大象传媒

60 years ago on Friday June 2nd LCI(S) 536 202 Flotilla

All weekend shore leave canceled -

Saturday 3rd June 1944
Just had to stay on board, going about normal duties, but both our officers went ashore for last minute briefing but we on board didn鈥檛 know this was the big one.

Sunday 4th June
Started the day as normal, tied up in midstream in the river Hamble just off the village of Warsash. Midmorning we get orders to start the engines and move over to the jetty at the village of Hamble lots of activity all around. We load up with troops Royal Marine commandos, who we had been training with for six months and move back out to middle of the river fully loaded, about 100 troops. No where for the crew to go as all our living space was taken up with troops. After two or three hours the heavens opened the rain came down, late afternoon start up engines again take the troops back to Hamble jetty and unload the lot. Moved back out midstream and tied up for the night. All of us crew are very thankful to have our living space back, at this time didn't have a clue what was going on, but thankful to be able to eat, sling our hammocks and get a good nights rest, still wasn't sure what it was all about.

Monday 5th June
Rise and shine for breakfast. Up on deck looked over to the riverbank and the sloping fields beyond; they were covered with tents, that was where the poor troops had spent the night. Spent most of Monday just loafing around on board still tied up in midstream, then late afternoon started engines and moved to the jetty at Hamble and loaded up with troops again, we had done this routine over and over again, but this time we had a different feeling. Now fully loaded we move back out to midstream but no stopping this time. At 5pm we carry on down river, as we pass Warsash people were just finishing their shift from the Fairy aviation works and were being ferried across the river to Warsash. They gave us a cheer and a wave, it just began to dawn on me this could be the real thing. We carry on moving down river then out into the Solent and Spithead; Although it was dark we knew we were surrounded by landing craft and all sorts of ships, how they ever sorted that lot out I will never know. There was a heavy swell and the flat bottomed boat rolled, the marines and one of the stokers were in a hell of a state. It was now time for me to go below to the engine room to do my two-hour watch on one of our two very large horsepower engines. This duty was shared between the P.O. motor mechanic, the two stokers and myself the wireman (i.e. electrician) two hours on two hours off, all the time at sea. This duty changed at action stations and another change when beaching and landing troops. When unloading troops one stoker and I had to roll out the ramp for the troops to run down. So it was two hours on two off all through the night. I didn't sleep at all my two hours off each time were mainly spent on deck getting the fresh air and listening to the aircraft passing overhead. I felt excited, but not scared at this time. I don鈥檛 think you do when you are young.
6th June
As dawn broke we saw once more the mass of shipping around us, and the French coast far away in the distance. The big battleship guns opened up but I don鈥檛 recall any near us. At first we seemed to be running parallel to the coast, then it was time to go below to take over my engine watch. Not a clue what was going on up top. When I next came up we were a lot closer to the coast and heading directly for it.
At 8am beaching stations was called I took up my position at the side of the ramp laying flat approaching St. Aubin sur mer, right on the edge of Juno beach. Looking ahead I could see a row of houses badly damaged, a shingle beach and a sea wall. A tank up by the wall with a few soldiers up against the wall. We touched the beach and pushed the ramps out. The Royal Marine officers including the padre were the first down to the beach. As the next lot of troops came out of the hatch a shot rang out and a marine at the top of the ramp fell wounded there was a sniper in the shell of a house, everyone had to keep their heads down, so we couldn't move a thing. Every time someone approached the top of the ramp they were shot at. A marine officer shouted "Come on you matelots come and hold this ramp for us", but we weren't going to move because of the sniper. I said my prayers and laid flat on the deck
There was a mortar fire which smashed the Perspex shield round the bridge. Later I made little hearts out of the shattered Perspex and sent them to my sisters.
All unloading stopped no one could move, all four of our guns were behind the bridge at the rear of the craft behind the bridge and the guard rail prevented the guns from firing directly ahead. But after a while an LCI(L) (Landing Craft Infantry Large) beached along side us they had a forward facing gun and were able to silence the sniper. By this time we had, I think four or five wounded lying on deck in front of the ramps, they were taken below and given medical attention. The disembarking continued one of the marines had a little Corgi motorbike that he picked up and ran down the ramp with it above his head. After that a sudden swell dislodged one ramp and tipped the marines on it into the sea, once the ramp was secured unloading was completed and we withdrew from the beach.
This unloading normally only took three minutes but this had taken about half an hour to complete.
We then went out and found a hospital ship and unloaded our wounded marines, I don鈥檛 think anyone was killed. Then we went on to find a troop ship and load up with Canadian troops. Who we ferried to a different beach this was near Courseulles-Ser-Mer. By this time it was afternoon the tide was out and it was quite sandy and very shallow so even with our flat bottom boat when the ramps went out there was still a couple of feet of water for the troop to wade through, but there wasn't any enemy opposition on the beach so the unloading went well, but unfortunately we were stuck on the sandy beach and the tide continued to ebb and the left us high and dry so we were able to walk completely round the craft and along the beach. Whilst on the beach a German Stuka bomber dropped a stick of bombs but they were a long way off. We also found a crack in the wooden part of the bows of our craft, this was letting water into our storage compartment. With our damage control equipment the coxswain put a watertight patch over the crack then we just had to wait till the tide came in to refloat us in the evening.
The next day our duty changed and we had the job for the next few weeks of meeting craft as they arrived from England and directing them to a place where they were most needed.
One day while on one of our trips we saw hundreds of small tin cans floating in the water. We knew exactly what they were. They were watertight tins of cigarettes that must have come from a sunken supply ship. So our captain stopped the craft in the middle of them and allowed three of us to strip off and jump over the side, but we had a line tied round our waist and also a bucket on another line. We filled the bucket time and time again and never wanted for a cigarette for months.
I remember we had a real storm one night and we were at anchor quite a way from the shore and the ship kept dragging the anchor so we had to start up the engines and move position two or three times up on deck in the pouring rain and wind and suffered the only casualty to our crew. The anchor wire flew out of the fairlead and broke one of the seaman's legs. Next day we took him to a hospital ship and never met up with him again. We carried on for a few more weeks meeting and directing ships to their different beaches.
Quite a few evenings we were ordered to tie up for the night along side the larger navel ships to protect them from torpedo attack.
Then one evening we hit a sand bar and damaged our propeller shaft and then returned to the river Hamble where we started from.
After returning we were all split up and after a short leave I went to Scotland and picked up a tank landing craft which was destined for the Far East.
More to come about my navy life one day maybe
Leading wireman Dennis Edward Newman DMX 517028

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