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 Page !1 APRIL 23, 2019 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 Page !3 APRIL 23, 2019 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.