Dover's Forgotten Commando Raid: Operation Abercrombie

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 28/02/2016 13:29:32

I am pleased to announce that my second book, Dover's Forgotten Commando Raid: Operation Abercrombie, is now for sale. This tells the tale of the Combined Operations raid by the RNVR, No.4 Commando and a detachment of 60 Canadians from New Brunswick to the shores of Hardelot in April 1942. The raid has never been told in detail before.

It is a 96 page softback, is limited to 1,000 copies and is not available in the shops. It contains about 40 photographs, of which 28 have never been published before - they were scanned from the original negatives held at the IWM specifically for this book. They include photographs of Commandos and Canadians preparing at the Napoleonic-era Drop Redoubt Fort in Dover, embarkation onto Motor Gun Boats and returning the next morning. There is also a brand-new photo of Lord Lovat in conference with Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay at the docks.

I have been drawing together the story after five years, piecing together war diaries, operational reports, newsreel images, contacting two veterans (Jimmy Dunning and Joe Powell) and even studying graffiti in the fort. It has been a bit of a labour of love for me over the years and the records on this Forum have proven invaluable.

The book costs £17 posted within the UK. That includes £2 p&p and a £10 donation to the Dover Western Heights Preservation Society, a registered volunteer charity, for every copy. The group, which I am a member, looks after the Redoubt and Grand Shaft staircase and has no official funding, so all sales will mean contribution to a good cause.

If you would like one, please drop me a message. I can do Paypal, Bank Transfer or cheque.

Phil

(Thanks to Nick for allowing me to post this).

Well done Phil, I look forward to reading this very much.

For those who aren't aware, Phil has always been very kind in carrying out research for me, and others, in the past and has always been prepared to do a lot of footwork in the quest for information for me - albeit it normally seems to result in his having to visit a pub!

I'm pleased to say that we, The CVA, also played a part in Phil's tracking down Veteran Commando, Joe Powell.

The donation of £10 from each sale to The Western Heights Preservation Society is indeed in aid a good cause, especially as Phil tells me that they were recently targeted by thieves who stole £3000 worth of equipment - equipment that is vital in the preservation of this historic part of Dover which also has a place in the Commando's history.

Nick

Excellent. Put me down for a copy please. I will PM you Phil.

Got my copy - thanks Phil.
Look forward to sitting down and reading it now...

Nick

This message was edited 7 times. Last update was at 05/03/2016 03:56:22

What I didn't say in the introduction is how exactly this Forum helped me crack the graffiti in the fort, so I thought you might be interested to hear.

I have photographed lots of graffiti in the fort starting about five years ago. I would then start Google searching those names, usually getting no-where. But once in a blue moon you get lucky, albeit on the CWGC site, a discussion forum or even Facebook. Although the three members I found of the Carleton & York Regiment were easy to identify as they had all written 'CYR' or Canada by their names, the members of 4 Commando were not.

The five members of No.4 Commando I found had all written their home regiments by their names, bar one. For example, Richard Mann had written RBR and Frank Middleton had written RAC. So how was I to know they were commandos? I knew the two Troops on Abercrombie were part of the force that attacked Hess Battery at Dieppe four months later. Thankfully for me a list has been placed on this very Forum of all the members of No.4 who took part in Op. Cauldron, the product of some amazing research. When I was reading it one afternoon, it suddenly clicked that five of the names matched with my graffiti. Bob's your uncle!

Of the eight men whose graffiti I have identified I have managed to track down four families and tell them of granddad's name on the wall, and they then provided me with biographies and photographs. It is briliiant to connect after all these years in this way. Even Facebook has been invaluable in tracking down the Canadian communities in New Brunswick. But I could never have found any of them if this Forum had not provided the link in the chain via the Dieppe list.

What is gutting is that after 75 years or more we have lost so much graffiti through exposure to the elements, vandalism and mould, and much of what does survives is indecipherable. If only it had been photographed twenty years ago we might have recovered more names, not just commandos, but infantry dating back to the 1920s. But that's life, at least we can say that the traces of eight men have been returned for posterity, and, including non-Abercrombie infantry, seven families spread from Canada to Australia in total tracked down and contacted.

If any member of the CVA wishes to visit the Drop Redoubt, our Open Weekends are the 21/22nd May and the 17/18 September. Otherwise, drop me a message and I will see what I can do.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/03/2016 11:46:26

Thanks for this message Phil.
It is very gratifying to know that our hard work on this site over the past decade has paid of in such a positive way.
It seems to make all our efforts worthwhile.

Thanks again.
My regards

John Mewett

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/03/2016 10:11:47

Thanks Phil for your work, and to John for creating this site.

What is gutting is that after 75 years or more we have lost so much graffiti through exposure to the elements, vandalism and mould, and much of what does survives is indecipherable.

This maybe nonsense, but I wonder if viewing the graffiti under UV -Ultra Violet - light might show extra detail ? I realise if the scratchings are physically eroded there may be not much left, but I remembered how space probes
photograph planets in various light frequencies, which show up different details.

Here, and I realise animal skin is a different material, they reveal ink graffiti.

Now, with the aid of UV light, PhD student Myriah Williams and Professor Paul Russel of the University of Cambridge have spent the last three years uncovering these mysterious etchings from the book?s animal skin pages ? and revealing hordes of ghostly doodles in the process.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/uv-light-reveals-ghostly-graffiti-in-medieval-manuscrip-1695706365

Just an idea !

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 07/03/2016 01:30:23

UV - now that's a good idea, thank you Mark. I have a hand held UV bar so will give it a go when we are allowed back in the fort in April. We are banned until then as it is bat roosting season.

There is a possible sixth commando I found but I left him out of the book as I couldn't be certain. Last summer I found the name 'Westlake' very faintly scored into the plaster, but there was nothing else with it. I know that a Sgt. Westlake did accompany the expedition as he is mentioned in one of the contemporary reports, but I have failed to find anything about him and there are no hits on this Forum. It could have been him, or any soldier 1920- 1945, or post-war civilian. I thought I would play it safe and leave him off.

The earliest I have found is a single Royal Garrison Artillery name from WW1, a few from the 20s and 30s and a fair number from WW2. Many of these are from Irish Guards who held the fort and Grand Shaft Barracks throughout the Battle of Britain summer, even shooting down a Dornier Do.17 over Dover Harbour using Bren guns at the fort during September. The most poignant is that of a L/Cpl. Victor Park of the 5th Dorsets, that battalion took control of the area in November 1940 from the Guards. Poor Victor shot himself with his rifle in the barracks toilets on 30/12/40 and was buried in a local cemetery. He was only 23.

Started reading Phil's book last night - fantastic detail and information. The photos are brilliant.

Thank you too for the acknowledgement, not only of the CVA Website but also of Pete Rogers and me. Even though, like you, our work is voluntary and we thoroughly enjoy it, it's always good to receive some recognition for our efforts...

Back to the book now.

Nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/03/2016 17:51:34

Well done Phil on a very worthwhile project. I look forward to reading it. Your dedication in producing this volume, and generosity in donating the vast majority of proceeds to your commendable charity, is to be applauded. Thank you for contributing to the written knowledge of Commandos - it is a fitting legacy.
Mike

Excellent. Thank you for all your kind words. I will not pretend, I am not a commando expert, so have been nervously waiting reviews from experts such as yourselves. So far all the feedback I have had has been brilliant, which I cannot overstate how gratifying it is for me.

Our plan this year is to reconstruct part of the 1860s wooden floor in a caponier at the Redoubt and have manufactured a replica Victorian 12-pounder carronade and carriage. When we have sold 300 copies and broken even, the book profits will be directed to this worthy project. Finger's crossed people will continue to buy it!