Collin
February 8th, 2006, 21:33
We all know about the main body of the forces that took part in the D-Day operations, But there were others there, who went about their jobs without any acknowledgement.
For this first "they also served" I present you with the Royal Observation Corp.
regards Collin:ernae:
~ Influences on planning for D-Day ~
After the Allied invasions of North Africa, Sicily and the Italian mainland, analysis of logs and reports showed that the Allies were losing significant numbers of aircraft to armed allied merchant ships. It was clear to the planners that similar losses could not be sustained in the forthcoming Normandy landings and the services of the ROC were consequently called upon. Air-Commander-in-Chief, Allied Expeditionary Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Leigh-Mallory, issued a request for around 2000 experienced ROC personnel to act as aircraft spotters for the defensively equipped merchant ships (DEMS).
The request and its implications were considered at a conference held on 5 April 1944. In attendance were senior staff from the Air Ministry (the government department which administered the ROC at the time), the Admiralty, Headquarters ROC, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force and the Allied Expeditionary Air Force. It was agreed that the ROC should supply 240 men for 30 British Landing Ships (infantry), and 90 Motor Transport Ships. The United States forces requested 300+ for similar vessels. To cover the legal and administrative problems of using a civilian organisation in the naval and merchant marine elements of the Allied Expeditionary Force, the ROC personnel were to enlist as volunteers in the Royal Navy with the ranks of Petty Officer for one month, with an option to extend to two months if required.
Personnel were to continue to wear ROC uniform with the addition of a navy-blue brassard bearing the letters "RN" and a shoulder badge bearing the word ‘Seaborne’. They were to be paid a special rate of one pound a day. This led to the unusual circumstance, in that civilians ended up wearing an RAF blue uniform with Army black berets, while at the same time serving as Royal Naval senior NCOs! If captured by the enemy this 'arrangement' would have been very hard to explain!
~ Training ~
The RAF officer commanding the ROC, sent a personal letter to all ROC members; the following is an extract:
"The supreme commander has asked me to provide a considerable number of ROC observers to serve aboard ship for recognition duties during forthcoming operations. The highest importance is attached to this request, for the inefficient and faulty recognition has contributed largely to enemy successes against our shipping and to losses of aircraft from friendly fire."
[/URL] (http://www.combinedops.com/ROC/ROC_spitfire_Merlin.jpg) (http://www.combinedops.com/ROC/ROC_messerschitt_109.jpg)[URL="http://www.combinedops.com/ROC/ROC_seaborne2.jpg"]
The result was no fewer than 1376 observers volunteers, together with 29 officers. Of these 1094 reported over a period of four to five weeks to a depot set-up by a combined unit of Royal Navy/ROC/RAF full time officers in the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth. After a medical and very tough trade tests, 290 were returned to normal duties, the remaining 796 were enrolled in the Royal Navy within the terms mentioned earlier.
They were an eclectic force taken from all walks of life and ages. One the one hand there was Ian Ramsbottom (17)... a winner of the ‘Spitfire’ master observer badge and, on the other, 70 year old veterans from WW1. The successful volunteers received intensive aircraft recognition training, although most were very proficient anyway, and basic training in naval procedures. One element of the recognition training was a test based on a film. One of the volunteers from the Scottish Highlands was heard to remark that it was the "first" movie he had ever seen! Another element included the use of identification cards similar to those on the right. (All these images will enlarge until identification details are easily read.)
By the fifteenth of May 1944 the first Observers had been drafted to their ships. This was just forty days after the initial meeting, and sixteen after the setting up of the depot in Bath.
~ D-Day - "The Longest Day" ~
In common with all Allied forces personnel preparing for the D-Day landings, the ROC volunteers were subjected to waiting, boredom and apprehension as the planners took account of weather and other operating conditions before launching the big offensive. This was alleviated to some extent by a review of the fleet along the south coast of England by King George.... at least it gave the men an excuse to polish and clean!
For the first 500 Observers posted by 5 June 1944, all plans and preparations came to a climax with the issue of General Eisenhower's order, (Supreme Commander Allied Powers Europe), to start the Allied invasion of France.
The heroic efforts of the military personnel involved in this historical action have deservedly been told and retold many times, in many different ways. While the roles of the merchant marine, the ROC and other groups, such as dock and railway employees, failed to capture the public imagination in the same way, it is a matter of record that without them there would have been no invasion! Supplying the advancing allied forces was undertaken by hundreds of vessels of all sizes and uses. All were subject to the hazards of mines, fast-attack boats, shore batteries and attack by aircraft; as well as the storms and natural hazards found in the channel and its approaches.
Messages to the Air Ministry and ROC Headquarters, from ships' Captains, various naval and air commanders, (both land and ship based) were unanimous in their praise for the work of the ROC. Included in these were the personal congratulations from Admiral Ramsey, Allied Commander-in-Chief Naval Forces.
This signal was received from Lieutenant Lyon, commanding US Naval armed guard aboard the SS John A. Sutter:
"Subject named men" (Observers W.E.Hills, and J.F.Rolski) " formerly members of your command and now serving as aircraft identifiers on our ship, Merchant Transport 22, attached to my US Naval gun crew, have already proved their weight in gold to us in properly and quickly identifying all aircraft we have encountered in our initial invasion trip.
As an example, on the morning of June 10th, with visibility poor, they caused us to hold fire on two RAF Spitfires, which all other ships, except naval units, were firing at for a period of half an hour.
When they reported aboard they told me they could identify anything, which they could see. Such has proved to be the case and I find myself, along with my men, relying on them for services far in excess of any other personnel in the crew. It is a pleasure to have them with us, and a great satisfaction to have man so carefully trained to do a job which is so important for the safety of our troops and cargo."
From Wing Commander P.B. Lucas, Air Staff Air Defence of Great Britain:
"The general impression amongst the Spitfire wings covering our land and naval forces over and off the beach-head appears to be that in the majority of cases the fire has come from naval warships and not from merchant ships. Indeed I personally have yet to hear a pilot report that a merchant vessel had opened fire on him"
After two and a half months of stalwart service the ‘Seaborne’ scheme was brought to an end. However the ROC did not come out unscathed; two men were killed, one was injured by shell splinters and one by a V1 flying bomb which hit his vessel while in dock in the UK. Twenty-two survived their ships being sunk. ‘Petty Officer’ Ian Ramsbottom (who must have been the youngest ‘Senior NCO’ in the Royal Navy for those two months) returned safely back to school!
The final word went to the original proponent of the use of the ROC on D-Day, Air Chief Marshal Leigh-Mallory. He wrote the following to be circulated to all ROC personnel:
"I have read reports from both pilots and naval officers regarding the Seaborne volunteers on board merchant vessels during recent operations. All reports agree that the Seaborne volunteers have more than fulfilled their duties and have undoubtedly saved many of our aircraft from being engaged by ships guns. I should be grateful if you would please convey to all ranks of the Royal Observer Corps, and in particular to the Seaborne observers themselves, how grateful I, and all pilots in the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, are for their assistance, which has contributed in no small measure to the safety of our own aircraft, and also to the efficient protection of the ships at sea.
The Work of the Royal Observer Corps is quite often unjustly overlooked, and receives little recognition, and I therefore wish that the service they rendered on this occasion be as widely advertised as possible, and all Units of the Air Defence of Great Britain are therefore to be informed of the success of this latest venture of the Royal Observer Corps."
~ ROC D-Day Roll of Honour ~
Killed in action: Chief Observer John B. Bancroft (Motor Vessel Derry Cunily 24 June 1944 – sunk by acoustic mine.); Observer Bill Slater (Steam Ship Empire Broadsword sunk by mine).
Injured in action: Observer Percy Heading (Steam Ship Sambut sunk by shellfire).
Mentioned in despatches: Observer Lieutenant George Alfred Donovan Bourne; Leading Observer Joseph Douglas Witham; Observer Thomas Henry Bodhill; Observer John Hughes; Observer Derek Norman James; Observer Edward Jones; Observer Albert Edward Llewellyn; Observer George McAllan; Observer Anthony William Priestly; Observer John Weston Reynolds... and all the remainder of the 796 courageous volunteers!
For this first "they also served" I present you with the Royal Observation Corp.
regards Collin:ernae:
~ Influences on planning for D-Day ~
After the Allied invasions of North Africa, Sicily and the Italian mainland, analysis of logs and reports showed that the Allies were losing significant numbers of aircraft to armed allied merchant ships. It was clear to the planners that similar losses could not be sustained in the forthcoming Normandy landings and the services of the ROC were consequently called upon. Air-Commander-in-Chief, Allied Expeditionary Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Leigh-Mallory, issued a request for around 2000 experienced ROC personnel to act as aircraft spotters for the defensively equipped merchant ships (DEMS).
The request and its implications were considered at a conference held on 5 April 1944. In attendance were senior staff from the Air Ministry (the government department which administered the ROC at the time), the Admiralty, Headquarters ROC, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force and the Allied Expeditionary Air Force. It was agreed that the ROC should supply 240 men for 30 British Landing Ships (infantry), and 90 Motor Transport Ships. The United States forces requested 300+ for similar vessels. To cover the legal and administrative problems of using a civilian organisation in the naval and merchant marine elements of the Allied Expeditionary Force, the ROC personnel were to enlist as volunteers in the Royal Navy with the ranks of Petty Officer for one month, with an option to extend to two months if required.
Personnel were to continue to wear ROC uniform with the addition of a navy-blue brassard bearing the letters "RN" and a shoulder badge bearing the word ‘Seaborne’. They were to be paid a special rate of one pound a day. This led to the unusual circumstance, in that civilians ended up wearing an RAF blue uniform with Army black berets, while at the same time serving as Royal Naval senior NCOs! If captured by the enemy this 'arrangement' would have been very hard to explain!
~ Training ~
The RAF officer commanding the ROC, sent a personal letter to all ROC members; the following is an extract:
"The supreme commander has asked me to provide a considerable number of ROC observers to serve aboard ship for recognition duties during forthcoming operations. The highest importance is attached to this request, for the inefficient and faulty recognition has contributed largely to enemy successes against our shipping and to losses of aircraft from friendly fire."
[/URL] (http://www.combinedops.com/ROC/ROC_spitfire_Merlin.jpg) (http://www.combinedops.com/ROC/ROC_messerschitt_109.jpg)[URL="http://www.combinedops.com/ROC/ROC_seaborne2.jpg"]
The result was no fewer than 1376 observers volunteers, together with 29 officers. Of these 1094 reported over a period of four to five weeks to a depot set-up by a combined unit of Royal Navy/ROC/RAF full time officers in the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth. After a medical and very tough trade tests, 290 were returned to normal duties, the remaining 796 were enrolled in the Royal Navy within the terms mentioned earlier.
They were an eclectic force taken from all walks of life and ages. One the one hand there was Ian Ramsbottom (17)... a winner of the ‘Spitfire’ master observer badge and, on the other, 70 year old veterans from WW1. The successful volunteers received intensive aircraft recognition training, although most were very proficient anyway, and basic training in naval procedures. One element of the recognition training was a test based on a film. One of the volunteers from the Scottish Highlands was heard to remark that it was the "first" movie he had ever seen! Another element included the use of identification cards similar to those on the right. (All these images will enlarge until identification details are easily read.)
By the fifteenth of May 1944 the first Observers had been drafted to their ships. This was just forty days after the initial meeting, and sixteen after the setting up of the depot in Bath.
~ D-Day - "The Longest Day" ~
In common with all Allied forces personnel preparing for the D-Day landings, the ROC volunteers were subjected to waiting, boredom and apprehension as the planners took account of weather and other operating conditions before launching the big offensive. This was alleviated to some extent by a review of the fleet along the south coast of England by King George.... at least it gave the men an excuse to polish and clean!
For the first 500 Observers posted by 5 June 1944, all plans and preparations came to a climax with the issue of General Eisenhower's order, (Supreme Commander Allied Powers Europe), to start the Allied invasion of France.
The heroic efforts of the military personnel involved in this historical action have deservedly been told and retold many times, in many different ways. While the roles of the merchant marine, the ROC and other groups, such as dock and railway employees, failed to capture the public imagination in the same way, it is a matter of record that without them there would have been no invasion! Supplying the advancing allied forces was undertaken by hundreds of vessels of all sizes and uses. All were subject to the hazards of mines, fast-attack boats, shore batteries and attack by aircraft; as well as the storms and natural hazards found in the channel and its approaches.
Messages to the Air Ministry and ROC Headquarters, from ships' Captains, various naval and air commanders, (both land and ship based) were unanimous in their praise for the work of the ROC. Included in these were the personal congratulations from Admiral Ramsey, Allied Commander-in-Chief Naval Forces.
This signal was received from Lieutenant Lyon, commanding US Naval armed guard aboard the SS John A. Sutter:
"Subject named men" (Observers W.E.Hills, and J.F.Rolski) " formerly members of your command and now serving as aircraft identifiers on our ship, Merchant Transport 22, attached to my US Naval gun crew, have already proved their weight in gold to us in properly and quickly identifying all aircraft we have encountered in our initial invasion trip.
As an example, on the morning of June 10th, with visibility poor, they caused us to hold fire on two RAF Spitfires, which all other ships, except naval units, were firing at for a period of half an hour.
When they reported aboard they told me they could identify anything, which they could see. Such has proved to be the case and I find myself, along with my men, relying on them for services far in excess of any other personnel in the crew. It is a pleasure to have them with us, and a great satisfaction to have man so carefully trained to do a job which is so important for the safety of our troops and cargo."
From Wing Commander P.B. Lucas, Air Staff Air Defence of Great Britain:
"The general impression amongst the Spitfire wings covering our land and naval forces over and off the beach-head appears to be that in the majority of cases the fire has come from naval warships and not from merchant ships. Indeed I personally have yet to hear a pilot report that a merchant vessel had opened fire on him"
After two and a half months of stalwart service the ‘Seaborne’ scheme was brought to an end. However the ROC did not come out unscathed; two men were killed, one was injured by shell splinters and one by a V1 flying bomb which hit his vessel while in dock in the UK. Twenty-two survived their ships being sunk. ‘Petty Officer’ Ian Ramsbottom (who must have been the youngest ‘Senior NCO’ in the Royal Navy for those two months) returned safely back to school!
The final word went to the original proponent of the use of the ROC on D-Day, Air Chief Marshal Leigh-Mallory. He wrote the following to be circulated to all ROC personnel:
"I have read reports from both pilots and naval officers regarding the Seaborne volunteers on board merchant vessels during recent operations. All reports agree that the Seaborne volunteers have more than fulfilled their duties and have undoubtedly saved many of our aircraft from being engaged by ships guns. I should be grateful if you would please convey to all ranks of the Royal Observer Corps, and in particular to the Seaborne observers themselves, how grateful I, and all pilots in the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, are for their assistance, which has contributed in no small measure to the safety of our own aircraft, and also to the efficient protection of the ships at sea.
The Work of the Royal Observer Corps is quite often unjustly overlooked, and receives little recognition, and I therefore wish that the service they rendered on this occasion be as widely advertised as possible, and all Units of the Air Defence of Great Britain are therefore to be informed of the success of this latest venture of the Royal Observer Corps."
~ ROC D-Day Roll of Honour ~
Killed in action: Chief Observer John B. Bancroft (Motor Vessel Derry Cunily 24 June 1944 – sunk by acoustic mine.); Observer Bill Slater (Steam Ship Empire Broadsword sunk by mine).
Injured in action: Observer Percy Heading (Steam Ship Sambut sunk by shellfire).
Mentioned in despatches: Observer Lieutenant George Alfred Donovan Bourne; Leading Observer Joseph Douglas Witham; Observer Thomas Henry Bodhill; Observer John Hughes; Observer Derek Norman James; Observer Edward Jones; Observer Albert Edward Llewellyn; Observer George McAllan; Observer Anthony William Priestly; Observer John Weston Reynolds... and all the remainder of the 796 courageous volunteers!