Warner - The Zeebrugge raid

THE
ZEEBRUGGE
RAID

Philip Warner (19142000) enlisted in the Royal Corps of Signals after graduating from St Catharines, Cambridge in 1939. He fought in Malaya and spent 1,100 days as a guest of the Emperor in Changi, on the Railway of Death and in the mines of Japan, an experience he never discussed. A legendary figure to generations of cadets during his thirty years as a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he will also be long remembered for his contribution of more than 2,000 obituaries of prominent army figures to The Daily Telegraph.

In addition he wrote fifty-four books on all aspects of military history, ranging from castles and battlefields in Britain, to biographies of prominent military figures (such as Kitchener: The Man Behind The Legend, Field Marshal Earl Haig and Horrocks: The General Who Led from the Front) to major histories of the SAS, the Special Boat Services and the Royal Corps of Signals.

The D-Day Landings was republished by Pen & Sword Books to mark the 60th Anniversary of this historic event and was adopted by The Daily Telegraph as its official commemorative book.

By the same author

THE
ZEEBRUGGE
RAID

Philip Warner

First published in Great Britain in 1978 by William Kimber and Co. Limited
Reprinted in this format in 2008 by
PEN & SWORD MILITARY
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Philip Warner, 1978, 2008

ISBN 978 1 84415 677 1

The right of Philip Warner to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Printed and bound in Great Britain
By CPI UK

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Wharncliffe Local History, Pen & Sword Select,
Pen & Sword Military Classics and Leo Cooper.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
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Contents

Admiral Keyes plan of the
British attack on Zeebrugge
appears on pages

Admiral Lord Keyes, painted by de Lazlo

The approach to Zeebrugge, painted by Bernard Gribble

Submarine shelters at Bruges

Cross section of the Mole

The German Commander of the Mole batteries and his men

One of the Mole batteries and its crew

Gun captured on the Mole

Storming the Mole, drawn by Charles de Lacey

Percy Dean in ML 282

Vindictives funnel after the attack

Wreckage on Vindictive

Vindictive after her return from Zeebrugge

Commander F. A. Brock

Engineer Lieutenant Commander W. A. Bury

Captain H. C. Halahan

Commander Valentine F. Gibbs

Lieutenant George N. Bradford

Lieutenant Claude E. K. Hawkings

Captain Carpenters cap and binoculars

The bridge of Iris after the battle

The viaduct after C3 had blown up

An official seaplane photograph of the blockships

A German air photograph of the blockships

The blockships Intrepid and Iphigenia

A later photograph of Intrepid and Iphigenia

Thetis blocking the port

Leaflet dropped by the British over Germany

Captain Ion Hamilton Benn

Lieutenant R. D. Sandford

Commander A. E. Godsal

Lieutenant Sir John Alleyne, Bt

Motor launches making smoke

Some of the men who returned from the raid

(courtesy Mrs E. Vinnicombe)

Special thanks are due to Mr R. B. Goodall whose skill in reviving old, and often damaged, photographs has made it possible for this book to be fully illustrated.

If you are in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on any 23rd April you will see a short but impressive ceremony at the point where the Mole begins. At the memorial which is in front of the Hotel de la Victoire there will be two lines of elderly men, and two lines also of sailors from the Belgian Navy. Wreaths will be laid, and the Last Post sounded. Then the party moves away.

That is not all. The old men, for their ages range from 78 to 88, will then go to the Flemish church by the military cemetery where a service will be conducted half in English and half in Flemish. The church will be full and in the congregation will be Flemish children dressed in national costume. Outside the church is a small cemetery and when the service is over each child lays a flower on a servicemans grave.