大象传媒

Events Aboard L.C.G.[M] 1944/1945
Kenneth.A.Platt Royal Marines.
Training & North Sea.

Joined R.Ms at Lymstone Devon Oct.1943.After basic training here then on to Dalditrch for 17 weeks and attached to 41st Commando and then transferd to Combined Operations landing craft division,earned marksman badge also semifinalist lighweight-boxing.
I was now selected for communications signals division at various camps Tenby,Fishguard,LockFyne Scotland, Towyn & Barmouth in N.Wales all for general training in gunnery mixed with endurance tests & forced marching. Then onto more training at Castell-y-Bere including cutter training Barmouth.

Two of us from signals were chosen to become part of a 22 man crew for a major landing craft built at Stockton on Tees C-Duram, they were 15c long with the latest equipment , echo sounding , gyro-compass and two internal buyonancy tanks for taking in water to sink the craft in shallow water making for stability near shore for using the two power operated gun turrets with 4:7 guns. It also had two heavy machine guns.
The crew numbered 22 mostly naval ratings , speed 16 knots and range of 2000 miles. L.C.G.(M) 110 was taken out for trials before heading for Scotland.

Enemy aircraft were heard at night and we witnessed the firing of V1s (flying bombs) into N.England. Arrived in Firth of Forth in thick fog and mistook a train going over the bridge at night for a firey V1 but it was the glow from the engines fire box
Returned a few days later to spend Xmas at Grimsby unaware of the shock in store for us on our return to our boat. Once again a very bad fog and I had just gone off watch enjoying my meal on the mess deck when bang a ships bow smashed right through the side cutting the table in half , it backed off and the sea just surged in . How we climbed the ladder to get out with all the lights blown as well I will never know. The large trawler that had hit us was along side with scaling nets down her side which enabled us to follow orders of 鈥淎bandon Ship鈥� and clamber abourd her.The cold was so acute as most of us who had been down below only had vests on.Luckily no one was hurt and we marched with people cheering us to the local Seamans mission where we were given warm clothing including a hand knitted scarf which was about seven feet long.
Off to Sandwich re-kitted and sent on 14 days survivors leave then back to Stockton to re-commision LCG(m)118 more trials but changed again to LCG(m)180 where we were informed to be heading south to join a convoy ,however we then had a mix up in heavy mist with a Destroyer who fired over our heads and us thinking we were being attacked by German E boats ,all the time it was our own MTBs towing targets for them to shoot at action stations called off and double rum rations.

We joined a convoy in the Thames Estuary and during the night a large ship was hit by a mine and put into Newhaven for repairs. Whilst there a number of mines came into the estuary after a storm and we opened fire with tracers. One mine was wedged between the quayside and a ship but was disarmed the following day by a Navel Officer who was killed the day after trying to do the same in the new bay.

We celebrated VJ Day in Brighton before sailing to Shoreham to de-commission the ship. The two signal men Royal Marines were sent to Appledore in North Devon and we spent the remainder of our time collecting minor landing craft discharged at sea from LSD鈥檚 and bringing them back to Bideford to be dismantled. Sometimes we did operations on Saunton Sands in LCA鈥檚 to fill the time in before I was ordered to Plymouth to be demobbed in October 1946.

I was lucky in my war service and actually saw more of the real war in the many bombing raids over Merseyside, however, it is sad to relate that the only two LCG(M鈥檚) in action were sunk at Walcheran and the crews killed included the Royal Marine comrades that I had trained with at the Signal School.

K A Pyatt

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.