The Sheldt: 8th November 1944

In late 1944 the Allies were concerned to free up the port of Antwerp for use in keeping their forward lines supplied. The island of Walcheren occupied a strategic position on the northern side of the Scheldt Estuary, and was heavily occupied by the Germans, with shore batteries that enabled them to dominate the sea lanes into the port.

As part of these operations, the 19th ML Minesweeping Flotilla, had been ordered to proceed from their base at Queensborough to Ostend in late October 1944, to carry out minesweeping in the Scheldt Estuary at the beginning of November, as part of Operation Calendar.

On the 8th November the whole flotilla had sailed from Antwerp to Terneuzen, and had just commenced their sweeping operation when ML 916 was struck by an acoustic mine, likely triggered by another of the motor launches. The whole boat was blown in the air and disintegrated immediately, leaving its C.O., Lieutenant G G Macpherson, and Able Seaman W C Morrison as the only two survivors.

Article: The Loss of ML 916