My uncle was in the Marines and the only information I have is a postcard sent in November 1943 from HMLCF.8.I have managed to discover that an LCF was a landing craft flak and I believe he was in Italy at some time. Any ideas would be gratefully received.
Hi, Below are a few bits and pieces on LCF 8. LCF (3) 8 was converted from an LCT Mk3. Photo below of LCF 8 from the IWM website. Looks like she was completed/commissioned in February 1943 and arrived in the Mediterranean in June 1943. Took part in the invasion of Sicily as part of Task Force Eighty-six and at Salerno was allocated to Red and Green Beaches. In June 1944 she was part of “F” Support Squadron, Western and Central Mediterranean. Regards Danny A 24380 Picture shows a flak landing craft going inshore to support the landings by shelling enemy shore positions. With smoke covering the landing area a Landing Craft Flak and further away and American Landing Craft Tank operate off the coast of Elba. Link - THE ROYAL NAVY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR (A 24380)
Hi Danny, That's really useful thanks. They don't look very comfortable to sail from the UK to the Med in! Do you know if the Royal Marines would be crewing or were they on there to be landed? Thanks again, Barry.
Danny. For the Salerno landings, Marines were present. Layforce consisted on 2 Army Cdo, 41 RM Cdo, a tp of anti-tank guns, a sect of Vickers MMGs, a US 4.2” Mor Coy and two dets of Fd Amb RAMC. Brig Bo Laycock was in command. Its task was to protect the invasion force's northern flank and stop the Germans coming down from Naples to interfere with the landings. I am taking a group to see all this stuff in Sep 17 if you are interested. Regards Frank
Historically, Royal Marines provided the maritime infantry element that we're all familiar with - but also provided gunners. They crewed a proportion of the big guns of battleships, so they were a natural choice for the gun-armed landing craft. It also gave a role for marines who couldn't make the grade for the RM Commados.
Thanks both for this. I am beginning to be able to get a little bit of the picture. Just to confirm that I'm not barking up the wrong tree do you think that as he was on LCF8 in Nov 1943 he probably took part in the invasion of Sicily and then Salerno and also that he was a gunner? Thanks for the offer of the trip Frank but I'm unable to commit. Cheers Barry.
Hi Barry Welcome to the forum Do you have his military service records - if not they can be obtained from the MOD (and nowhere else) these will provide you with the framework of your Uncles military service (hence the records name ), the link is here - Request records of deceased service personnel - GOV.UK scroll down for the various service arms TD
Hi TD, I've looked at this and the problem I have is that a death certificate is required. As he emigrated to SA after the war and died in Johannesburg I'm not sure it would be possible to get one. Hence I am scratching around to try and put something together. Thanks Barry.
If you posy his information on this thread we have members in SA who would I am sure be able to help you. If you post his full name, date (and place) of birth thats a start TD
His name was Anthony Barnes born in 1924, I think in little Amwell Hertfordshire. After serving in the Royal Marines in ww2 he emigrated to SA where he lived in Johannesburg. He was a Racquets (squash) professional and I believe he may have played at a reasonably high level.
Barry, Can you post his exact date of birth/death and if he had a middle name, is it likely he was born in Yorkshire?
Hi, The Marines mainly served as gun crews on the LCF but there were a couple of other jobs they did. Attached is a breakdown of the crew of a LCF in 1945. It might have varied slightly in 1943/44. The “QR” on the list stands for Quarters Rating. Regards Danny
Further to the post by Tony56 - can we be clear if he died in South Africa or Southern Africa, theres a big difference. TD
Thanks all. The SA death cert link is great and I'll give it a go but the 6 months turn around is frustrating. He died in Johannesburg sometime after 1980 having been twice married in South Africa maybe Durban at one time. He was born in December 1924 or early 1925 in Ware , Hertfordshire. The only other info I have is his service no. CH.X.109319 . I understand that although the CH.X refers to Chatham it was an admin thing only and he probably never went there. At birth he was registered as Bertram A G Barnes but he was always known as Tony.
Bertram A G Barnes in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2005 Name: Bertram A G Barnes Mother's Maiden Surname: George Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1925 Registration district: Ward Inferred County: Oxfordshire Volume Number: 3a Page Number: 1104 Hes the only Bertram A G thats seems to have been born in the 1920's No death cert for him in UK & Ireland records so presume he died outside of those frontiers TD
Looking further I found him on this link - IdentityNumber.org which is for - South African Death Records So I would assume from this that he did die in South Africa - maybe one of our SA members could help out here BERTRAM ANTHONY GEORGE BARNES 1925 Click Here for More Information TD
Well done TD ! I had the birth cert but only guessed the G was George. Managed to get the full DOB from the SA site but it looks like more finance is required to go any further.
Hi, I am afraid that without his South African Identity Number it is virtually impossible to obtain a copy of his Death Certificate from the Dept of Home Affairs.- IdentityNumber.org require a paid subscription before they will let you have the number. Then a further payment to try and trace the death certificate. Unfortunately it is not something I could help you with. The records are not digitised and the Dept of Home Affairs are not known for being "helpful" To be frank if you wrote to them I doubt if you would get a reply. It might be worth looking at companies that can help like IdentityNumber.org and compare prices. I did find out that A Barnes was runner up in the Men's National Squash Championships in 1956 squashsa.co.za/history/early-days Sorry I can't be of more help DianeE