~ HMS GLENEARN ~
[Photos courtesy of Myles Sutherland.]
was a class of vessel known as Landing Ship
Infantry (Large) LSI (L). She, and vessels like her, formed the majority of the
infantry carrying ships in the three British invasion forces formed for the
Normandy landing beaches - G (Gold), J (Juno) and S (Sword), the last of which
included the Empire Battleaxe
and HMS Glenearn. Glenearn was a converted 16 knot cargo liner of about
10,000 tons that carried two Landing Craft Assault (LCA) Flotillas of twelve craft each.
The purpose of the LSI (L)s was to transport troops to areas a few miles off
the landing beaches. From there, the troops were lowered into the sea in smaller LCAs on davits,
not unlike the operation of lifeboats on modern ships. These landing craft
delivered the troops onto the beaches then returned to their mother
ship (in this account, HMS Glenearn), where they were hoisted back on board
in readiness for their next
operation. Other types of landing craft loaded with men, their arms and
equipment, made the journey across the English Channel under their own power to
land their "cargos" directly onto the beaches.
Telegraphist George Downing's job, on board the Glenearn,
was to send and receive Morse code radio signals. He recalls;
"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
On the 5th June, the day before the D-Day
landings, the area of sea between England and the Isle Of Wight (The
Solent) was full with hundreds of ships. HMS Glenearn was the last to
leave dock at 9pm, sailing through a sea of ships to take up her allotted position for
the passage to the Normandy beaches. The landings were due to commence at 5am the next day. The map opposite (click to
enlarge) shows the position of the beaches visited by the Glenearn
during the following 6 weeks.
continues; "As we approached the Normandy beaches, we saw Tank Carriers and
Craft Tank (Rocket)] or LCT(R)s loaded with missiles which were ablaze when
firing their salvos to soften up the German beach defences before the landings
commenced. After we disembarked our troops that fateful
morning, we picked up some of the first wounded and returned them to Southampton
for 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. We could carry 1,500 plus soldiers and were ideally suited for
ferrying duties between the UK and the Normandy beaches. We witnessed
many consequences of war too graphic to describe here, but one of the most
poignant was the suicide of an American GI who could not face the trials ahead
and took his own life on the quayside, while waiting to embark.
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, and 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
Our ferrying duties continued for around 6 weeks
during which time HMS Glenearn serviced all the main beaches in France.
With increasing use of the Mulberry Harbours, and captured French ports, the
need for supplies and reinforcements to be landed on the beaches diminished,
and the Glenearn was recalled to Greenock on the River Clyde near Glasgow. The crew were given only 4 days leave
which was insufficient time for a major refit. Since we never knew in advance
what our next operation would be, we speculated that the ship was being prepared for
more landings on the French
in the Mediterranean. However, when the ship's company returned, they found the
Glenearn freshly painted, spick and span, in Pacific camouflage. We were
destined for the war in the Far East!
The next day Admiral Talbot, our senior officer
on the D-Day landings, came aboard to thank us for our efforts and to tell us
about our immediate future. For the journey to the Far East, a new flotilla had
been formed comprising landing ships Empire Battleaxe, Broadsword, Cutlass
and others to be known as Force X, and we would be sailing for New York at 6pm
that night. [Photo
of George Downing aged 19.]
The journey across the Atlantic was uneventful, and on arrival in
New York, additional supplies and communication equipment were loaded. Closer to
our time of departure, we embarked around nine hundred American troops. 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
The task force set off for the Pacific waters together with an
escort of US vessels. However, an approaching hurricane forced us to take
shelter for 24 hours in the US navy base at Charleston after which we
set off for Colon and the Panama Canal. From the outset, fresh water was strictly
rationed and was essentially for drinking purposes only. Frequent stops were
made to replenish supplies including Bora Bora in the middle of the Pacific
From Bora Bora, we made our way to islands which had been recaptured from the Japanese. By island hopping we unloaded
some of the troops at Langemak, on the New Guinea coast, and then, to the forward base at Hollandia, where we 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 occasion of the battle which was still taking
place in the North Phillipines at the Lingayen Gulf.
On returning to our base at Lae in
New Guinea, we were ordered to Milne Bay and
Cairns, on Australia's eastern coastline, for the purpose of training the seventh Australian infantry division for
possible landings on Borneo. From mid October to late December 1945, several
practice 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. It was very pleasant,
stress free sailing between the coast of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef as
enemy submarines could not safely navigate their way through. We sailed with all
lights blazing and the crew were able to sit on the upper deck and enjoy the
next stop was Sydney, where we enjoyed a well earned rest before returning to
Manus Island in New Guinea. We then sailed in the company of HMAS Nizam and
HMAS Norman with supplies for the British Pacific fleet. En
route, the forward petrol tank exploded and, as most of the crew were dressed in
shorts and sandals, 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 in the ship for many
days after. All the casualties required urgent medical attention so we diverted
to Hollandia in the hope that hospital ships were in
port. When this turned out not to be the case the men were transported by
ambulance over very rough, makeshift roads to a field
hospital some distance inland. Sadly, they never recovered and were buried in the Australian forces cemetery in the jungle
At Manus, we were ordered to Melbourne via Sydney for
repairs at Williamstown, a suburb of the city. The repairs
were designed to make the ship ready 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 their passage home.
The war in the
Pacific was also close to ending 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 took a
group of smaller craft and a hospital ship to the Chinese island of Hainan to pick up
Australian prisoners of war (POWs), who were in a very sad
state. Most of them were from Melbourne and 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.
next task we steamed to
Shanghi to pick
up British civilian POWs. They were,
fortunately, in much better condition than the Australian troops. We were hoping to
transport them back to the UK, but we dropped them off in Colombo into the
charge of another vessel. By this time there was unrest in Indonesia so we then carried Indian
military personnel to the country to quell the trouble between the
republicans and the authorities. On the return trip to Columbo we repatriated
Dutch refugee POWs.
From there, we steamed to the Royal
Navy base at Trincomalee. HMS Glenearn was to be used as the senior
naval officer's establishment in Kure, Japan, as well as a base for a naval party
designated to rebuild a communication centre. Kure was a former Japanese naval
base which suffered the after effects from the atomic bomb at Hiroshima some twelve miles away. At this point my demob
papers were up and I sailed back to Hong Kong and demob on HMS Houge and
(affectionate name for England).
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
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, see Photo 2. 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 ans 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!" [Photos. Click to enlarge: top, HMS Glenearn; bottom,
returning to the UK in 1945 on board HMS Empire
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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.
I found your site while looking for
information about HMS
Glenearn, the ship that carried my uncle to freedom in Hong Kong
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
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.
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,
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.
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.
I 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
Thank you for creating such an informative website.
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
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.
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.
[Below is a selection of photos of some of the 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].
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.
This account was written George Downing who served on HMS
Glenearn. It was subsequently redrafted for website presentation by Geoff Slee and approved by the author before publication.