L/Cpl Charles Alfred Parker - 2 Commando - Beds & Herts Regt 5950711 - KIA 18/04/42

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 13/06/2017 21:55:08

Charles Alfred Parker served with 2 Commando in Malta and died aboard the submarine HMS Upholder around the 18th April 1942 when all contact with the vessel was lost. It is believed the sub was spotted by patrolling enemy aircraft and bombed. Charles was the only member of 2 Commando onboard at the time, as his fellow Commando Capt 'Tug' Wilson had transferred to another sub earlier.
As a family we would love to find out any other details of Charles's short and clandestine career with 2 Commando. Charles's father fought a courageous and gallant WWI receiving the DCM and MM with bar with the Duke of Wellington Regt. This may well have been the inspiration that drove Charles to volunteer for the Commado's. The picture attached was sent home with a letter by Charles from Malta in Feb 42. I will attempt to attach the letter shortly for your archives.

Hopefully you will be able to add his picture to your archives.

http://www.commandoveterans.org/Parker2Commando

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2147530/PARKER,%20CHARLES%20ALFRED

http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?16261

Posted by Symon Wilkins. Great Nephew in law and on behalf of the remaining Parker family.

L/Cpl. Parker worked with Wilson on H.M.S. Upholder, if the Wilson is Robert 'Tug' Wilson then he was most likely serving with the Special Boat Section.
On the 10th April 1942 (they left Malta on the 6th) to carry out special operations Parker and Wilson along with 2 Arabs landed at Sousse to sabotage a railway which is believed to have been successful, On the 11th Wilson was took on board HMS Upbeaten at 03.40 hrs and sailed for Gibraltar whilst Parker remained with HMS Upholder who were ordered patrol to off Djerba island east of Tripoli and then received further orders to form a patrol line with HMS's Thrasher and Urge to intercept an Italian convoy (Aprilla Convoy) although it was not known if they actually received this signal and was subsequently lost. Italian reports state that a submarine was sighted on the 14th and attacked by 2 ME bf 110's and 2 DO 17's, they reported that they possibly sighted oil and believed that they had either sunk or damaged the submarine, as no submarine reported being attacked on this day it could be assumed that this was the Upholder.
It is then very likely that Parker served with the Special Boat Section operating out of Malta.
It may be worth contacting the SAS Regimental Association who i believe hold the SBS records to see if they have anything on him.
Hope this is of some use to you.
Alan.

Hi Symon

Thanks for the photo of your great uncle which I will add to our No 2 Commando gallery in due course. I have already updated our entry for him which you discovered online and have repeated the link here.

http://www.commandoveterans.org/Parker2Commando

Several from No 2 Commando took part in these intelligence gathering missions including, as mentioned in our record entry, Sgt. 'Tan' Rudge DCM, another being Capt. Richard Broome who was later also killed in action. Both returned to No 2 Commando after these intelligence gathering ops.

http://www.commandoveterans.org/Broome2Commando

http://www.commandoveterans.org/Rudge2Commando

Photo now posted in the No 2 Commando gallery (In Remembrance album). Here is a direct link to it:

http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/units/2/In+Remembrance/Charles+Alfred+Parker.jpg.html

I have a book on HM S/M Upholder which describes each patrol she undertook. The report on her 25th and final patrol states that one part of this mission was to land some agents on the African coast which was successful. She then made a rendezvous with 'Unbeaten' in order to transfer an officer who had been in charge of landing the agents. No mention of a L/Corporal. However, her 12th patrol states that an army officer and a Corporal, together with a canoe were embarked. The area of operations was the north coast of Salerno. The soldiers paddled ashore to blow up a railway line. Unfortunately, the alarm was raised and after managing to hide themselves and the canoe, they eventually returned to the submarine. Perhaps these were the same two men ? How many similar operations were conducted by other submarines and were they all Commandos ?

Just throwing this extract from my fathers service record as he was a corporal at this period of time-Could he be the corporal with Capt. Broome?

18-8-42 22-12-42 Cpl. Webster left Ayr with a small detachment of others for posting to Sherbourne, Dorset, under the command of Captain R. Broome. Nothing is known of this period of service or the ultimate destination of the group.

The 12th patrol lasted from 15/8 - 27/8 1941 and the 25th and final patrol left port on 6/4 1942 so the chances of being on both trips, would, I think be very unlikely due to the large time period between the patrols.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 29/06/2017 16:15:05

The Corporal who escorted Captain Richard Broome on-board HMS Unbeaten during a patrol out of Malta between 23/09/41 to 06/10/41 was found in the submarine patrol log. It is written as Corporal H. Slater, O.N. 3654571. Harry Slater was often referred to as Joe Slater and is identified in some of our troop photos in No 2.

However there was a Force X consisting of four officers and 60 OR's formed at the end of 1940. Most were from 'B' Company No.1 Special Service Battalion (a few months later to be No.2 Commando).They trained in Scotland in the use of Folbots with HMS Thunderbolt and HMS Thetis I believe. It was hoped that every Commando would form a Folbot section. This is where the then Lieutenant Richard Broome and L/Cpl Harry Joe Slater would have joined. 'B' Company No.1 SS Battalion was formed from some of the Independent Companies that had been raised for Special Service.

So the officers that went as far as I know to X Force were Lt Richard Broome, Lt Larry Taylor, and Lt Walker all from No.4 Independent Company/ 'B' Company No.1 SS Battalion, and another I believe called Dudley Schofield. Larry Taylor stayed on for awhile after Malta working with the SBS although did return and ended up in No.2 Commando. Richard Broome and Lt Walker and Harry Joe Slater all returned to No.2 Commando which by this time had been formed.

So whilst the SBS were involved, there are other names from 2 Commando that appear on operations from Malta such as LCpl. Alun Blackwell DCM

http://www.commandoveterans.org/Blackwell2Commando