He was one of the last surviving members of the commando raiding party that took on the seemingly impossible raid on the coastal french city of saintnazaire. Fixed infinite loop when advancing vp indicator with left arrow key. Britains worst maritime disaster occurred when at least 3,000 people were killed as a result of the troopship rms lancastria s sinking by the luftwaffe near saint nazaire, france. He was the last surviving commando of the raid on st nazaire in 1942 officially known as operation chariot.
Limited edition prints of the above painting the raid on st. Down a dusty dirt road on the sunstreaked outskirts of the fabled city, a dejected, ragtag column of beaten. The maintenance of close ties with the town and people of saint nazaire was a founding principle of the society. The st nazaire raid or operation chariot was a british amphibious attack on the heavily. Nazaire raid was a very successful if highly costly commando raid on the port of st nazaire in germanoccupied france on march 28, 1942. Other wreaths were laid by civic dignitaries, rnas culdrose, the rna and other exservice associations. In the dark early days of 1942, britains atlantic lifeline was stretched to the breaking point. The town was one of the most damaged in france during world war ii. Added gun 222a to initial deployment and pieces window. As they tried to escape, the survivors were intercepted by german torpedo.
Michael burn, who died on september 3 aged 97, was one of the last survivors of the naval commando raid on st nazaire, after which he was captured and imprisoned at colditz. Operation chariot the greatest raid of all royal naval. Sacrifice at saintnazaire naval history magazine april 2017. Bill tiger watson, mc, mbe passed away on december 29, 2018. Saintnazaire progressively replaced nantes as the main haven on the loire estuary. Nazaire, that increased to more than 8 percent losses with more than 55 percent damaged. John rafferty, of coven, near wolverhampton, served as a royal navy mechanic during the st nazaire raid of march 28, 1942, during which.
Sixteen such mls were assigned to the force and were to carry commandos and demolition parties into st nazaire. She stopped to pick up two more survivors, but was hit by accurate shelling from. Bill tiger watson passed away on saturday, december 8, at. The survivors stumble into an isolated, peaceful utopia where the inhabitants live to a very old age. It was a courageous mission to destroy the german dry docks at the mouth of the. Maj gen corran purdon, who has died aged 97, commanded a demolition team in an audacious raid on the french port of st nazaire in the spring of.
One of the last surviving commandos who took part in the famed world war two st nazaire raid has died at a midlands nursing home. It was very good but that old bugbear arose again and spoiled it all for me. The raid on saint nazaire of the 28th march 1942, which has since been written into the annals of naval history as the greatest raid, remains the pinnacle of those earlier achievements. The target of this audacious raid, codenamed operation chariot, was the huge dry dock at saint nazaire. Their frail wooden hulls offered scant protection and only three of the craft survived the operation. En route, two boats were destroyed by heavy german guns, including mtb 74. A motor launch ml of the type which took part in the raid on st nazaire. One of the few remaining survivors, bill bannister laid a wreath on behalf of the st nazaire society. St nazaire docks were located six miles inside an estuary on the river loire. Now known as the greatest raid of all, operation chariot was an attack on the docks at st nazaire in germanoccupied france. A war hero who was the last surviving member of the greatest raid of all has died aged 95. When he asked the port commander about defensive measures, the officer said a plan was ready, but he considered a raid unlikely. Jeremy clarkson tells the story of one of the most daring operations of world war ii the commando raid on the german occupied dry dock at st. James dorrian has drawn on interviews with over 100 survivors, both british and german, to present this remarkable account.
Over the side of campbeltown went the survivors of the raiding parties. Most survivors were picked up by british corvette hms. The st nazaire raid or operation chariot was a successful british amphibious attack on the heavily defended. Farewell to last hero of st nazaire world war ii raid. Nazaire by military artist david rowlands, are available for sale, with all funds going to the st. At 1500 hours, a small royal navy force consisting of three destroyers, a gunboat, and motorboats and motor torpedo boats carrying british commandos departed falmouth bay, cornwall for the french port of st. St nazaire marks one of wwiis most daring raids bbc news.
The st nazaire raid or operation chariot was a successful british amphibious attack on the heavily defended normandie dry dock at st nazaire in germanoccupied france during the second world war. The defences around st nazaire, especially at the mouth of the river loire were upgraded by. Nazaire often called the normandie docks after the french passenger ship normandie that the docks were originally constructed to support was the only facility capable of repairing the legendary german battleship tirpitz if it was damaged. With jeremy clarkson, corran purdon, bob wright, james dunning. This dramatic reconstruction of the commando parties disembarking from hms campbeltown under heavy fire, was carefully researched, with many individuals being identified by name. Coastal forces greatest achievement of ww2 the raid on st nazaire. During the st nazaire raid on 27th march 1942, lieutenantcolonel newman. That time 621 brits rammed a suicide ship into a nazi. It was an operation so heroic that it resulted in the award of five victoria crosses and 80 other decorations for. The larger of the two, and the closest to the survivors line of escape, was bridge d, a lifting bridge whose mechanism lay on the west, or german. John rafferty, of coven, near wolverhampton, served as a royal navy mechanic during the st nazaire raid of march 28, 1942, during which he was captured by the nazis and kept as a prisoner of war for more than three years. The results of the raid are best measured in relation to its effect on the overall war effort. The operation was undertaken by the royal navy and british commandos under the auspices of combined operations headquarters on 28 march 1942.
Hero of the greatest raid of all st nazaire bill tiger. The building, appropriately in the quartier st louis, is next to the conservatoire du musique and on sunny mornings one may wake to the sound of piccolo and violin. These great location shots are complimented by testimony from the surviving veterans, detailed maps, essential for proper understanding of the raid, and some illustrative reenactment. British commandos raid on st nazaire dock to destroy it for the rest of world war ii. Attack on the iron coast 1968 attack on the iron coast. In one of world war iis most spectacular raids, the royal navy and british. If you are visiting the st naziare u boat pens, then i suggest doing some research before you go, otherwise you are just looking at a concrete structure. Hero of the greatest raid of all st nazaire bill tiger watson, dead at 97 dr. A combined operations raid on the dry dock at st nazaire led by no. Nazaire, france, in 1942 was a display of cunning and skill.
On 28 march 1942, british forces launched one of the most daring operations of the second world war. It concernced the representative footage of the air raid that was supposed to act as a decoy to take attention off the commandoblockship side of things. Nazaire occurred at a time when the third reich was strong and great britain needed a successful operation to boost morale for the long fight that lay ahead. Maj gen corran purdon obituary world news the guardian. Nazaire, by norman wilkinson, national maritime museum. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the raid, and inevitably the numbers of survivors of the raid has diminished year on year. The raid was launched to disable the only dry dock on the atlantic seaboard that was big enough to accommodate the terrifying german. The raid consisted of 18 vessels and 621 british servicemen who ran a destroyer loaded with explosives into the naziheld docks. It was written in the mid 1990s with the full cooperation of the members of the st nazaire society, the commemorative body established by survivors of the raid while they were still guests of the reich. U boat pens saintnazaire 2020 all you need to know. Gathering the survivors, he gave them three orders. As a major submarine base for the germans, saintnazaire was subject to a british raid in 1942 and it was heavily bombed by the allies until 1945.
The raid on st nazaire german troops clearing the battle field next morning after the attack carried out by the commandos. Surrounded, the british continued fighting through dawn. Transported on board hms campbeltown which, packed with hidden explosives, rammed the dock gates, and a fleet of 18 smaller vessels, the commandos stormed ashore. Bbc cornwall coast remembering the st nazaire raid. Nazaire raid has not been covered in the detail warranted by its role in the evolution of special warfare tactics. To recognise their achievement, 89 decorations were awarded for the raid, including victoria crosses awarded to lieutenant commander beattie, lieutenant colonel newman and commander ryder and posthumously to sergeant durrant and able seaman savage. On 27th march 1942 at st nazaire he was in charge of a lewis gun on hm motor launch 306 which came under heavy fire during the raid, and although he had no protection and was wounded in several places he continued to fire until the launch was boarded and the survivors were taken prisoner. Preserving and protecting the memory of operation chariot, the great combined operations raid on the french atlantic port of st. After the motor launches had retired out to sea, the german destroyer jaguar closed in.
Operation chariot during world war ii in the dark early days of 1942, britains atlantic lifeline was stretched to the breaking point. The survivors formed their own association, the st nazaire society, which is a registered charity in the united kingdom. A ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of a daring world war ii raid has been held at st nazaire in western france. At the request of a module user, i have made the following tweaks. Storming st nazaire, is based largely on original research. Typically, in 1943, the usaaf would lose approximately 5 percent of its bombers on a mission.
So he radioed saintnazaire, british naval force sailing on a westerly course. It was a feat of cunning and daring that helped to shape the war at sea. By robert heege it was june 24, 1866, late in the afternoon of a northern italian summer, and venice, the jewel of the adriatic, was bleeding again. Uboats were sinking allied merchantmen faster than they could be replaced, and to this threat was added the lurking menace of german surface raiders. A wounded british prisoner of war, sitting on the ground in st. In military circle its called greatest raid of all time. Of the 28 men in mickys troop 14 died in the raid and half of the survivors including him were captured.
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