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Commanding Canadians Studies in Canadian Military History

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Commanding Canadians Studies in Canadian Military History Commanding Canadians Studies in Canadian Military History The Canadian War Museum, Canada’s national museum of military history, has a three- fold mandate: to remember, to preserve, and to educate. It does so through an interlocking and mutually supporting combination of exhibitions, public programs, and electronic outreach. Military history, military historical scholarship, and the ways in which Canadi- ans see and understand themselves have always been closely intertwined. Studies in Cana- dian Military History builds on a record of success in forging those links by regular and innovative contributions based on the best modern scholarship. Published by UBC Press in association with the Museum, the series especially encourages the work of new genera- tions of scholars and the investigation of important gaps in the existing historiography, pursuits not always well served by traditional sources of academic support. The results produced feed immediately into future exhibitions, programs, and outreach efforts by the Canadian War Museum. It is a modest goal that they feed into a deeper understanding of our nation’s common past as well. 1 John Griffith Armstrong, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue 2 Andrew Richter, Avoiding Armageddon: Canadian Military Strategy and Nuclear Weapons, 1950-63 3 William Johnston, A War of Patrols: Canadian Army Operations in Korea 4 Julian Gwyn, Frigates and Foremasts: The North American Squadron in Nova Scotia Waters, 1745-1815 5 Jeffrey A. Keshen, Saints, Sinners, and Soldiers: Canada’s Second World War 6 Desmond Morton, Fight or Pay: Soldiers’ Families in the Great War 7 Douglas E. Delaney, The Soldiers’ General: Bert Hoffmeister at War 8 Michael Whitby, ed., Commanding Canadians: The Second World War Diaries of A.F.C. Layard Commanding Canadians The Second World War Diaries of A.F.C. Layard Edited by Michael Whitby © UBC Press 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher, or, in Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), www.accesscopyright.ca. 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in Canada on acid-free paper. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Layard, A.F.C. (Arthur Frank Capel), 1899-1999. Commanding Canadians : the Second World War diaries of A.F.C. Layard / edited by Michael Whitby. (Studies in Canadian military history, ISSN 1499-6251) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7748-1193-4 ISBN-10: 0-7748-1193-5 1. Layard, A.F.C. Arthur Frank Capel), 1899-1999 – Diaries. 2. World War, 1939-1945 – Naval operations – Submarine. 3. World War, 1939-1945 – Naval operations, Canadian. 4. Canada. Royal Canadian Navy – History – World War, 1939-1945. 5. Anti-submarine warfare – Canada – History – 20th century. 6. Great Britain. Royal Navy – Officers – Diaries. 7. World War, 1939-1945 – Personal narratives, British. I. Whitby, Michael J. (Michael Jeffrey), 1954- II. Title. III. Series. D811.L349 2005 940.54’516’092 C2005-904435-7 UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for our publishing program of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council. Publication of this book has been financially supported by the Canadian War Museum. Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens Set in Minion and Helvetica Condensed by Artegraphica Design Co. Ltd. Copyeditor: Sarah Wight Proofreader: Gail Copeland Cartographer: Eric Leinberger Indexer: Dianne Graves UBC Press The University of British Columbia 2029 West Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 604-822-5959 / Fax: 604-822-6083 www.ubcpress.ca To John Band and Gil Lauzon, two gentlemen “introduced” to me by Frank Layard, and whom I am now fortunate to consider friends. Contents Maps and Photographs / ix Acknowledgments / xi Abbreviations / xiii Prologue: Like Cutting Butter / 3 Introduction: An Officer and His Diary / 9 1 One Does Get Tired of Them, September-December 1943 / 30 2 Shaking Down, January-March 1944 / 72 3 Overseas, March-May 1944 / 108 4 The Great Endeavour, May-July 1944 / 142 5 Exasperation Inshore, July-October 1944 / 171 6 Deep Open Waters, October-December 1944 / 216 7 Wreck to Wreck, Contact to Contact, January-March 1945 / 257 8 Oasis of Comfort and Happiness, March-May 1945 / 305 Epilogue: Respite / 338 Appendix 1: Career Highlights of Cdr. A.F.C. Layard DSO, DSC, RN / 340 Appendix 2: The Ships of EG 9 / 342 Appendix 3: U-Boats Destroyed by Ships Attached to EG 9 / 343 Notes / 344 Selected Bibliography / 370 Index / 373 Maps and Photographs Maps 1 Canadian Northwest Atlantic / 11 2 The Western Approaches / 12 3 The English Channel and Bristol Channel / 14 Photographs Following p. 80 Cdr. Frank Layard, RN, at Scapa Flow on 19 February 1945 (Raymond Layard) On the bridge of HMCS Swansea, November 1944 (Raymond Layard) The wedding of Lt.-Cdr. Frank Layard and Miss Joan Binning, 3 December 1932 (Raymond Layard) Joan Layard in the Irish Free State, 1934 (Raymond Layard) HMS Vivacious lives up to her name in Venice, July 1932. (Raymond Layard) Layard displays the trophy won by HMS Walpole’s officers and petty officers championship football team in 1934 (Raymond Layard) The staff of the Experimental Department at Whale Island before the war (Raymond Layard) The 6th Destroyer Flotilla during the Atlantic Fleet’s 1934 autumn cruise (Raymond Layard) Layard brings HMS Broke alongside the cruiser HMS Sheffield, 7 November 1942 (Raymond Layard) Layard leads Broke’s survivors ashore at Gibraltar after the attack on Algiers (Raymond Layard) The Town class destroyer HMS Mansfield (DND REA 253-76) Layard descending a rope ladder to attend a briefing onboard the escort carrier HMS Biter, April 1944 (Raymond Layard) Halifax dockyard, June 1944 (LAC PA115367) Lt.-Cdr. Alan Easton, RCNR (LAC PA206442) Cdr. Clarence King, RCNR (DND L-5356) x Maps, Figures, Photographs Following p. 208 Cdr. Edgar Skinner, RCNR (LAC PA204643) HMCS Matane (DND GM-465) HMCS Swansea (LAC PA206487) HMCS Swansea battling heavy seas, January 1944 (John Band) The corvette HMCS Frontenac exercises with EG 9 in early 1944 (DND K-506) The echo sounder trace of U-247 (PRO ADM 199/1462) Lt.-Cdr. Bill Stacey, RCNR, and Sub-Lt. J.R. Bradley, RCNVR (DND PMR-83-1360) Layard and Lt. John Band, RCNVR (John Band) EG 11 attacking a contact in the Bay of Biscay, 18 August 1944 (DND A-1011) The officers of HMCS Swansea, 5 November 1944 (John Band) HMCS Saint John (LAC PA134503) Layard says goodbye to Saint John, 19 February 1945 (Raymond Layard) HMCS Loch Alvie in Loch Eriboll with a surrendered U-boat alongside (DND LS-16) RN frigate HMS Loch Fada refuelling at Lisahally after the war (DND O-1538-36) The Layard family, 1945 (Raymond Layard) Acknowledgments This project would not have seen the light of day without the contributions of many friends, colleagues, and family members. A pleasant reward that made my work much more enjoyable was the fact that, almost to a person, they became captivated by Frank Layard to the extent that he became the subject of the sort of conversations one would have about a close friend. Two English ladies – my mother, Doris Whitby, and Dianne Graves – helped with the painstaking work of transcribing the diary; Dianne also chased down some contextual odds and ends and compiled the index. Michael Hadley and Marc Milner made invaluable comments on the manuscript and recommended its pub- lication. Alec Douglas, who with Roger Sarty, Bill McAndrew, and Don Graves gave me my formative training as a naval historian, unearthed the diary in the first place, and then with Harry Needham managed support for the project through the Canadian Battle of Normandy Foundation. Bill Glover dispensed reflection from an Edwardian perspective and enjoyed Layardisms – “slight alcoholic re- morse” remains the most apropos. Alan Easton, who sailed under Frank Layard in E.G. 9 and who described their complex relationship in 50 North, perhaps the classic memoir of the Battle of the Atlantic, provided valuable insight and enthu- siastic support. “I didn’t realize he was thinking like that; he always appeared so confident!” was a common refrain from that dear, elderly gentleman. Richard Mayne, Robert Caldwell, and Jan Drent shared research, while Ginny Tanqueray and Tony Schweppes helped to ease the rigours of writing. At the institutional level, Matthew Sheldon and Chris Howard Bailey of the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth provided friendly advice and a wonderful place to work – where better to research naval history than in a reading room adorned with a complete run of Navy Lists, with a Type 23 frigate moored outside the window, Victory through the door, Mary Rose down the walk, and Warrior around the corner by The Hard! In Australia, David Stevens, Joe Straczek, and John Reeve were affable hosts and provided a terrific forum to present my initial thoughts on Layard at the 2001 King-Hall Naval History Conference, “The Face of Naval Battle,” whose proceedings have now been published under that name. Serge Bernier and Steve Harris, director and chief historian respectively at the Director- ate of History and Heritage, allowed me to attend that conference, while my former boss Marc Whittingham let me make the detour to Portsmouth, where I first dis- covered the vast extent, and thus the importance, of the diary. Dean Oliver of the xii Acknowledgments Canadian War Museum supported and funded publication of the diary for the museum’s excellent and much-needed publication series, while Emily Andrew, Camilla Blakeley, Sarah Wight, Ann Macklem, and the friendly, professional staff at UBC Press turned a scruffy manuscript into a handsome volume.
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