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HMS Glenearn; Landing Ship
Infantry (Large) - LSI (L)
A Landing Craft and Troop Carrier with Distinguished Service
including D Day
 Background
HMS Glenearn
was a class of WW2 vessels known as Landing Ship
Infantry (Large), LSI (L). The purpose of this class of vessel was to carry
large numbers of fully armed
troops and Landing Craft Assault (LCAs), that would carry them on the last few miles to the landing beaches.
[Photos of Glenearn courtesy of
Myles Sutherland].
The LSI(L)s are often referred to as 'mother
ships' because of their 'brood' of LCAs, 24 in the case of the Glenearn,
all securely fixed to davits ready to be lowered, fully laden, into the water like a
modern lifeboat. Since an LCA typically carried around 35 men and some craft would
return for a second load of troops, the Glenearn could well carry around 1,500
men.
There were 3 invasion forces in
the British/Canadian Eastern Task Force, one each for the Sword (S), Juno (J)
and Gold (G) landing beaches and two in the American Western Task Force for
Omaha (O) and Utah (U). HMS Glenearn and the
Empire Battleaxe
both attended Sword beach. The Glenearn was a converted, 16 knot, cargo liner of about
10,000 tons.
Having successfully delivered
their first assault troops onto their
designated beaches, the LCAs returned to their mother
ship, or any other troop carrying vessel they were directed to, where they were
either hoisted on board or came alongside to take on their next 30+ troops to
their designated landing beaches. There were other types of landing
craft, described elsewhere, that journeyed across the English Channel, under their own power, to
disembark their "cargos" of men, equipment and supplies, directly onto the beaches.
 D-Day
Telegraphist, George Downing served on HMS Glenearn.
His job
was to send and receive Morse code radio signals.
He recalled that
a muster of all the troops and the ship's crew was called on June 4th, when we
were told about our mission and the landings. Thereafter, the ship was sealed,
which meant no one, except a post man escorted by a senior officer, could
leave the ship. We were told that the airborne troops were to parachute behind
enemy lines an hour before the beach landings, primarily to disable enemy shore
batteries."
On June 5th, the day
before the D-Day landings, the sea between the Isle of Wight and the English
mainland, the
Solent, was brim full with hundreds of ships of all types and sizes. HMS Glenearn was the last to
leave dock at 9pm and witnessed the spectacle as she steamed to her allotted position for
the passage to Normandy. The landings were due to commence at 5am the next
day. The above map shows the numbers of men who were transported to the
beaches on D-Day and the position of the beaches visited by the Glenearn
during the following 6 weeks.
 George
continues; "As we approached the Normandy beaches, we saw many Landing
Craft Tank (LCTs) and Landing Craft Tank (Rocket) ( LCT(Rs) firing their salvos
of exploding missiles to soften up the German beach defences before the landings
commenced.
[Left; the two flotillas of 12 LCAs
each which HMS Glenearn carried. Admiralty's 'Green List' for June 5,
1944].
After we disembarked our troops that fateful
morning, we picked up the first of the wounded soldiers and returned them to Southampton
for hospital treatment. We then urgently embarked more troops to reinforce
those already landed. Without a constant supply of men, ammunition, vehicles
and supplies, the advancing invasion force would stall, giving the enemy time
to regroup for a counter attack.
Glenearn could carry 1,500 plus
soldiers and was ideally suited for
ferrying duties between the UK and Normandy. We witnessed death and
destruction on the landing beaches,
far too graphic to describe here. But the
most poignant
incident occurred on the quayside in a line of American GIs waiting to embark;
one of them took his own life rather than face his worst nightmares in France.
I also recall making a
fast overnight crossing of the English Channel in the company of our sister
ship HMS Glengyle, with the frigate HMS Starling as escort. On another homeward trip,
we met up with HMS Warspite,
in the process of returning to the beaches to give more
support to the troops,
after having her gun barrels replaced. Her gun turrets
were later placed at the entrance to the Imperial War Museum in London as a
fitting and lasting tribute."
 D-Day Aftermath
HMS Glenearn's ferrying duties continued for around 6 weeks,
during which time all the main beaches in France were supplied by her.
However, with increasing use of the Mulberry Harbours
and captured French ports, the demand for beach landings diminished
and the Glenearn was recalled to Greenock on the River Clyde near Glasgow.
[Rear Admiral Arthur G Talbot,
senior officer Force 'S' on D-Day.
© IWM (A 21718)].
The crew were given only 4 days leave, which was
insufficient time for a major refit. Since the crew never knew in advance
what the next operation was, there was speculation that the ship was being prepared for
similar duties on the French
coasts, possibly
in the Mediterranean.
However, when the ship's company returned
to duty, the
Glenearn was freshly painted in Pacific camouflage. They were
destined for the war in the Far East!
The next day,
Rear Admiral Talbot thanked
the crew for their past efforts and
outlined what was in prospect for them. A new flotilla had
been formed for a journey to the Far East,
comprising landing ships,
Empire Battleaxe, Broadsword
and Cutlass. With other
vessels including Glenearn, the flotilla was collectively known as Force X
and it was
leaving for New York at 6pm that night!
 Pacific Assignment
The journey across the Atlantic was uneventful .
On arrival in New York, additional supplies and communication
equipment were loaded. Prior to departure, around nine hundred American troops
were
embarked. George recalls, "While this was going
on, we had time for sightseeing, although most of the fleshpots were out of the
reach of the British servicemen’s pay! However, we did take in such sights as
the Stage Door Canteen, Radio City and the Empire State building, which were
freebees."
The task force set off for the
Pacific
Ocean with an
escort of US vessels. However, the flotilla was forced to take
shelter for 24 hours in the Charleston US
Navy base, to avoid an approaching hurricane, before
resuming the passage to Colon and the Panama Canal. From the outset, fresh water was strictly
rationed for drinking purposes only. Frequent stops were
made to replenish supplies, including Bora Bora in the middle of the vast Pacific
Ocean. From there, the flotilla
visited islands recaptured from the Japanese.
 Troops were disembarked
at Langemak
on the New Guinea coast and at the forward base in
Hollandia, also in New Guinea, where the flotilla
joined the US 7th Fleet. "After inspection of our ships and landing craft, our American
cousins deemed them unfit for the task of landings on the Pacific beaches. We
were not very pleased at being relegated to the task of moving troops and supplies
(see correspondence below from
Frank Mordecai on this subject),
although
Glenearn was made 'Commodore of Convoys' on a number of operations, including
the on-going battle in the North Phillipines' Lingayen Gulf."
[ Right; photo
of George Downing aged 19].
George continues, "Back in our base at Lae
in
New Guinea, we
received orders to proceed to Milne Bay and Cairns on
Australia's eastern coastline, where the 7th
Australian Infantry Division
required training for possible amphibious landings on Borneo. From mid October to late December 1945,
mock landings were made on beaches between
Cairns and Townsville, including Trinity Bay, Fitzroy Island, Palm Island and Treger. The docks at Cairns were too shallow for the
Glenearn, so we acted independently from Townsville. Enemy
submarines could not safely navigate their way through the
Great Barrier Reef, so we sailed with all lights blazing,
often on the upper deck,
to enjoy the
balmy evenings.
We
enjoyed a well earned rest
in Sydney before returning to Manus
Island in New Guinea. We then sailed with HMAS Nizam and
HMAS Norman to deliver supplies to the British Pacific fleet.
En
route, the forward petrol tank exploded and 28 men, including the second in command Chief engineer,
sustained horrific burns. Two seamen were trapped in the lower decks and the
hatches had to be locked in order to save the ship. It took a good forty eight
hours for the fires to be cooled down before the bodies could be recovered and
buried at sea.
The stench of burnt human flesh lingered for many
days. All the casualties required urgent medical attention , so we diverted
to Hollandia in the hope of finding a hospital
ship. It was not to be, so the men were transported by
ambulance over very rough, makeshift roads to an inland field
hospital. Sadly, the
men, who by then had endured so much, succumbed to their injuries and were buried in the Australian forces cemetery in the jungle
at
Finschhafen.
 Back at Manus,
repairs and adaptations to our ship were identified, so
we steamed for Melbourne,
via Sydney for repairs at Williamstown, a suburb of the city. The work
would prepare the ship for the transportation of men and materials to the fleet
at sea. During this period, VE (Victory in Europe) day had been celebrated
and some older members of the crew, due to be demobbed, were transported to
Brisbane for onward passage home.
[Photo; HMS Glenearn pennant
with photo of Petty Officer, Jack Holland, who served on the ship].
The war in the
Pacific was also drawing to a close, when we received orders to proceed with haste to Hong Kong, in order to
validate the British influence in the colony. After arriving there, we picked up
Australian prisoners of war (POWs) from the Chinese island of Hainan, using a
group of smaller craft and a hospital ship. They were all in a very bad way.
Since most of them were from Melbourne, we had high hopes of transporting them
back home. However, by this time, HMS Victorious was collecting large
numbers of prisoners and we transferred our consignment to them.
Our next duty took us to
Shanghi, this time to embark British civilian POWs. They were in much better condition than the Australian troops
and we had expectations of transporting them back to the UK but, in Colombo,
Ceylon (Sri Lanka), we transferred them into the charge of another vessel. With unrest in Indonesia,
our destiny saw us carry Indian
military personnel to the country, to quell brewing trouble between the
republicans and the authorities and, on the return trip to Columbo, we repatriated
Dutch refugee POWs.
From there, we steamed to the Royal
Navy base at Trincomalee in Ceylon. There we learned that HMS Glenearn
was to serve as the Senior
Naval Officer's establishment in Kure, Japan and a base for a naval party tasked to rebuild a communication centre. Kure was a former Japanese naval
base,+ which suffered after effects from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima some twelve miles away. At this point, my demob
papers were up and I sailed back to Hong Kong, demob on HMS Houge and
onwards to Blighty
(affectionate name for England)."
 Wireman Frank
Mordecai takes up the story of what he regarded as a wasted mission.
"I was the wireman attached to the
Royal Marine LCA flotilla, aboard the starboard side of HMS Glenearn. My
90 year old memory cannot recall the flotilla number.
After extensive training and the D-Day landings, HMS Glenearn
and other LSIs were sent to help in the South
Pacific campaign. Despite our background and experience, the 7th
US Fleet
considered us unsatisfactory for assault landings and relegated us to troop
carrying. This, we dutifully carried out for a few months.
Becoming surplus to
their requirements, the personnel of the LCA flotilla were then shipped back to
Blighty on HMS Empire Battleaxe (Photo below). We felt it was such a waste
of time and effort for trained and battle-hardened LCA crews to have no purpose
in the Pacific theatre, although we were pleased to be returning home.
 We concluded, in later discussions
at the local branch of the LST and Landing Craft Association, that General MacArthur and his
hierarchy considered the South Pacific to be their own private war and resented
the involvement of other Nations, even the Aussies. However, I have a personal
reason to be thankful for the decision to send us home. My mess deck was
adjacent to the petrol tank on the Glenearn which exploded after our
departure!"
[Returning
to the UK in 1945 on board HMS Empire
Battleaxe].
Further
Reading
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Correspondence
Hi Geoff
I came across your very informative
website whilst searching for further information about my father's
service history for my grandson who is planning a service career. My
father's name was Frank Ernest Shaw, he served in the Royal Marines
and was on HMS Glenearn during the Pacific Assignment.
As I only have one photograph of my
father from during his service years, you can imagine how surprised
and delighted I was to see him in a photograph on the HMS Glenearn
page; the photograph was sent
to you by Grantley Kingscott.
I have attached it, I
hope it is OK for me to do this. My father is the fourth from the left
as you look at the photograph, the one with his hands on the shoulders
of the man in front of him.
 I have also attached
the only photograph that I have of my father from this time, he is the
one on the left, again as you look at the photograph; I have no idea
who the other two servicemen are, but if anyone knows them, I would be
really pleased to find out.
Kindest regards
Sandra Ruddock
I have just read, with special interest, your web page on HMS Glenearn
written by George Downing. My dad, Alan Street, served with George on the
Glenearn. After the war they regularly kept in touch with each other and,
as far as I can remember, the families used to visit each other over bank
holidays.
The last time I saw George was about 10 years ago at my parent's house.
In his story he mentioned an explosion in the Pacific. My dad was one of
the crew who suffered burns and spent a lot of time in Australia and then
New Zealand in hospitals but, nonetheless, he learned to drive whilst over
there.
Sadly my dad died the day before his 90th birthday. So much history
gone. I hope if George or his family read this, they will get in touch. Regards Paul Street
Hi Geoff,
My father, WOII Alan Braby was evacuated from Navplion in Greece to Souda
Bay, Crete on the 25/26th April 1941 upon the "Glenearn". He was a quarter
master with the 6th Australian General Hospital (later the 2/6th AGH).
They were to load some valuable medical and surgical
stores aboard the "Ulster Prince". This fell thru when the "Ulster Prince"
became grounded and could not be refloated, As it was getting late and the
last ships were leaving
most of these stores had to be jettisoned in the water and Dad and his
comrades went on the "Glenearn" instead. Dad in his letter to his future
bride (my Mum) said it was ironic to be evacuated by an "invasion" ship!
Dad died 4 years ago at the age of 96. I am just reading his letters and
matching up photos in 3 albums with events. Dad wrote to Mum....
"Our
movement orders came at 10 o’clock that night and we marched silently down
the wharf at Navplion, a deserted town, thousands of soldiers filled the
town in the precincts of the wharf and then we knew the navy was in charge
for out of the chaos came order. We were loaded quietly and efficiently
on to the barges and taken out to our boat (HMS Glenearn), a special troop
carrier built for “invasion” purposes (irony). However all was not plain
sailing for we came on several men swimming in the water, the barge on
which they were had been capsized by a destroyer (or a corvette) bumping
into it, We heard about twenty men were drowned in the confusion.
Once on board we were given a cup of tea and we just fell asleep where we
were standing, It was stiffling on board but we had very few clothes and
carried nothing so we didn’t care a hang. The boat put out at four. We
arrived in Crete at 4pm the next day with only one air raid of no
consequence."
Great
to know the Glenearn went on to have an illustrious service career. Sorry
no photos but there is paragraph or two in the Unit history that describes
how various urgent operations were carried out on board ship by the
doctors and nurses but by midnight of the 25th all patients were
comfortable There were 31 stretcher cases and 12 walking wounded. They
arrived at Souda Bay at 1600 hours on the 26th of April. As you know the
25th is ANZAC day so yesterday (25/4/2020) is 79 years since the Glenearn
carried my Father to safety (well relative to Greece!)
Tim
Braby
I served on HMS GLENEARN from the 30 October
1943 until the beginning of April 1945. She carried 2 Royal Marine flotilla’s
numbered 535 consisting of 12 LCA’S (on davits) and 543 consisting of 12 LCAs
(on davits) and 3 LCM’s carried on deck, 2 on the fore well deck and one on
the after well deck.
I was a member of the 535
flotilla. In the early days Glenearn carried 535 and 536 Flotillas, not too
sure of dates but 535 and 536 flotillas, along with 537, 538 and 539, left
Dartmouth Naval College where we had been doing seamanship courses. The
’Stokers’ then went to Nth Wales for their course and later we were all bought
together at Fort George? NE of Inverness in Scotland as two flotillas. We then
sailed our LCAs through a small section of the Caledonian Canal to Inverness
where we were billeted in the Cameron Barracks until the 30 October 1943. HMS
Glenearn then sailed into the Moray Firth and picked up the two flotillas -
536 took the port side and 535 took the starboard side davits. After a few
days, 536 flotilla was transferred to the Empire Cutlass.
Early in November 1943, 535
Flotilla was put ashore at HMS BRONTOSAURUS in the Clyde estuary. HMS Glenearn then
entered Rosyth Naval Dockyard on the River Forth to have her hoisting hooks
modified as they were found to be unsafe during earlier ‘exercises’ near
Cromarty, while getting ready for D Day. Weather wise, the D Day landings were
comparatively easy as compared to the bad winter of 1943 off the coast of NE
Scotland. After Normandy, HMS Glenearn, carried a ‘Beach Party’ of RN
Commandos and a small helicopter for forward scouting in the Pacific. HMS
Glenearn was quite a happy ship as I recall.
Jack Eaves,
Australia.
Click on
PDFs/'X' FORCE.pdf for a fuller version of
Jack's story.
Dear Geoff
  My
father, Norman James Kingscott who, unfortunately, passed away last new
years eve, served on HMS Glenearn during the war. He never really
told us much about his service but we knew he served on the Glenearn on
D-day and also went to the Pacific. Since his passing, I have been trying to
find out more and came across a photo of him on your site. He is the 3rd
from the left in the back row. It was a real treat for us to find the photo. [The group photo below.]
After going through some of his things I also
found this Christmas Day menu from 1944 that I thought may be of some
interest to you.
Grantley Kingscott.
  Since
I contacted you in 2017 about my dad's service on HMS Glenearn, Tony
Collingwood, who served alongside my dad on the Glenearn, contacted
me. He sent me some photos of himself with my dad together with
details of when they first met and their D-day story (Copied below).
I was very pleased as dad never told us anything and we had never
seen any photos of him taken during his wartime service in the
Marines .
I have
attached the photos and the D-day story as I thought that it may be
of some interest to you. The first photo shows Dad with a cigarette
hanging out of his mouth. The second photo dad is back right.
Regards
Grantley
Kingscott (Nov 2020).
Norman
Kinscott and Tony Collingwood’s D-Day, HMS Glenearn and LCA
896
Tony
joined HMS Glenearn in Greenock, Scotland. There were concerns about
being torpedoed while they travelled down the west coast from
Scotland to Dartmouth. Tony had trained as a Royal Marine Commando,
but with D-Day approaching, they were short of landing craft crew,
so he was chosen to be a Coxswain.
During
training at Dartmouth Royal Naval College, the crews of four were
picked for the LCAs (Coxswain, Stoker and two crew). This is when
Tony first remembers meeting Norman, who became the LCA's
Stoker/Mechanic in charge of the engine room.
They
trained around the towns and villages on the south coast at
Blackpool (a village on the south coast) and Slapton Sands. They
also trained in the English Channel during the night, escorted by
MTB’s. Included in this training was a night out crewing a much
larger Tank Landing Craft. HMS Glenearn was their mother ship for
many weeks prior to D-Day and was anchored off the Isle of Wight
near Cowes.
Tony
remembers sleeping through the night before D-Day, but, afterwards,
he wished he had stayed awake to see the allied aircraft flying
overhead on bombing runs and to drop paratroops. On arrival, a few
miles off Sword Beach, the soldiers climbed into LCA 896 for the 60
minute to Sword Beach. Their landing craft was part of the initial
assault force and, was, therefore one of the earliest to land on
Sword Beach at 07.30 hours.
As they
made their way to Sword Beach, they saw the Norwegian Destroyer,
HNoMS Svenner, being torpedoed by German E-boats out of Le Havre.
The Destroyer was their escort and had it not been in the way, the
torpedoes would have hit the landing craft - a very lucky escape for
Tony and Norman!. The Destroyer
was struck amidships, exploded, broke in two and sank very quickly.
(more detail to be found on Wikipedia).
Tony
didn’t land at the designated site on Sword Beach due to anti-tank
obstacles in the water with explosives attached. He advised the
officer in charge of the soldiers his plan to manoeuvre further to
the right where there was a tank landing craft with two Sherman
Tanks still aboard. It was beached but, due to a damaged door, the
tanks were unable to disembark. However, they did the next best
thing by firing at the German positions. Tony pulled his LCA
alongside so that the men could be landed right onto the beach with
only their feet getting wet. He also remembers giving covering fire
with a Bren Gun.
One of
the soldiers disembarking from the LCA was shot in the mouth so,
although they were told not to take any casualties back, the crew
dragged him back onto the LCA for treatment on the Glenearn.
As they
turned the LCA around, a broken down/damaged LCA hailed them for
assistance. Tony turned down their request to take them in tow due
to rough seas and the safety of his own crew, but he took them
aboard 896 for transport to HMS Glenearn.
Tony,
Norman and the crew were safely back on HMS Glenearn, but they were
then put on a charge for eating their rations! This entailed
presenting themselves in full marching gear and rifles and made to
stand to attention – 5pm on D-Day!!
  Hello
Geoff,
I found your site while looking for
information about HMS
Glenearn, the ship that carried my uncle, Allan McDonald to freedom in Hong Kong
while being
repatriated
to Australia as a POW in September 1945.
I was young at the time
of his passing and the family rarely spoke of his time in service, so my
knowledge is limited. I believe he was
 captured
on Ambon and later transferred to Hainan from where he was liberated and
then repatriated. On reaching Hong Kong, he transferred to HMS Vindex
to complete his journey home to Australia. Opposite,
is a letter home he wrote onboard the Glenearn, together with a
couple of photos. In the group photo of
the 2nd 12th Field Ambulance, he is third from the left in the 2nd front
row, in the dark pullover.
Hello Geoff,
This is coming to you from
Auckland, New Zealand.
In your section dealing with HMS
Glenearn, George relates that in 1945 the Glenearn steamed to Shanghai to pick
up British civilian POWs, dropping them off in Columbo “into the charge of
another vessel.” I can verify that.
Between the ages of six and eight
and a half I was, with my parents, interned in G Block, Longhua camp, a few
miles south of Shanghai. Just along the corridor was a teenager, Jim Ballard,
who, in later life, became a well-known novelist and author of Empire of
the Sun, loosely based on his experiences there.
In ( I believe) September 1945 we
boarded HMS Glenearn, a ship that was to take us part way back to the UK. We
were accommodated in the rear hold, ventilation being provided by a canvas
tube slung from the rear mast. Accompanying us in case one or other ship hit
a mine was a frigate (possibly the Plym, later blown up in the Monte Bello
Islands A-bomb test). First stop was Hong Kong which only a month or two
earlier had passed from Japanese to British control. I remember going ashore
in one of the ship’s landing barges, finding the business district still
strewn with rubble. From there to Singapore where we were visited by and
photographed with Lady Mountbatten. Finally on to Columbo. The Indian Ocean
however was rough and the largely empty ship was tossed around like a cork.
In fact I recall being told one of the landing barges had been washed away.
As for me, I was seasick from the time we left the shelter of Sumatra to the
time we arrived in Columbo.
From Columbo we were scheduled to
go straight to Southampton. But because I had been so sick, my parents
secured permission to remain in Columbo for a fortnight, giving me time to
recover. The ship on which we left Columbo was the much larger Athlone
Castle, packed with servicemen returning from the East.
From 1947 to 1951 I was again in
Hong Kong. The Glenearn, now in civilian garb, used to come into the harbour
from time to time, clearly visible from the Star Ferry which I used daily to
get to school. Your photos of the ship in its two quite different roles
brought back many memories. But it all seems so long ago.
With kind regards,
John Phillips
Hello Geoff,
I read with interest your article on HMS Glenearn. My 97 year old Dad, Robbie
Clark, remembers the ship as the one that evacuated him from Souda Bay, Crete
just before the German invasion. He says it was the last ship to leave. I
wonder if anyone knows when this evacuation happened. My Dad was taken
prisoner at Tobruk on 21st June 1942 and together we're trying to work out the
timeline of these momentous events in his life.
Kind
regards
Mike
Hello Geoff,
I have just alighted on your
HMS
Glenearn web page. My father, Edward ("Ted") Telling, also came off Crete
on the Glenearn. I remember him saying that he got off on the last ship
to leave. He was in the RA (Service No. 919569). He recorded some comments
for the IWM. I believe the evacuation took place late May 1941.
Coincidentally, one of our
neighbours from many years ago, Derek Walker, was an officer on the Glenearn at the time of the evacuation.
Best Wishes,
John Telling
 Hello
GeoffI was surprised and delighted to find that the page about HMS
Glenearn includes a photograph with my father in it. Most of his war
service is still just an outline of events such as his time on HMS
Glenearn. Your website was able to answer some questions about what he
did and why he was transferred off Glenearn in Townsville to HMS
Empire Battleaxe. The photograph of the group of men from HMS
Glenearn onboard the Empire Battleaxe shows my father, Frank
White, in the centre front. He was a shipwright involved in building landing
boats for D-Day and once that job was completed, he entered the navy as a
Petty Officer.
Thank you for creating such an informative website.
Best wishes
Dr Hilary J Davies
My wife and I have only just found your
excellent website, when “ surfing “ for anything relating to HMS Glenearn
during WW2. Previous attempts resulted in us missing the site, inexplicably.
The reason for our search is that my wife’s
late father served on this vessel and others ( possibly HMS Empire Battleaxe
), particularly on D-Day and
thereafter. He was Cpl. Bert Townsend, R.M. and he is the one on the right
of the photo taken in New York, as referred to by Mr. Derek Bingham in his
article (immediately below). We knew it was Bert as soon as we saw the
photo, and his wife, who happily is still going strong at nearly 85 years of
age, has now found a print of the same photo amongst a host of family
photos.
 Bert was born in Plymouth in 1924. He sadly
passed away back in 1999. On about the only occasion that I ever got him to
talk about WW2, he told me that he did his training in several places, most
notably Barmouth, and he reeled off several places he visited with the Glenearn after D-Day, including New York, the Panama Canal and Bora Bora, as
well as Sydney I believe. However, he would not talk about D-Day itself,
other than to say that he was a Landing Craft Coxswain. Our generation can
barely imagine what it must have been like. After demob, Bert soon became a
Police Officer and retired after the full stint in the Force. He then worked
in Local Government before enjoying retirement.
[Photo; Bert, 5th from the left in back row, in training prior to D-Day.]
We are looking at some diaries that Bert left,
and if anything of interest comes from those we will offer it for addition
to the website. Quite frankly, it has been remiss of us not to have done
this years ago, but better late than never !
Congratulations on a fascinating site.
   Hello Geoff,
First of all I would like to congratulate you on your wonderful
website. I am writing to you concerning my father Alexander Bingham CHX
112104. He served on HMS Glenearn and possibly Empire Battleaxe too. We
have a number of items from his time on Glenearn and on leaving the forces
including a concert programme from the ship entitled the guinea pigs, a
Crossing the Line (equator) certificate, his kit bag (he wrote on his bag all
the places he sailed to ), his belt, a credit slip for wages etc. My mother
certainly
 remembers well going to Greenock to wave him goodbye but she recalls
that on that occasion he joined the
HMS Battleaxe. My father took part
in the nautical phase of the D Day landings and always spoke of the shear
scale of the event. Sadly my father is no longer with us but I feel, through
your great site, I have found out so much more about his war exploits. All the
best to you.
Derek Bingham
 [Right
and left is a selection of photos of items
mentioned in Derek Bingham's letter. Please contact us if you recognise anyone
in the last photo taken in a New York photograph studio in August 1944.
Alexander Bingham is on the left].
 Dear Geoff,
After going through my deceased mother's war memories, I found
this card and in following it up on the Internet I found your fascinating
website. My mother lived in Townsville on the north east coast of Australia and
helped as much as she could in the war effort. The card was probably an
admittance ticket for a dance while the ship was in port. I felt it belonged
with all the memorabilia on HMS Glenearn (no matter how small it
 may
seem). My mother was Lindsay Macfarlane (nee Mackenzie). She married in 1945.
Well done for keeping the memory alive. Sue G. [The ticket gives us an
interesting insight into the normal social activities that continued throughout
the war and the support of local communities for our service men and women - in
this case a dance on board HMS Glenearn, while in port.
Ed].
Acknowledgements
This account was written George Downing who served on
HMS
Glenearn. It was edited for website presentation by Geoff Slee and
approved by the author before publication with later additions of photographs
and maps.
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