Cockleshell Heroes - 9pm BBC2 1st nov 2011

The method of placing the limpet mines as shown in the documentry was incorrect as I thought.Can you imagine that Hasler would have neglected to consider this and fail to effect maximum damage to the shipping in this,his operation.The limpets were placed below the water line using a two metre "placing rod"

Four merchant ships were damaged:

Alabama (5645 tonnes)
Tannenfels (7840 tonnes)
Dresden (8567 tonnes)
Portland (7132 tonnes) oil tanker

Hasler also put limpets on the hull of an Auxiliary Minesweeper but when the limpets exploded on Saturday morning at 0600 hrs,damaging the merchant shipping,the minesweeper was untouched.It was later thought that the limpets had dropped off.

Apparently, there were no written orders for the operation,the management and training was indertaken by Hasler alone.He decided what was to be done and how it was to be done.

When Corporal Sheard and Marine Moffat were left to their own devices,they were about 2.5 kms from the Pointe de Grave lighthouse.The area was intermittently lit up suddenly by the lighthouse beam which was switched on.The volume of water flowing down the Gironde and the affect of the tidal races prevented them from reaching the shore of the Medoc.Instead they were overcome against the force of the water and carried up the coast.Sheard's body was never found but Moffat's body was washed up on the coast of the Vendee close to les Sables d'Olonne,probably 60 miles up the coast.

There is no trace of Moffat's grave.Seems strange that he was accounted as being found on the Vendee coast and has no known grave.He is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

 

Just watched Cockleshell Heroes this afternoon on BBC2. A really good film. I noticed Christopher Lee had a very small part in it.

Lesley

 

I saw the paddy ashdown tribute on the BBC last night which i had recorded, and thought it was a brilliant documentary

 

I also enjoyed Ashdown's documentary but have to agree with Harry re the placing of limpet mines - a strange inaccuracy in an otherwise very good programme.

 

I watced Ashdown's programme today and really enjoyed it and as others have mentioned found the error of placing the Limpet mines above the water line a careless mistake in a otherwise excellent programme, for me the meeting of Ashdown and Hasler on a train....... with Ashdown being unaware of who this man was asking to many questions of him as he returned to base while serving in the SBS, was quite remarkable I wonder how much Ashdown kicked himself when he later realised that the man was Blondie Hasler legend of Special Forces and his hero!

 

I only just got round to watching the programme last night. It was excellent.

Leaves me wanting to find out more


Liam

 

Hi Liam, I can highly recommend the book 'Cockleshell Heroes' by C.E. Lucas Phillips that Harry mentioned earlier. I have a few of its pages on my blog that you can read. Here's a link - La Resistance Francaise: Cockleshell Heroes / Operation Frankton / M. Mariuad - Ruffec

Alain.

 

Incidentally, I cannot see Ashdown's intended written account of this operation exceeding the quality and accuracy of that of C.E Lucas Phillips.I would say with all confidence....stick to politics Paddy.

 

I have just found a note which was handed to me earlier in 2010, entitled the "Last of the Cockleshell Heroes" and published in the Pontefract and Castleford Express.It features Marine Norman Colley,the only survivor from the operation, a Badsworth man (Pontefract), he was a reserve and was aboard the submarine Tuna and assisted with the bringing up of the canoes from the torpedoe room to the submarine deck for the team to cast off near to the Gironde estuary.He said he handled a number of letters given to him by members of the team to pass on to their relatives.

Apparently Norman was traced by Quentin Rees in 1997 to get a first hand account of the events surrounding the operation which resulted in Rees penning his account of the operation in 2008,published as Cockleshell Heroes..The Final Witness with a reprint in May 2009.

Rees suggests that four of the Marines are buried in unmarked graves,north west of Bordeaux and states, of the operation, that "the motivation for writing this account was borne from a realisation that there was too much inaccurate nonsense in circulation".

Norman Colley's involvement is mentioned in the Lucas Phillips publication and he features in the Ashdown documentary.

 

Good find, I'll look into it but I believe money is being raised for a memorial near to Bordeaux in memory of the four of the Marines buried there in unmarked graves.
Here is an article which appeared a few days ago concerning James Conway.
BBC News - Cockleshell hero James Conway could get memorial