London Branch Coastal Forces Veterans have sadly learned of the death of long-standing member, and last ever London Branch Chairman, Eddie Dibley. Eddie ‛crossed the bar’ peacefully, at home, on 20 April, 2024, aged 98. He had originally retired from the post of Secretary of London Branch in 2014, but took on the role of Branch Chairman, ably assisted by his daughter Julie, on the retirement of Ken Gadsdon. Eddie was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French Government in July 2022, having represented Coastal Forces during the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in 2019.
Able Seaman (Radar) Eddie Dibley served on MTB 757, part of the 66th MTB Flotilla which comprised MTBs 731, 733, 737, 747, 750, 752, 757 and 760. These boats had their torpedo tubes removed in the late summer of 1944 and their decks fitted with racks of depth charges, to function in an anti-submarine role. At Le Havre they had been called upon to destroy sea mines laid by the Germans in the approaches to the port.
Len Reynolds in Dog Boats at War describes the situation: “...the Germans had sown the approaches liberally with a new type of pressure mines — named oyster mines — which took on the character of either an acoustic or a magnetic mine according to the pressure of water displaced by a ship passing over them at more than 10 knots...the 66th were asked to attempt a method of steaming fast over the minefield and dropping a pattern of depth charges.”
Eddie recalled how ahead of the planned operation, the boat disembarked several of its crew at Portsmouth, so as to only carry a skeleton crew over the minefields. His own account of those events may be read by following the link provided.
Lest we forget
Frigjøringsdagen 8 Mai
May 8th is the National Day of Liberation Norway. This day marks the end of Norway’s occupation during the Second World War, and also serves as Veterans' Day. The images below detail a visit made by two Norwegian MTBs, and one British, from their base in Lerwick, Shetland, to the Norwegian town of Molde in May 1945.
Kongelig Norske Marine
The German invasion and occupation of Norway commenced in April 1940, and by June of that year the Norwegian forces had been forced to surrender. Thirteen naval ships with around 500 officers, petty officers, and men, left for Britain with the King and his government, to form the nucleus of the Royal Norwegian Navy in exile.
Two Norwegian MTBs 5 & 6 were the first ships commissioned for the Norske Marine in Britain. They operated in the Channel from early summer 1940 as part of the British 11th MTB Flotilla. On the introduction of the Fairmile 'D' class, eight boats formed the 30th MTB Flotilla, deployed in November 1942 to Lerwick in Shetland. From there offensive operations started against German shipping along the western coast of Norway. With the allocation of several more 'Dog Boats' the 30th MTB Flotilla became the 54th MTB Flotilla, and carried numerous clandestine missions amongst the Norwegian Leads up until V.E. Day
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them
Mei 4 Dodenherdenking
May 4th is the National Day of Remembrance in the Netherlands, on which day the victims of the Second World War are commemorated with a nationwide two minute silence held at 20.00hrs. Each year the commemorations have a theme, and the theme for 2024 is Freedom tells: prelude to 80 years of freedom.
Coastal Forces Veterans recalls the contribution of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Koninklijke Marine, during the Second World War, in particular those members who served in Light Coastal Forces. The Dutch initially helped man boats of the 3rd MGB Flotilla, then two flotillas of MTBs, the 2nd and 9th MTB Flotilla, operating from Dartmouth, but primarily HMS Wasp at Dover
Mei 5 Bevrijdingsdag
On the 5th May each year, the Netherlands celebrates the liberation of the country in 1945, and that its people have lived in freedom ever since. On this day the country also reflects on the value of freedom, democracy and human rights.
Able Seaman Korpl Macht Lucas Willem Fernhout MGB 46 Age: 28
Korpl Telgr Petrus Theodorus Kint MGB 114 Age: 24
Matr I Ment Pronk MTB 418 Age: 24
Matroos 1e KL Adriaan Cornelis Van Vegten TMB 51 Age: 27
Stoker O/M Antonius Franciscus Verbeek MTB 203 Age: 28
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them
At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them
MGB 2002 sailed from Aberdeen at 0800 hours on the 11th May 1945 on a mission to Gothenberg, Sweden. The Commanding Officer of MGB 2002, Lt Cdr 'Jan' Mason SANF(V), had been called to Buckingham Palace to receive the Distinguished Service Cross for his work in command of MGB 318. His place was taken by Lt Cdr 'Mike' Marshall who at the time was Senior Officer of the flotilla in MGB 2009. The boat's normal complement of crew was increased for the trip by the inclusion of several senior officers, including the Flotilla Engineer Officer, Lt Cdr (E) Hughes-Coppins, Lt Cdr Brian Reynolds, who had served as Brian Bingham in the RNR, and Captain Herbert Jackson. Bingham and Jackson had been engaged in the wartime blockade running of ball bearings from Sweden to the Humber, in boats of the same class as MGB 2002. The party were sailing to Gothenburg to arrange the transfer from that port to the UK of two merchant vessels used as stores ships in those operations, when the boat struck a mine in the Skagerrak off southern Norway, and sank more or less immediately, leaving only two survivors.
Mining of MGB 2002 in the Skagerrak Part I
Mining of MGB 2002 in the Skagerrak Part II
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza as of 24 April, 2024, at least 34,262 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October, 2023, and the attack by Hamas in which 1,162 Israeli civilians, members of the security forces, and foreigners have been identified as killed, including at least 33 children. Around 70% of Palestinians killed are reported to be women and children, with children accounting for some 14,500+ deaths to date. A further 77,229 Palestinians have been reported injured, including 1000+ children who have had one or both legs amputated. 17,000 children are classed as unaccompanied or separated from their parents.
In addition, nearly 1.7 million displaced people are now sheltering across emergency shelters (UNRWA and public shelters), informal sites or in close vicinity to UNRWA shelters and distribution sites and within host communities, whilst some 70,000+ housing units have been destroyed, and a further 290,000+ damaged.
2,200,000 are now at risk of famine, with 1,100,000 at Phase 5 which aid agencies consider to be catastrophic risk, and a further 854,000 at Phase 4, which is considered an emergency.
Amid growing concerns for the safety of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, South Africa has successsfully brought a case against the state of Israel in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
In the light of concerns raised by South Africa, regarding possible breaches by the Israeli state of their obligations under international law, including potential genocidal comments made by Israeli state officials, some of which are reproduced below, and by an Order dated 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice has indicated provisional measures in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)
Nakba? Expel them all…If the Egyptians care so much for them - they are welcome to have them wrapped in cellophane tied with a green ribbon
There should be two goals for this victory: One, there is no more Muslim land in the land of Israel… After we make it the land of Israel, Gaza should be left as a monument, like Sodom
There is one and only (one) solution, which is to completely destroy Gaza before invading it. I mean destruction like what happened in Dresden and Hiroshima, without nuclear weapons…Gaza should be razed and Israel’s rule should be restored to the place. This is our country
We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly…We will eliminate everything - they will regret it
It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware not involved. It’s absolutely not true…and we will fight until we break their backbone
…imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed.
There will be no Arabs in the Gaza strip. They will go to Turkey, to Scotland, to Britain…we'll use different methods. One of them is not to give them any humanitarian aid.
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