Yomp, it's a Bootneck thing - Page 2
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  1. #16
    Marine Free Member sparkie's Avatar
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    Funny, I'm the only Vet in the company and I got the duty this weekend.
    Oh well,,, If I get called out for service, it will have to happen by taxie. I'll be in no shape to drive. Thanks for the link, Ricky, I'm gonna have some fun with that one.
    I noticed the name of Bill Sparks dropped a little higher up on this thread. My lineage is Welsh. I wonder,,,,,,


  2. #17
    Cockell Shell Heroes.

    what a story. Those guys had were bold and bulky with doodads made of steel.

    What ever happened those who survived?


  3. #18
    Ricky:

    When I was in 1st Tank Bn. in Korea we had some of you blokes not far from us. We used to get a beer ration and we would save it up and invite the blokes over for a few beers. Never failed we would be drinking and it would be tea time. Everyone would stop and have tea and then salute the Queen and continue drinking. These guys had a round tin of fags (Gigs) that they carried on their belt. Had some good time with that bunch, and still to this day I can remember a song they taught us.


  4. #19
    okay, I'll bite...What was the song?


  5. #20

  6. #21
    Heyup Oldie,
    You've got me remembering all of my old songs; old? they don't age

    Come on then, which one is it? Song that is
    Put it on here and I'll sing-a-long with ya.

    Regarding the cigarette issue: I was still receiving mine in '84, I think it was 300 per fortnight, don't know whether they cancelled it due to MOD cuts like most things.

    Stay sake.

    Ricky


  7. #22
    Rob,

    Thank you for the links.

    That is very interesting, and sad.

    These guys are such heroes. Did Sparks ever get his medal back?

    I remember that Winnie's family sold a portrait of the Winston and the buyer bought the painting and then in a very kind gesture gave it back to the family.

    Too bad this didn't happen for Sparks, if it didn't.

    BTW, be careful with Wikipedia. Anyone can go onto it and change

    the contents. Thus some one who doesn't like the true story can make up their own and have it in the encyclopedia.

    Semper Fi


  8. #23
    Rickey:
    Here is the song.

    While traveling through the country, we stopped at a lot of hotels, some were nice, some were gay, some indifferent, in others the roms were like silk.

    At last we found a dilly o'daisy, twas comfy cozy and gay, but its a wonder we didn't go crazy when we found out what they gave us to eat.

    On Monday twas bread on gravey.
    On Tuesday twas gravey on bread.
    On Wednesday and Thursday twas gravey on toast.
    Now thats only gravey on bread.
    On Friday we spoke to the landlord.
    Won't you please give us something instead.
    On Saturday morn by way of a change.
    We had gravey without any bread.

    You have to be prety smashed from drinking Raisin Jack that was buried in a 5 gallon water can in the Tank Park for a few months. Made a canteen cup that was black turn shiney again.


  9. #24
    Marine Free Member Rob Parry's Avatar
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    Jim this post was made a while ago by a friend of mine in answer to a similar question. It just about covers everything. I'm afraid the Wiki link was laziness on my part, in a rush earlier. Although Bill sold his medals he was permitted to have them for Remembrance Day etc so he could wear them.

    The Cockleshell Heroes raided Nazi-occupied Bordeaux in 1942. The Cockleshell Heroes target was the harbour in Bordeaux. They succeeded in sinking one ship and severely damaging four others and doing enough damage to greatly disrupt the use of the harbour for months to come. Such was the significance of the raid, that Winston Churchill said that it helped to shorten to World War Two by six months.

    For a number of months during the war, merchant ships had used Bordeaux to supply the German military that was stationed in that part of France. German U-boats used the area as a base. Any supply ships that came through the English Channel could be dealt with but plenty of merchant ships were willing to sail to Bordeaux harbour via the Mediterranean and there was little the British Navy could do about it. A raid by bombers would have led to many civilian casualties – so this was excluded.

    The task of the Cockleshell Heroes was simple – destroy as many ships in the harbour as was possible so that the harbour itself would be blocked with wreckage, thus rendering it incapable of fully operating as a harbour. This was to be called Operation Frankton.

    The Cockleshell Heroes were Royal Marine Commandos. These men got their nickname as the canoes they were to use were called ‘cockleshells’. After months of training, they were ready to set-off for their target – except that none of them knew what their target was. This was only made known to them once the submarine HMS Tuna had surfaced off of the French coast.

    The twelve men that formed the Cockleshell Heroes were taken by submarine and dropped off the coast of Bordeaux. The plan was for the six teams of two men to paddle five miles to the mouth of the River Gironde, paddle seventy miles up it, plant limpet mines of the ships in the harbour and then make their way to Spain.

    The raid started badly once the men were due to be dropped off by HMS Tuna. One of the canoes was holed as it was being made ready on the Tuna. The two Royal Marines who were meant to have used this canoe – called ‘Cachalot’ – could not take part in the raid. It is said that Marines Fisher and Ellery were left in tears at their disappointment.

    The leader of the raid was Major ‘Blondie’ Hasler. His partner was Marine Bill Sparks. Their canoe was code-named ‘Catfish’. As the canoes approached the mouth of the Gironde they hit a violent rip tide. The waves were five feet high and the canoe ‘Conger’ was lost. The two crew of Conger – Corporal George Sheard and Marine David Moffat – were towed by the other canoes. Once near the shoreline, both men had to swim to the shore as they were slowing down the remaining canoes. Neither men made it to the shore and they were assumed to have drowned.

    The crew of the canoe ‘Coalfish’ – Sergeant Samuel Wallace and Marine Jock Ewart - were caught by the Germans and shot.

    The crew of the ‘Cuttlefish’ – Lieutenant John Mackinnon and Marine James Conway – had to abandon their canoe after it was damaged. They were also caught by the Germans, handed over to the Gestapo and shot.

    With four canoes down, the raiders were only left with two canoes. Along with ‘Catfish’, ‘Crayfish’ was left crewed by Marine William Mills and Corporal Albert Laver.

    By now, the Germans knew that something was up and they had done a great deal to increase patrols along the river. The two crew paddled at night and hid during the day.

    The two canoes got to the harbour. Here they were spotted by a sentry who failed to raise the alarm – possibly he mistook what he saw for driftwood as both crews remained motionless in their canoes as they had been trained to do.

    The crew of both remaining cockleshells placed limpet mines on the merchant ships they found in the harbour. They had an eight minute fuse on them, giving the Marines time to get away. Both ‘Crayfish’ and ‘Catfish’ escaped on the tide. The damage to Bordeaux harbour was severe. Now the crews had to leave their canoes, move on foot and link up with the French Resistance at the town of Ruffec. The Germans automatically assumed that the men would travel south to Spain. In fact, they travelled 100 miles north of Bordeaux – a journey that took them two months.

    Laver and Mills, who were moving separately from Sparks and Hasler, were caught by the Germans and shot. With the help of the French Resistance, Hasler and Sparks reached Spain and then Gibraltar. Even here, Sparks met problems. Hasler used his rank to get transported back to Britain. However, Sparks did not have such luck and was arrested. In fact the Chief of Combined Operations, Lord Louis Mountbatten, had assumed all the men were dead, so anyone claiming to be them would have been treated with suspicion.

    Sparks was put under guard by the military police. However, he slipped these guards at Euston Station in London and, after visiting his father, made his way to the Combined Operations Headquarters.

    The Cockleshell Heroes

    Name
    Canoe
    What happened to him?


    Marine Fisher
    Cachalot
    Had to abandon due to damaged canoe

    Marine Ellery
    Cachalot
    As above


    Corporal Shear
    Conger
    Drowned

    Marine Moffat
    Conger
    Drowned


    Sergeant Wallace
    Coalfish
    Captured and shot

    Marine Ewart
    Coalfish
    Captured and shot


    Lieutenant Mackinnon
    Cuttlefish
    Captured and shot

    Marine Conway
    Cuttlefish
    Captured and shot


    Corporal Laver
    Crayfish
    Captured and shot

    Marine Mills
    Crayfish
    Captured and shot


    Major Hasler
    Catfish
    Made it back to Britain

    Marine Sparks
    Catfish
    Made it back to Britain


  10. #25
    Rob,

    I'm going to print and save this.

    These men are what makes our two countries so great.

    BTW, do you know where Gravesend is? My aunt is from there.


  11. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Old Marine
    Rickey:
    Here is the song.

    While traveling through the country, we stopped at a lot of hotels, some were nice, some were gay, some indifferent, in others the roms were like silk.

    At last we found a dilly o'daisy, twas comfy cozy and gay, but its a wonder we didn't go crazy when we found out what they gave us to eat.

    On Monday twas bread on gravey.
    On Tuesday twas gravey on bread.
    On Wednesday and Thursday twas gravey on toast.
    Now thats only gravey on bread.
    On Friday we spoke to the landlord.
    Won't you please give us something instead.
    On Saturday morn by way of a change.
    We had gravey without any bread.

    You have to be prety smashed from drinking Raisin Jack that was buried in a 5 gallon water can in the Tank Park for a few months. Made a canteen cup that was black turn shiney again.
    Nice one Old Marine,

    A few beers to help your vocals........


  12. #27
    There Old and Bold Marines and then theres Rob;

    Owd, Bald and knackered!!!!

    Love you bigtime Big boy!

    As long as yer bum points down Mr Parry never change Oppo.

    Steve


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