Hello all, I hope you're enjoying lockdown as much as I am . Inspired by a Facebook post, I'm hoping to unravel a little mystery and wondered if any one here might have some answers. MTB 102 is a Second World War Motor Torpedo Boat that's been restored and is in fully operation condition. She saw service at Dunkirk and later in the war was transferred to the Army as a target towing launch. She appears to have been based in Portsmouth at Gunwharf, which was a part RN base (HMS Vernon) and part Army base. While there, she is alleged to have carried Eisenhower and Churchill on a review of the D-Day forces gathering in the Solent. This isn't something I've found hard evidence for and is usually recounted in secondary sources – particularly Dunkirk publications – quite freely. A more concerned source, Tom Jea's book MTB 102 (written by the Trust who own her), carefully uses the words "She is reported to have..." Given Portsmouth's much stronger RN association, I would suspect an RN launch to be more likely. However, I've done a bit of digging. In his memoir, Churchill recounts that on 3 June, "I drove down to Portsmouth with Mr Bevin and Field Marshal Smuts and we saw a large number of troops embarking for Normandy. We visited the Headquarters ship of the 50th Division, and then cruised down the Solent in a launch, boarding one ship after another." After this he states they visited Eisenhower's HQ. HMS Bulolo, the HQ ship for the 50th Division would have been at Southampton, so I assumed that Churchill might have visited Largs, HQ ship for the 3rd Division at Sword, who were based around Portsmouth. Doing a bit of Googling I turned up this little document. So, the visit does appear to have happened, and this seems the most likely source of the story about Eisenhower and Churchill's review. The question is, was the launch actually MTB 102? If anyone has any knowledge of this trip (or pictures!) I'd be very keen to learn more. Cheers all and stay safe, Steve
Hello Steve, Have you listened to these reels within the IWM collections? Dreyer, Christopher William Stuart (Oral history) Good luck with your searching. Kind regards, always, Jim.
Thanks Jim, I have but Dreyer was an RN officer and wasn't in command of 102/Vimy when she was in RASC service.
A few snippets that seem to confirm the visit by Churchill and Smuts, but not the presence of Ike: [from the Papers of Captain Richard Pim RNVR, Supervisor of Churchill’s War Room 1939-45:] On Saturday, 3 June 1944, Pim joined Churchill and Jan Christian Smuts to see the armada preparing for the invasion of France. Boarding a motor launch at Southampton Water, they crossed the Solent to Cowes, then Ryde and came ashore at a jetty in Portsmouth. “We had sailed past ship after ship…warships, passenger liners (including three of the familiar Belfast cross-channel ferries) coasters and landing craft. It was the most impressive sight of British naval might that I shall ever see.” Source: “Pim and Churchill’s Map Room” – by John Potter The “familiar Belfast cross-channel ferries” might be Duke of Wellington (ex-Duke of York), Duke of Argyll, Ulster Monarch and Royal Ulsterman... [on board Prinses Astrid:] [3 June] At 1900 today a Motor Launch came right up to the Ship and passed down the Starboard side about four yards away. I was on watch and the upper deck was deserted as it was meal time. Winston Churchill., the Prime Minister stood up and gave the V sign, smiling all over his face with the usual cigar in his mouth. He seemed to be having a look at all ships. Source: BBC - WW2 People's War - H.M.S. Princess Astrid: D-Day and After [on board Lady of Mann] The 3rd of June saw us transported to Southampton, to embark with out French Canadian comrades on the Lady of Mann, a stem ship of the Isle of Mann steamship company, Its peacetime occupation being that of ferrying of holiday makers from Liverpool and Heysham to Douglas. The Lady of Mann Sailing out of the port, we anchored in the Solent until the 5th June when we returned to Southampton to refuel and revictual. Whilst in dock we received a visit from Winston Churchill and Jan Smuts (of South Africa) to wish us ‘God Speed’. Source: BBC - WW2 People's War - Recollections Of ‘D — Day’ 6TH June 1944 195 Air landimg field Ambulance RAMC
The ships mentioned were well spread out: the Lady of Mann was south of the Brambles Bank, with the Duke of Argyll and Ulster Monarch SE of the bank, The Royal Ulstermen was off Cowes IOW, the Prinses Astrid Lee on Solent and the Duke of Wellington off Beaulieu River. That said it was known that the party did a pretty complete review, possibly missing out the western Solent.
I believe this might be it: Source: IWM MGH 4559 'And so to France... A Naval Story of the Invasion' 02:33 Michel
Well, probably not, if shot on the same day as this one: THE KING WITH THE INVASION FLEET. 24 MAY 1944, ON BOARD HMS SCYLLA, AT SOLENT. THE KING VISITED MEN OF THE INVASION FLEET.
