APRIL 23, 2019
remembrance ni
DSO for Belfast RN officer in Zeebrugge Raid
Aerial photograph of the British blockships HMS Thetis, HMS Intrepid and HMS Iphigenia in the mouth of the Bruge Canal at Zeebrugge. IWM photo.
The Zeebrugge Raid took place on April 23, 1918. One of the most celebrated episodes of the First World War at sea, the Royal Navy attempted to block the Belgian port and
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HMS Vindictive after returning to Dover following the Zeebrugge Raid, showing one of the two 7.5-inch howitzers and Stokes mortars specially fitted out for the raid to provide fire support for the landing parties in the planned assault on the German gun battery at the seaward end of the mole at Zeebrugge. IWM photo. prevent the German navy from using it. More than 200 sailors and marines were killed and over 300 wounded.
Men from Northern Ireland took part in the raid. Lieutenant Oscar Henderson was awarded a DSO for his actions at Zeebrugge. After his naval service he was apppointed Private Secretary to the Duke of Abercorn, the first Governor of Northern Ireland.
Thomas McShane from Lambeg died in service in HMS Vindictive. Vindictive’s role was to come alongside the mole which sheltered the harbour and land marines who were to Page 2 APRIL 23, 2019 German submarines UB-10 and UB-13 berthed alongside the Zeebrugge Mole
destroy the gun emplacements which would threaten the ships that would enter the harbour and block the canal.
There were seven Royal Marines from Northern Ireland who took part in the action.
The background German forces occupied the Belgian coastal ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge at the beginning of the war. Only 70 miles from Dover, they were used by German U-boats and surface raiders to threaten Allied shipping in the English Channel. The German submarine campaign of early 1917 prompted the Admiralty to develop a daring plan to block the ports and render them useless. At Zeebrugge, an amphibious landing would secure the German defences on the port’s breakwater, or ‘mole’. A naval force would then approach and sink specially- prepared ships, filled with concrete, at the point where an
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HMS Vindictive's bow stands as a memorial on the harbour wall at Ostend. The cruiser led a perilous operation to land British naval forces on the Mole at Zeebrugge on 23 April 1918 and was later sunk as a blockship at Ostend. inland canal entered the harbour. With their access blocked and lock gates destroyed, German vessels based at Bruges would be unable to reach the open sea. It would be a dangerous mission. In February 1918, a call went out throughout the British Grand Fleet for volunteers. A force of nearly 1,800 was raised and given special training. Some 165 vessels, from warships to submarines and motor launches, were assigned to take part in the raid.
Page 4 APRIL 23, 2019 The attack At 11.10pm on the night of 22 April 1918, Royal Navy warships began to bombard German coastal defences around Zeebrugge and laid down a protective smokescreen, vital for the success of the attack. The cruiser HMS Vindictive approached the mole, with two old Mersey ferries – Daffodil and Iris. Vindictive carried a force of sailors and marines who were supposed to land at the entrance of the Bruges canal and destroy German positions. Meanwhile, motor boats attacked the western end of the mole as a distraction while Vindictive approached. But the wind direction changed and blew away the smokescreen. The attackers came under heavy fire and suffered many casualties. The submarine HMS C3, filled with explosives, destroyed a viaduct connecting the mole to shore, but Vindictive was unable to fully support the landing parties and they were eventually forced to withdraw. Two of the old cruisers reached the canal entrance and were sunk, but not in the intended place. Assessment Winston Churchill, who was the minister responsible for the Royal Navy at the start of WW1, said of the Zeebrugge Raid: "It may well rank as the finest feat of arms in the Great War." Looking back now, it’s generally accepted the attacks didn’t deliver on penning up the Flanders U-boat fleet. But they were an important morale boost for Britain at a danger point in the Great War. Only two weeks before St George's Day, Field Marshal Haig had warned of “backs to
Page 5 APRIL 23, 2019 the wall” in the land campaign as the German Army once more pushed towards Ypres and the Channel ports. The Zeebrugge Raid was a dramatic operation, and lauded in the press for the daring and courage of those who took part. However in the end, German access to the port was only hindered for a few days, and the raid at Ostend that took place at the same time also failed to prevent its use. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates more than 200 service personnel lost during the attack. In Belgium, casualties of the raid are buried and commemorated at Zeebrugge Churchyard and Memorial, Blankenberge Town Cemetery and Oostende New Communal Cemetery. In the UK most of the servicemen who died of wounds were buried in Dover (St. James’s) Cemetery. Those who have no known grave are commemorated on the Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth Naval Memorials.
Roll of Honour Zeebrugge - April 23, 1918
BELL, S RMLI. Private. 17301. Plymouth Division. Enrolled 16/09/1914. In HMS New Zealand 27/05/1915 - 18/02/1918. Wounded Zeebrugge. Discharged 12/11/1919. Re-enlsted for hostilities 13/11/1919. Born Whiteabbey 01/09/1897. Son of Mrs A. Bell, Abbeyville Cottage, Whiteabbey. ADM 159/160/17301
GAMBLE, Thomas Henderson RN. CERA. M3809. Enrolled10/01/1912 for 12 years. War service in Tyne, Aquarius, Dolphin, Maidstone and Page 6 APRIL 23, 2019 Pembroke I. In 1917 was chief engineer in submarine E-31. Although he was not yet a member of her crew in 1916, the E-31 had the distinction of being the only submarine to have shot down a German Zeppelin. Thomas participated in the raid on the German submarine base at Zeebrugge, Belgium in April, 1918. Following the war, he served with the New Zealand Navy and on a variety of ships before retiring from the Navy in 1934 with the rank of CERA. Worked in Harland and Wolff possibly on the Titanic. Born 12/08/1888. Son of William Hilditch and Maggie Johnston, Straid, Ballyclare. In April 1915, Tom married Kathleen Dorothy Dyke. They had three children. Died 1977 at the home of his son, Alec, in Somerset, England. Ballynure - PCI RH and WM. ADM 188/1025/3809
GOUDY, Thomas James RMLI. 17191. Private. Plymouth Division. Enrolled Belfast 07/09/1914. Served in Orcanna, Sutlej, Morea and Lion. Zeebrugge. Discharged 23/10/1919. Born Belfast 22/08/1895. Son of John Goudy, Finlay St., Ligoniel, Belfast. ADM 159/160/17191
HENDERSON, Oscar RN. Commander. CVO, CVE, DSO 1918, Twice mentioned in Despatches, French Croix de Guerre avec Palmes. Retired from RN in 1922.
Gazetted 16/08/1915 - Landing at Gallipoli Peninsula 25-26/04/1915. “Commended for service in action. Took part in the landing at Morto Bay, and with commendable initiative pushed on in support of the Marines, after he had assisted in the disembarkation.”
Page 7 APRIL 23, 2019 Awarded a DSO for his actions at Zeebrugge. The Admiralty notice of the award on 23/07/1918, stated, “Lieutenant Oscar Henderson, RN (Isis II). When a shell carried away the bridge of his ship and caused a serious fire amongst the ammunition and bombs, he led a volunteer fire party with a hose on to the upper deck to quench the fire. Took over command of the ship after Cdr. Gibbs had been mortally wounded”. HMS Isis was a former Mersey ferry steamer which Henderson successfully brought back to Dover from Zeebrugge.
Midshipman 1909 - 11, Mediterranean Fleet 1911 - 12, China Fleet 1912 - 14 (at capture of Tsing Tao 1914), Gallipoli 1915 - 16 twice mentioned in Despatches, Grand Fleet 1917, Portsmouth Escort Flotilla 1918; selected to represent Portsmouth Command in the naval raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend.
Oscar Henderson was the third child of Sir James Henderson (1848-1914) Oakley House, Windsor Pk., Belfast. He was Belfast’s first Lord Mayor. He is credited with the fine City Hall which stands in the centre of the City today. He took a Law degree at Trinity College Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1872 and he became Editor of the Newry Telegraph in 1873, retaining that position until 1883. He became Managing Proprietor of the Belfast News Letter and Belfast Weekly News.
James Henderson was made a Freeman of the City of Belfast in 1912 and he was knighted By H.E. The Lord Lieutenant at the Vice Regal Lodge, Phoenix Park, Dublin on the 12th January 1899.
Page 8 APRIL 23, 2019 Oscar was educated at Methodist College, Belfast, 1900 - 03, Bradfield, 1903 - 04, Osborn, and the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, 1904 - 09.
After his naval service he was appointed Comptroller and Private Secretary to the Duke of Abercorn, the first Governor of Northern Ireland. He was awarded a C.V.O and a C.B.E for his services.
He was father of Captain William Henderson, OBE, DL, who served with the Irish Guards 1942 - 47 and a chairman of the Belfast News Letter until it was sold in 1989. Bill played an important part in securing the franchise for UTV in 1958. Another son, Brumwell, was named after the architect, Sir Brumwell Thomas, who designed Belfast City Hall. Brum was a TCD graduate and journalist with the News Letter, who became General Manager, Managing Director and Chairman of UTV. MCB 1900 -1903. Methodist College Belfast RH
KERR, R RMLI. Private. Wounded Zeebrugge. Linview St., Belfast
KIRKPATRICK, Kenneth Clarke RN. Commander. DSC. Lieutenant 115/01/1909. Zeebrugge. DLL for Co. Down. High Sheriff of County Down 1948. Master of the East Down Foxhounds and the County Down Staghounds. B 14/03/1896. Son of John J and Cecilia Kirkpatrick, Kincraig, Antrim Rd., Belfast. Church Hill, Newcastle. Carnmoney Parish Church RH
Page 9 APRIL 23, 2019 LYNCH, William RMLI. Private. 18185. Plymouth Division. Enlisted 10/06/1915. Served in Temeraire 26/09/1916 - 23/05/1919. Zeebrugge. Born Carrickfergus 28/03/1896. Shore St., Belfast. ADM 159/162/18185
McMASTER, T RM. Armourer. Zeebrugge. Loughview Cottage, Whitewell, Belfast
+McSHANE, Thomas Charles AB. SS4230. HMS Vindictive. Died Zeebrugge 23/04/1918. Age 24. The cruiser Vindictive played a leading role in the attack on Zebrugge on the night of 22/23 April 1918. The raid was intended to block the mouth of the Bruges canal at Zeebrugge in an attempt to prevent German submarines and torpedo boats from using it. Vindictive’s role was to come alongside the mole which sheltered the harbour and land marines who were to destroy the gun emplacements which would threaten the ships that would enter the harbour and block the canal. At first the raid appeared to have been a success but it soon became apparent that the ships which had been sunk in the entrance to the canal did little more than cause the Germans some inconvenience. Born Newry 13/03/1894. Only son of Hugh and Margaret McShane, River Rd., Lambeg, Lisburn. Brother of Sophia Hamilton, Larkstone St., Belfast. Family notice, Belfast Telegraph 23/04/1941. St James’s Cemetery, Dover. ADM 188/1098/4230
O'NEILL, Henry RN. ERA IV. M18716. Enrolled 25/01/1916 for hostilities. Zeebrugge raid. Served in Sandhurst, Repulse and Page 10 APRIL 23, 2019 Hindustan. Demobbed 11/12/1919. Fitter. Born Omagh 16/02/1891. ADM 188/1055/18716
STEWART, A RMLI. Private. Wounded Zeebrugge. Canmore St., Belfast
WHITE, Wilson Henry RMLI. 16494. Plymouth Division. Enlisted 08/12/1913. War service in Tiger 03/10/1914 - 16/12/1917 and RM Brigade 01/01/1918 - 08/12/1919. Wounded Zeebrugge. Discharged. Re-enlisted 09/09/1939. Ply.X3351. Died 1940. Interred Woodbury, Exmouth, Devon. Born Belfast 26/09/1895. Son of Sarah Ann White, Darwin St., Newtownards Rd., Belfast. Husband to Margaret White, Walton St., Belfast. ADM 159/159/16494
In the newspapers - April 23 23rd April 1915 Belfast Newsletter THE RECRUITING CAMPAIGN. Pale Company to be Formed.
The recruiting campaign to till up the reserve battalion of the Ulster Division is being vigorously conducted, especially in Belfast, where during the present week an average of 33 men per day is now joining the Division. The special officers detailed from Ballykinlar on recruiting duty in Belfast are working energetically all over the city. Meetings are being arranged in each of the Parliamentary divisions, and brief addresses are being delivered nightly in the district picture houses. The band of the 15th Royal Irish Rifles (North Belfast Volunteers) will go out on a recruiting march this evening, starting from the Old Town Hall at 7.30 p.m. Page 11 APRIL 23, 2019
A series of open air meetings will be held in South Belfast this evening. The speakers will include the member for the division. Mr. James Chambers, K.C. In East Belfast open-air meetings are also being arranged for the Mount Corner and elsewhere, and it is expected that Colonel R.G. Sharman- Crawford, D.L., will take part. The regimental band of the East Belfast Volunteers will probably be sent to the city next week from Ballykinlar to assist in the campaign.
It also proposed to form a Pals Company or companies, in connection with the Ulster Division. If the response is sufficiently good a "Pals" Battalion will be formed. This arrangement has been made with a view to attract clerks, shop assistants, and others who may wish to soldier together in similar fashion to Liverpool and other cities. A canvas of a number of employers has been taken, and they have promised to facilitate the campaign in every way. The Y.M.C.A. authorities have also lent their aid. A number of ladies have registered their names as willing to take it the places of men who may volunteer, and in some cases have offered to give their wages to the dependants of the men whose places they may be tilling temporarily.
There are still vacancies for butchers in the Supply Department of the Army Service Corps of the Division.
23rd April 1918, Northern Whig - Ulster Division Drowning Fatality
Private Thomas Morris, 7687, 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, (Ulster Division). Son of Patrick and
Page 12 APRIL 23, 2019 Bridgett Morris nee Butler ; Husband of Isabella Morris 5 River Street Whiteabbey, Co Antrim. Deceased is buried in Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France. (Note - he died on 21/03/1918).
Roll of Honour - April 23 Representing their comrades who died on this day 1915 +GILFILLAN, John (Jack) 3rd Bn. Canadian Infantry. Private. 9916. Died 23/04/1915. Aged 26. Son of Isabella Gilfillan, of 16, Collon Terrace, Londonderry, and the late James Gilfillan. Ypres (Menim Gate) memorial. +HOWE, Gilbert Frederick Temple 16 CI Manitoba Regiment. Private. 29453. Died 23/04/1915 at St. Julien in Belgium. Age 29. Born in Hillsborough on 09/06/1885, he emigrated to Canada and was an insurance agent, running a firm with another Ulsterman in Hamilton, Ontario. A single man with no previous military experience, he enlisted at Valcartier on the 23/09/1914. He was 6’ 1½” tall and had a 34” chest with 4” expansion. Of a swarthy complexion, he had brown eyes, black hair and tattoos on both his forearms. The eldest son of Frances Mary Howe of 1 Radnor Place, Hyde Park, London and the late T. S. Howe of Hillsborough, his father had been agent for the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava. His brother Edward Barhah Howe who had emigrated to Australia, enlisted there and by 1915 was serving in Gallipoli. He appears to have survived the war. Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Ypres, Belgium, panels 24 – 30. Page 13 APRIL 23, 2019 1916 +McCAFFERTY, John 43rd Bty. Royal Field Artillery. Corporal. 48061.Died 23/04/1916. Aged 26. Born Ballycastle. Son of John and Margaret McCafferty, Ballydurnian, Ballycastle. Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery, est-Vlaanderen, Belgium
1918
See Roll of Honour Zeebrugge above
1940
+EDGAR, Leonard
Royal Artillery. 23rd. Battery, 8th (Belfast) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment.Gunner.1475599. Died 23/04/1940. Served with 8th in the France and Belgium campaign of 1939-1940. Born in Belfast, he lived there when he enlisted. He was the son of Leonard Edgar and Sarah Ann Edgar,Belfast, and husband to Norah Edgar of Belfast. Wimereux Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. His headstone bears the inscription “We will remember in the sunset glory. The life he gave will never grow old”. His name is also on the family plot in Belfast City Cemetery. 1942
+COOK, William James
RAF. Sergeant (Air Gunner). 540952. Died 23/04/1942. Aged 28. 218 Sqdn. Son of Pheelix and Catherine Cook, of Armagh; foster-son of Ellen Baylan, of Armagh. Armagh (St Patrick’s) Roman Catholic Cemetery
Page 14 APRIL 23, 2019 1944
+McCLELLAND, Gerald RAFVR. Flying Officer (Navigator).160597. DFM. Died 23/04/1944. Aged 21. 77 Sqdn. Son of Margaret McClelland, of Coleraine. Assens (Fun) New Cemetery, Denmark +WILSON, William
RAFVR. Sergeant (Air Gunner).1544912. Died 23/04/1944. Aged 20. 514 Sqdn. Son of Henry and Isabella Jane Wilson, of Douglasbridge, Co. Tyrone. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany 1945 +BEBE, Robert Charles RAFVR. Sergeant. Died 23/04/1945. Age 19. Born 12/05/1926. 99 Sqdn. This squadron saw service in the Far East, where Robert’s death occurred. Son of Mr & Mrs A.E.Bebe of Mullavilly, Tandragee. Enrolled on leaving Lurgan College (09/1941 - 08/1942), possibly giving the wrong date of birth. RAF Memorial, Singapore, Column 451 Veteran HERRON, David RN. Leading Seaman. JX 183513. Born on 22/04/1910. In 1939, David lived at Church Street, Workington, Cumberland where he had found work as a contractor’s labourer. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 28/02/1940, serving throughout the rest of the Second World War, leaving on 19/11/1945. After the war he joined the Merchant
Page 15 APRIL 23, 2019 Navy, continuing life at sea. Son of Joseph John Herron and Janey Herron (née Marshall) of 36 Foxglove Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim. Joseph had served in 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers during World War One. died on 24/01/1985 aged 74. Distington Crematorium, Workington, Cumbria. On this day - April 23 1915 At Ypres the German attack east and west of St. Julien is repulsed by the Canadians. 1918 Zeebrugge raid - see article and Roll of Honour above 1940 Budget Day raises taxes on beer by 1d, whiskey up 1/9d (9p) and postage up 1d. Estimates of the 1940 war expenditure as £2,000 million criticized by MPs for being too low. 1941 King George II of Greece and his government are flown to Crete by the RAF. The German build up for Operation ‘Barbarossa’ continues with 59 divisions now deployed along the border with the Soviet Union. 1942 In a secret session of the House of Commons, Churchill delivers a speech declaring that the liberation of Europe was ‘the main war plan’ of Britain and the USA. Page 16 APRIL 23, 2019 Churchill tells the House of Commons of disasters in Japanese war. The RAF raids Rostok with 142 aircraft. The Russian plan to hit the Germans with a powerful force of 640,000 men, 1,200 tanks, and 900 aircraft in the Kharkov area, while the Germans plan to hit the Russians with 636,000 men, 1,000 tanks, and 1,220 aircraft. 1944 The last Japanese attack on Garrison Hill, Kohima is repulsed as the British ‘left hook’ begins its advance to the North. US Sixth Army secures Hollandia, New Guinea. Helicopter used for air evacuation for first time—Sikorsky YR-4B helicopter of the US 1st Air Commando Group rescues 4 downed airmen in Burma. 1945 Dessau is reported as clear of German troops. The British Second Army reaches Harburg across the Elbe from Hamburg. Frankfurt is captured. Goring telegraphs Hitler saying that he will take over command as Hitler’s Deputy. Hitler says he must resign all his posts and orders Goring’s arrest. Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler begins secret negotiations for a separate peace in the West with Count Bernadotte, head of the Swedish Red Cross. The U.S. Fifth and British Eighth Armies reach the Po, to the North of Bologna.
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