Centenary of 'Spitfires of the Seas'

[sheerluck]

Centenary of 'Spitfires of the Seas' - BBC News (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-37156430)

One I'm sure you'll appreciate, Bob.

[bob10]

Good find Dave. It took a special kind of man, when they went out, they had no idea if they would come back.

https://youtu.be/nXusKM5uX0s

[PhilipA]

I knew the captain of one of those launches.

He used to tell me how amazed he was at the effect that machine gun fire had on big ships that he attacked.

He walked with a limp and one day I asked him about it.

He told me the story of when he was an anti aircraft gunner on an Baltic convoy and his ship was attacked by a Condor. He said that the incoming bullets were peppering the shield on his gun, but he had damaged the Condor. It wasn't until he stepped down from the gun that he realised he had been hit in the ankle, such was the amount of Adrenalin in his system.

He was a very quiet and modest Englishman who was a clerk in the Ford Brisbane plant but a very brave man.
Regards Philip A

[bob10]

He was a very quiet and modest Englishman who was a clerk in the Ford Brisbane plant but a very brave man.
Regards Philip A

That generation produced those characters in abundance. I had the absolute privilege of meeting Stan Bissett, of Kokoda fame, and surviving members of the 2/14 th Battalion AIF, after an Anzac Day march in Brisbane. Dad had invited me to march with him, Mr Bissett ok'd it, and afterwards we retired to a small park near Roma St station for a bbq & beer, & a chat. I can't explain here what these men did, I could not do them justice. A book by Paul Ham " Kokoda " is a must read for all Australians, I believe. Yet these brave men were just like some ones grandfather, [ they mostly were], quiet, unassuming, there was no talk of the War, just normal chit chat. One thing stood out. They adored Stan Bissett, and he them. Up until the day he died, Stan Bissett looked after his men.

Mr Bissett sat with his brother, Butch, in a small clearing , just off the track at Isurava. They talked about their early lives, and Stan sang Butch their Mothers favourite song , Danny Boy. Stan buried Butch in the clearing, and even today, at least one of the tour groups walking the track, make a detour to that clearing, and sing Danny Boy.

Brave men were a common commodity in those desperate times.

[sheerluck]

Good find Dave. It took a special kind of man, when they went out, they had no idea if they would come back.



I think this description of the early boats says it all:

They were an innovative and imaginative design, fast and nimble but designed to deliver a load lethal to far larger ships.
"The result was extraordinary, basically two men sat on a torpedo either side of huge petrol tanks and ammunition.

[bob10]

Not about the wooden boats, but still an example of the desperate courage of the time.

https://youtu.be/oScT3WhCk8w?list=PL87B65C4FCB71ECE5

[bob10]

The Zeebrugge raid.

https://youtu.be/Q6YdwiRwI_4

[bob10]

Slim always said it so well. Kokoda has more relevance to Australia than Gallipoili.

https://youtu.be/RydSdjW5zi4

[bob10]

The Zeebrugge raid.

https://youtu.be/Q6YdwiRwI_4

Some more info on the raid. In Feb. 1918 a call went out to all Naval units in Britain, for volunteers for "special service" . HMAS Australia was in port at Rosyth, Scotland. One Officer and ten ratings were chosen. Five seamen, five stokers. They went to training at Chatham, after which the stokers joined Thetis, the seamen joined HMS Vindictive, as bomb throwers in a storming party to be landed on the Zeebrugge mole. The Officer, Artificer Engineer William Edgar [ they always name the Officers]was in charge of the engine room of the Mersey Ferry Boat, Iris. Artificer Engineer Edgar was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and promoted to Engineer LT. Three of the RAN seamen in Vindictive were awarded Distinguished Service Medals.

Well, I didn't know that.