THE ZEEBRUGGE RAID ANNIVERSARY SUPPLEMENT, NAVY NEWS, APRIL 2008 iii
● The gap blown in the viaduct by the destruction of submarine HMS C3
● A British supply dump and
ammunition depot goes up in fl ames
● ‘They could be relied upon to tackle any situation’... Senior rates
from the Coastal Motor Boats and Motor Launches. Edward Turk of
CMB 22B is on the far left
aft funnel was smashed. Her boilers the wide staircase which led to Iris’
exploded. A few hundred yards off the lower deck. “The worst is over,” a
Mole, she ground to a halt... but the comrade assured him “Now it’s a
German guns did not. matter of getting home. Where are
Destroyer HMS Phoebe tried to the others?” The man gasped slightly,
come to North Star’s rescue. A line then fell forward. Calverley bent
was tossed to the stricken warship down to catch him. The next thing
and Phoebe attempted to pull her to he knew, he was 15ft away, lying on
safety. The line snapped. Now Phoebe his side. Slowly his hearing returned.
decided to go alongside North Star He struggled to move his legs before
to take her men off as her captain slowly standing up. All around was the
ht,
reluctantly realised his ship was sound of moaning, crying men. Where
nd
beyond saving. he had been standing at the foot of
Sailor William Gough had Now it
The German guns now blasted both the staircase “was a heap of dead and
was time to
ships. Phoebe’s funnels were partly dying”. He did what he could for his
he
been ordered to destroy
abandon ship.
shot away. Her crew began to help comrades “which was very little” he
to
any opposition he found in
Once again,
North Star’s survivors aboard. lamented, for the injuries were too
of
a shed on the Mole. The
Thetis’ crew
“Men began to scramble across the grave and the means for dealing with
by
shed no longer existed. Its
mustered on
gap between the two ships,” recalled them too inadequate.
ke
four walls stood, but the
the quarter-
Telegraphist Vernon Mogg of Phoebe. The scenes on Iris were repeated
nd
building was burned out, its
deck. Of the
“Some slipped and fell between. Some – with interest – aboard HMS
ll,
occupants dead or gone.
50 original
were able to get back, but others had a Vindictive. “I shall never forget the
he
But on the inner Mole
ship’s com-
difficult job as the water was covered sight of the mess decks,” James
ful
wall, a German destroyer
pany, ten
with an oily slime.” Phoebe lowered Feeney recalled. “Dead and dying
rk
rode up and down with
men were
her boats. Riddled with bullets and lying on the decks and tables where,
ye
the swell, all its guns
dead, five
shell holes, they sank. Ropes were cast but a few hours before, they ate, drank
his
blazing away at the attackers
more were
over the side and North Star’s crew and played cards. In the light of day it
he
storming the pier. Gough
wounded.
struggled up them. was a shambles.” To Feeney, success
rts
directed his flamethrower at
them. The mixture of fuel oil Ralph
With all the survivors aboard, or failure, Zeebrugge had “cost a great
and petrol ignited as it shot out Sneyd was the
Phoebe began to break away. A figure deal of blood”.
of the nozzle, spraying a sheet last man to
was spotted on North Star’s deck. Arthur Chater felt nothing but
of flame almost 100ft long. leave. He set
Phoebe drew in again, her sailors failure. He sat down with Edward
Gough raked the upper deck of the scuttling
urging the man to jump across. He Bamford. Both men shared the same
the warship until the fuel cylinder charges then
stepped back, took a run up and feeling. “We had lost many good men
was empty, then dumped his useless struggled down the ship’s side, trying
attempted to leap the gap. At that very with what seemed to us no result,”
weapon and headed back to his ship.
receding hairline despite his 26 shell, but motorboats were doing their
to reach a cutter. Weakened by his
instant a shell exploded at his side. Chater lamented. Consumed totally by
years – charged his boat “at full tilt” best to shield the blockship behind a
wounds, he tumbled into the water. His
The jumping sailor vanished; he never the bitter fighting on the Mole, neither
60
Despite their terrible losses, at least
towards the viaduct at the foot of wall of artificial fog.
crew dragged him out, then pushed the
made the deck of Phoebe. officer knew that the blockships had
ve
some of Vindictive’s raiding party had
the Mole. His five crew held on to Boddie looked at the faces of his
cutter away under a shower of soot
reached their objectives.
al
forced their way ashore. HMS Iris’
the bridge rails for dear life as the shipmates. They were nervous, but
and ash as the demolition charges
THE FORCE DEPARTS Ronald Boddie slumped down in the
he
assault troops were still stuck aboard
beams of searchlights held the small tried to hide their fear by smoking
exploded.
wardroom pantry of a motor launch,
my
the converted ferry.
submarine in their grasp. C3 began furiously. They stoked the fires far
As the cutter cleared the end of the
MARINES LEFT BEHIND
next to his captain Ralph Sneyd – now
er,
The swell carried the small ship up
to draw ineffective fire, but at 9kts, more urgently than the ship’s speed
Mole, Thetis’ sailors clambered on to
a captain without a ship.
ch
and down violently. Lt Cdr George
the submarine clattered into the wood demanded.
a motor launch. Ronald Boddie looked ‘A HEAP OF DEAD AND DYING’
Sneyd had been shot in both legs
ad
Bradford scrambled up the grappling
and steel girders of the bridge with “a The telegraph rang. Full ahead.
across the harbour and saw Vindictive,
and in one heel. His clothes were still
ny
anchor in a bid to get it to hook into
good jolt”. The submariners climbed Thetis gathered speed. The engines
still alongside the Mole, lit up by the
soaked after falling into the harbour.
ut
the Mole wall, while the marines
into a skiff while Sandford lit the crashed and banged. The men’s fear
With the blockships’ work done, the
flash of gunfire and star shells. It was,
He passed the engineer a saucepan,
en
desperately tried to keep the scaling
fuse to the five tons of Amatol which turned to exhilaration. Boiling water
time had come for Vindictive to depart.
he thought, “a magnificent sight”.
filled with vomit. After the experience
er
ladders in position.
would vaporise the old boat in a
gushed out of the piston rods and the
On the cruiser’s battered bridge, Capt
they had gone through, Sneyd urged,
Bradford came from a family of
matter of minutes.
venerable cruiser sliced through the
Carpenter gave the order to sound
every man should fill it.
to
THE DEATH RIDE
heroes. One brother had earned the
“Come on, sir,” his comrades
North Sea at 16kts.
the signal to retire: K in Morse code,
er
blasted by the ship’s horn.
DSO, a second a posthumous Military
exorted as the initially-stunned Other survivors of the blockships
er
END OF THE NORTH STAR
Cross, a third, Roland, a VC on the
German defenders began to pour
The men of the Friedrichsort battery
The horn, like so much on
were eventually transferred to HMS
n.
Somme before he was later killed
fire down from viaduct. The officer
were firing blindly. They could make
Vindictive, had fallen victim to the
Warwick. Provision for the wounded
he
in action. George Bradford shared
joined his men, who rowed furiously
out nothing amid the smoke and swirl
The charge of Thetis and her sister
German guns. The order was passed to
was woefully inadequate. Medics
ly
his brothers’ defining trait: selfless
away from C3, showered constantly
of battle. They aimed their guns at the
blockships had been covered by a
Daffodil. Her siren belched into life,
bandaged wounds, handed out
ld
sacrifice. He managed to fix the
by German fire. “They couldn’t hit a
end of the Mole and fired repeatedly
flotilla of destroyers and motor
but amid the tumult of battle it was
morphine, blankets. Roger Keyes
launches who pounded German
barely, if at all, audible. It fell to men
grappling hook to the Mole wall. He
pussy cat,” Sandford sneered. But they
Suddenly, out of the fog and smoke,
toured the mess decks and spoke to
ay. batteries ashore from behind a
to improvise: runners and hand signals
was shot almost immediately, falling
could. He was hit in the leg, so too a
came HMS Thetis. Vizefeuerwerker
each wounded man, assuring them
ed smokescreen.
spread the word along the Mole.
into the sea. A shipmate dived in after
young seaman. A petty officer was
Schröder watched as the German guns
“that their work had been the finest
y- The artificial fog shielded the ships
Pte James Feeney and 15 comrades
him. He too died.
also wounded. The skiff was riddled
scored hit after hit on the lumbering
thing in history.”
er from the full force of the enemy’s
scurried down the Mole two at a time
At the same time, a naval lieutenant,
and began to take on water. “And then
warship. “Suddenly a huge column of
ld guns; it also made navigation tricky
“running the gauntlet” over concrete
Claude Hawkings, scurried up a scaling
it was as though Heaven came to meet
smoke and steam shot out of the ship
Playing dead, Harry Wright lay on the
if not impossible. When the smoke
swept by a machine-gun fire.
ladder, then jumped on to the Mole.
Earth in one momentary upheaval,”
and completely enveloped it.’
Mole for two hours, listening to the
ys drifted away, the destroyer North Star
He climbed the ladder to the top
None of his shipmates followed him.
recalled LS William Cleaver. clatter of machine-guns, watching star
15
found herself steaming west with the
of the wall, then down the gangway
As Hawkings turned to fix the ladder
C3 simply ceased to exist. Chunks
The noise of Thetis’ engines drowned
shells dance in the April night.
nt
drab brick buildings of Zeebrugge
on the opposite side. Vindictive was
to the wall he fell, like Bradford, to a
of viaduct and submarine flew up to
out the noise of battle. Ronald Boddie
It was approaching dawn when the
ust
barely 500 yards to port. The destroyer
heaving violently up and down – and
hail of machine-gun bullets.
800 yards. A gap 70ft wide and 200ft
had no idea what was happening to
defenders of Zeebrugge began moving
d.
immediately pummelled the beach
the enemy was still pouring a hail
The hook which cost George
long had been blown in the bridge.
his ship. His stokers had given their
along the Mole to round up stragglers
road with her guns and pom-poms,
of fire upon her. He jumped over
Bradford his life – and subsequently
The defenders of the Mole were cut
all. So too, it seemed, had the ship’s
and clear up the dead.
on
while her machine-guns raked the
the boarding ramp and dashed to the
earned him the VC – bent and broke
off from the mainland.
engines.
A few Germans crouched down to
he
seafront.
starboard side where some protection
away from the Mole wall as Iris fell First the starboard engine failed,
begin searching the bodies of Wright
he
was afforded the men.
with the swell.
Aboard HMS Vindictive there was a
then the port. Steam and hot water
To Vizefeuerwerker Schröder in his
and his comrades. The marines
on
“It was terrible here,” he recalled.
There was no hope of Iris’ men
huge cheer. “Up went a huge tower
gushed from every outlet.
observation post at the Friedrichsort
twitched. The Germans leaped back.
th
Seeing the dead and listening to the
storming the Mole directly. Her
of flame and debris and bodies into
Boddie telephoned the bridge. The
battery, the pennant number F53 was
Their officer stepped forward. “The
dying made him feel sick. He cast
captain, Cdr Valentine Gibbs, brought
the black sky!” Capt Carpenter
line was dead. He sent a runner. The
clearly visible on North Star’s bow.
game’s up, lads,” he said in remarkably
eir
off his kit, removed his gas mask and
his ship alongside Vindictive. His men
recalled. “I never saw such a column
man never returned. Everyone topside
The guns of Friedrichsort did not
good English. “Play the game and we
or
sat down next to Cpl ‘Tubby’ Smith.
would have to fight their way over
of flame! It seemed a mile high!” To
must be dead, the engineer reasoned,
open fire; at this range their shells
will play the game with you. Lay
Of
“He had one leg clean knocked off
the cruiser’s dead and wounded to
Pte James Feeney, who had just blown
and ordered his men to open the
would merely plunge into the sand
down your arms and put your hands
n,
– and was talking bravely,” Feeney
get ashore.
up a railway shed with grenades, the
dunes on the seafront. The guns at the
up and we will not harm you.”
explosion of C3 was “the very last
seacocks and abandon ship.
remembered. Twenty-nine-year-old
tip of the Mole did and sent shell after
or word in noise”.
As Thetis’ crew gathered on the
Tubby Smith died within the hour.
quarterdeck, a sailor found Boddie. shell plunging into the destroyer.
With dawn the true horrors of the
re
A TOWER OF FLAME He was one of five Smiths to die that
The captain was alive – and he wanted Then the mist and fog enveloped
devastation aboard HMS Iris became
so
night on Flanders’ coast.
his ship to sail on. North Star again and she swung
obvious to Royal Marine George
ed
‘VERY LAST WORD IN NOISE’
FULL STEAM AHEAD
Ronald Boddie returned whence he towards the open sea. Safety beckoned
Calverley. He found the body of her
Sgt Harry Wright heard the signal to
ENTER THE BLOCKSHIPS
had came. The North Sea was until a flare lit up the destroyer
captain, Valentine Gibbs,
HMS C3 had so far escaped retire. But in the chaos of battle orders
both his legs shot
most of the enemy’s fire. The
now roaring into the engine – and searchlights trapped the
became counter-orders. He and 11
away.
obsolete submarine had parted Ronald Boddie had watched the room, but there was still time
ship in their beams.
comrades now watched as Vindictive
Of six Royal
company with the destroyer battle from afar. It had been strangely to close the cocks.
The German gunners
began to move away from the Mole.
Marine officers,
which had towed her across mesmerising. But now it was Thetis’ For what it was worth,
adjusted their sights, then
Perhaps she might return. Perhaps
three were
the Channel almost an hour hour. He clambered down to the Boddie and his men
opened fire. Every six
motor boats might come to the men’s
dead, two
before. aged cruiser’s engine room where he grappled with the engines. to eight seconds the rescue.The marines climbed the Mole
were
Now Lt Richard found his stokers “merry and bright”. To their astonishment, the muzzles flashed and the wall, cast their equipment and life
wounded
Sandford – ‘Uncle Baldy’ Thetis was still plodding along at machines struggled into barrels belched. Almost jackets into the sea and lay down,
and a sixth
to his men, a nickname seven knots. The telephone rang. It life. Thetis lurched for instantaneously the shells pretending to be dead.
earned by his slightly was Thetis’ captain Cdr Ralph Sneyd. another half mile before crashed into North Star. Her marina Continued
old-fashioned manner and The ship had been illuminated by star finally running aground. upper decks were riddled. Her George Calverley clambered down on page iv
ZZeebrugge.indd 3eebrugge.indd 3 117/3/08 14:40:547/3/08 14:40:54
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