predeceased
him in April 2006. He is survived by their daughter and son.
Captain Frank Gregory-Smith, DSO and Bar, DSC and Bar, destroyer captain and
D-Day beachmaster, was born on January 24, 1910. He died on May 4, 2009,
aged 99
May 20, 2009
Captain Frank Gregory-Smith: destroyer captain and D-Day beachmaster
Frank Gregory-Smith landed in the assault phase on the morning of D-Day,
June 6, 1944, as Principal Beachmaster on Gold Beach. It was little more
than four years since his destroyer had almost been sunk as it evacuated
British troops from Dunkirk harbour in May 1940.
As senior staff and training officer for Force G he helped to plan the
landings on Gold Beach in Normandy, and then landed with his beach commando
as Principal Beachmaster to ensure the constant stream of men and materials
landing on the beach did not turn into a vast traffic jam.
For his professionalism under fire on Gold Beach he was awarded a bar to his
Distinguished Service Cross, and he also earned a reputation as an expert on
amphibious landings. But at heart he was always a destroyer man and it was
as such, as the captain of HMS Eridge, that he fought through 1941 and 1942
in the bitter struggle between the Royal Navy and Axis forces for control of
the Mediterranean. In this theatre he served at the Battle of Sirte, sank a
U-boat, sailed in four Malta convoys and numerous Tobruk convoys.
For his services in the Mediterranean he was awarded two Distinguished
Service Orders and the first of his two Distinguished Service Crosses.
At the Battle of Sirte, March 22, 1942, HMS Eridge was one of five
destroyers that stayed with the four vital Malta-bound supply ships as the
Royal Navy's fleet destroyers and cruisers jousted with the powerful Italian
fleet led by the battleship Vittorio Veneto. While the surface battle raged,
the escort destroyers engaged a relentless stream of high-level bombers,
torpedo bombers and dive bombers, all intent, like the Italian fleet, on
destroying the supply ships bound for Malta.
The attacks were so intense that by nightfall HMS Eridge had almost
completely run out of ammunition. The Italian fleet was beaten off and the
convoy was still intact but it was now well off course. The British cruisers
and fleet destroyers all turned back for Alexandria, leaving the supply
ships and their escorts alone and unable to reach Malta under cover of
darkness.
The convoy dispersed leaving Eridge with the slowest and most vulnerable of
the supply ships, and Captain Gregory-Smith knew that the next day the
bombers would be back and Eridge would be reduced to firing blanks at them
to protect Clan Campbell. As the rest of the convoy reached Malta in the mid
morning of March 23, Clan Campbell was attacked one last time and sunk,
Eridge's blanks having little effect on the attacking German JU88 bombers.
Eridge was left alone in a minefield to pick up survivors for three long
hours under constant watch but, thankfully, without further attack.
Gregory-Smith received the Distinguished Service Order for his part in the
Battle of Sirte. The citation read: "For outstanding services in the
successful defence of the convoy against heavy and sustained air attack
without the support of the Fleet Cruisers or Destroyers."
William Frank Niemann Gregory-Smith was born in 1910 in Ashtonunder- Lyne,
Cheshire. He entered Dartmouth Naval College in 1922 and served as a cadet
on his first warship, the Battle of Jutland veteran battlecruiser HMS Tiger,
in 1927. As a midshipman he served on the cruisers HMS Cumberland and HMS
Suffolk on the China station and in 1932 he was promoted lieutenant on
another Battle of Jutland veteran, the battleship HMS Warspite. A further
period in the Far East followed, this time as first lieutenant on a Yangtse
gunboat, HMS Cricket.
By 1936 the situation in Europe was deteriorating, and Gregory-Smith served
as first lieutenant on HMS Foresight patrolling off the north Spanish coast
during the civil war. At the outbreak of war in 1939 he was first lieutenant
on the fleet destroyer, HMS Jaguar.
Jaguar was stationed in Immingham, Lincolnshire, and almost immediately
began escorting coastal convoys and sweeping the North Sea for signs of
enemy naval activity. She also acted as an escort for the aircraft carrier
HMS Ark Royal during the Norwegian campaign.
However, for Gregory-Smith and the rest of the crew, the war started in
earnest in May 1940 when they were ordered to northern France with three
other fleet destroyers to evacuate troops directly from Dunkirk harbour. It
was a measure of the desperation of the situation that such valuable ships
should be used in such a dangerous role. Almost as soon as they left Dover
the four ships were attacked by JU87 Stuka dive bombers and one ship was
crippled. The other three made it to Dunkirk, and Jaguar embarked troops
while under fierce air attack. As she left the harbour a further air attack
destroyed her fellow fleet destroyer HMS Grenade and crippled Jaguar killing
25 soldiers and crew. The ship did eventually manage to limp back into Dover
but the Admiralty did not use destroyers in this role again during the
evacuation.
Towards the end of 1940 Gregory-Smith was appointed as captain of HMS
Eridge, a Hunt Class destroyer being built by Swan Hunter on the Tyne. After
some convoy work Eridge sailed for the Mediterranean in May 1941. Her first
Malta convoy was Operation Substance, bound from Gibraltar in July 1941.
When another destroyer, HMS Firedrake lost power after air attack, Eridge
was ordered to tow her back to Gibraltar as the rest of the convoy proceeded
east. The 36-hour tow under constant threat of air attack was successful,
and Gregory-Smith was awarded his first Distinguished Service Cross, the
citation reading: "The safe arrival of Firedrake at Gibraltar can be
attributed largely to the fine seamanship, courage and determination shown
by Lieutenant-Commande r Gregory-Smith."
In August 1941 Eridge transferred to Alexandria where the British fleet was
being slowly whittled down by enemy action. Constant convoys to keep the
besieged port of Tobruk open were punctuated by further perilous Malta
convoys. Despite the dangers her crew believed she was a lucky ship, a
feeling confirmed when she sucessfully hunted down U568. Gregory-Smith
received a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order for the sinking of the
submarine.
However, on August 28, 1942, Eridge's luck ran out. Gregory-Smith was
commanding a force of four destroyers conducting a night bombardment of Axis
land positions off El Daba. An Italian motor torpedo boat slipped through
the darkness, and Eridge was hit by a single torpedo amidships, killing five
of her crew and crippling the ship. By daybreak Eridge was still afloat but
could only return to Alexandria under tow, all the while under constant air
attack. The force was only a mile off shore so also suffered bombardment
from shore-based artillery. Despite this the force made it safely back to
Alexandria under Gregory-Smith' s command, and for this he was mentioned in
dispatches. By 1943 he was back in London, appointed to Combined Operations
Headquarters at Norfolk House, where planning for the invasion of Europe was
under way.
After months of detailed planning, including close knowledge of the high
level of expected casualties, Gregory-Smith was somewhat shocked to be
appointed Principal Beachmaster.
He subsequently returned to Combined Operations and attended the Yalta
Conference in 1945 as part of the British delegation.
He remained with the Royal Navy until 1960 but, to his disappointment, his
postwar career was mostly in staffs and not at sea. Among other roles he was
naval attaché to the Non-Arab Middle East in Ankara and Chief Staff officer
(Intelligence) to the Commander-in- Chief of the Mediterranean in Malta.
After leaving the Navy he served as the warden of Wilson House Hall of
Residence, St Mary's Medical School.
Gregory-Smith' s wife, Jean, whom he married in October 1940 in her native
city of Dundee while HMS Jaguar was undergoing urgent repairs, predeceased
him in April 2006. He is survived by their daughter and son.
Captain Frank Gregory-Smith, DSO and Bar, DSC and Bar, destroyer captain and
D-Day beachmaster, was born on January 24, 1910. He died on May 4, 2009,
aged 99
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RabidAlien
1st Lieutenant
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
ToughOmbre
Senior Master Sergeant
TO
wheelsup_cavu
1st Sergeant
Wheelsup
- Thread starter
- #398
syscom3
Pacific Historian
We all know who he is. But few know this:
After the U.S. entered World War II, McMahon joined the Marine Corps and graduated to fighter pilot training. He served as a flight instructor and test pilot during the war.
and
But as he had remained in the Marine Reserve upon his discharge, the worsening Korean War called him back to the service, and he shipped off to Korea in 1953, flying unarmed O-1E Bird Dog air reconnaissance and artillery spotting planes on 85 missions.
Ed McMahon - Yahoo! TV
RIP Mr. McMahon. Thanks for your service!
After the U.S. entered World War II, McMahon joined the Marine Corps and graduated to fighter pilot training. He served as a flight instructor and test pilot during the war.
and
But as he had remained in the Marine Reserve upon his discharge, the worsening Korean War called him back to the service, and he shipped off to Korea in 1953, flying unarmed O-1E Bird Dog air reconnaissance and artillery spotting planes on 85 missions.
Ed McMahon - Yahoo! TV
RIP Mr. McMahon. Thanks for your service!
wheelsup_cavu
1st Sergeant
I did know that but I had only found out recently.
May Johnny have a cold one waiting for him on his arrival.
Wheelsup
May Johnny have a cold one waiting for him on his arrival.
Wheelsup