Messages posted by: *ceira*

What a great photo of 651 LCM Flotilla! It's such a pity your father did not want to be included when it was taken all those years ago. My father is second from the right in the second row from the back. I'm pretty sure that "Johnno" is the seventh person from the left, 3 rows from the back. I never thought that I would see a photo of 651 LCM Flotilla, or indeed even if there was one in existence, and would like to thank you once again for posting everything you have done about the times and experiences your father had in his time with the Marines.

Likewise, my father would always dress smartly ? walking to town on a Saturday morning to get some shopping for Mum dressed in smart jacket, shirt, tie and trousers! As mentioned in my previous post, these men were of the mindset that "Once a Marine, always a Marine" no matter when or where they were. They continued their lives by the standards instilled into them from the time when they were such young Royal Marine recruits.

Dad was regarded by all as a true gentleman, who would help anybody in need even if it meant him going out of his own way to do it. He did not expect anything in return, just regarding it as a natural thing to do ? but typical of Royal Marine ideology of taking care of others first before themselves. As mentioned in my very first post, "Johnno" had described my father as a quiet, unassuming, well liked man who was very brave and this seemed to characterize so many of the Marines that my father had introduced to me in the past.

Any further photos that you may have of 651 LCM Flotilla would be greatly appreciated.

Another couple of photos ?

My father, PO/X 118350 Ronald John Jacobs, taken in 1945.

A photo of 651 Flotilla in a march past.

Thanks once again for sharing so many of your father's memories and stories of his time in the Royal Marines. I applaud you for having taken the time to record all of this on this site for so many people to see in the years to come. One can hardly imagine the stress and trauma these brave men went through and it is only fitting that all who follow should know of their sacrifices to facilitate the protection of others.

It was of particular great interest to me personally being that my own father was with 651 Flotilla and that I had barely any information of his time in the Marines ? you have certainly filled in a lot of the information for me regarding my own father's wartime experiences.

I note that in your latest post that you mentioned "Johnno" and wondered if this may have been Dennis "Johnno" Johnson, my father's mate pictured in the photo in one of my above posts?
He and my father were sent by train, roughly a fortnight after D-Day, to a troop ship in Liverpool where they set sail for Bombay, India. It just seems co-incidental that you had mentioned in your report that "Johnno" had left Normandy 2 weeks after D-Day. Perhaps you could kindly take a print of the photo above and show your father, maybe he will remember "Johnno"?

On a lighter note, I recollect, many years ago, attending a Royal Marines Association annual dinner and dance with my parents on the Isle of Wight. Having had a great time that evening we all boarded the coach ready for the trip home. Unfortunately, the battery was flat and the engine could not be started much to the coach driver's dismay. Up got the seated Marines with Dad saying, "Let's give it some Marine Beef!" The Marinesl got off the coach and duly bump started it down the road, much to everyone's relief. Such was the comeraderie of these guys even after all those years and the "Once a Marine, always a Marine" instilled into their being.

Dad would always use the above phrase "Give it some Marine Beef" when he needed to put that little bit of extra physical effort into something. Just as in your report, he would also say, "Get in down you" when referring to food and always showed his appreciation for anything that was put in front of him to eat. No doubt, with the lack of food the Marines experienced in the Far East, they were so thankful for anything to eat when it was there for them.

I have attached another photo to this post which might be of interest ?

A group photo taken in 1945 while on leave in Bangalore. My father is pictured third from left at the back. "Johnno" is also at the back, second from right. I think that the two Marines whose photos I posted previously above ? "Sid" and "Ted with Kids" ? might also be in this photo as their facial features look very similar to those in the picture.
Please accept my apologies for the quality of this photo, it was scanned from a folded photocopied print that Dennis "Johnno" Johnson had had in his possession and was kindly forwarded to me by one of his sons.

Having regularly visited this forum on a weekly/monthly basis for a couple of years after my initial post about my father back in 2008, I am totally surprised that something should appear severa; years on regarding another Royal Marine who was part of LCM 651 Flotilla!

This is the first time that I have looked at the forum in about a year and reading this latest addition to the post, it appears that your father's war time experience seems to have mirrored my own father's, albeit that you have been lucky to talk with your father and have far more details of his wartime experiences. It appears to me that they must have known one another very well and were, in all probability, part of the same patrol on many occasions.

I recall Johnno (mentioned in my original post ? Dad's mate that he met in the Marines) telling me that Dad had also been part of the landings on D-Day, ferrying Canadian troops ashore at Juno beach. He told me they would drop off the troops and then return to the ships to pick up the next lot to be put ashore. Dad had told me many years ago that the sky was constantly lit up overhead with waves of shell and rocket fire coming from the Naval ships as they bombarded the enemy lines. That was all that my father had ever told me about his wartime experiences and reading some of own your father's experiences, I can understand why he had kept everything hidden. The other information that I have gathered about my father's wartime experiences has been mainly through my own research.

Incidentally, at the beginning of 2015 I came across an article online (on the Evening Times, Glasgow website) about another Royal Marine, John Cameron, who was part of 651 Flotilla and it gave a report on John recalling his experiences during D-Day to mark it's 70th anniversary. In the article it stated that he was residing at one of the Erskine care homes in Scotland which provide care for people who have served in one of HM Armed Forces. At present, the article is still available to view online ? http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13282287.D_Day_70_years_on___We_were_caught_in_the_middle_as_shells_burst_all_around_us_/

I wondered at the time if, by chance, John Cameron might have any recollection of my father and duly contacted Erskine's press officer, giving details of my father and his association with 651 Flotilla, also enclosing the photo on this forum of the group of Royal Marines.

The Press officer duly contacted John's daughter who took all the information and photo along to her father. Unfortunately, through failing eyesight and memory loss, he was unable to identify anyone on the photo or indeed recall any names. However, his daughter had also looked closely at the photograph and has positively identified her father as being the person at the front, extreme left.

This group photo of my father, with what was initially unknown colleagues to me and taken sometime during WWII, has now resulted in the names of some of his colleagues coming to light after all these years! Your information and post is greatly appreciated and has helped me fill in a little bit more about my father's time in the war. Please do not forget to add your own father's name to this post ? he deserves to be mentioned here, to be held in high esteem and remembered like all those who were prepared to put their lives in jeopardy for the good of others.

I have attached a copy of another photo taken at Eastney Barracks which may be of interest. My father is in the second row, far left.

Also, there are 2 photos which belonged to my father of two fellow Royal Marines. I do not know their surnames, but the photo of the Royal Marine with the children has written on the back ? "Ted with kids". There is a hand written message to my father on the other photo.

Many thanks for your reply, it is certainly a lead which I will try to explore further.

The only Marine named Horner that I could find was on the CWGC website:
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2481400

It has his unit as HMS Tengra, which was a Combined Operations base in Mandapam, and his date of death appears as 9/7/45 aged 28. His service number listed is: EX/4226. It also states that his parents lived at West Allotment, Northumberland. West Allotment is in Tyne and Wear (Newcastle). I thought this might be why he was nicknamed "Geordie" Horner.

I am not 100 percent sure that "Geordie" was with my father in the Far East when he died ? but I can recall my mother telling me many years ago that Dad had told her his best mate had gone overboard, Dad jumped in to try and save him but as he reached him and tried to grab hold of him, his mate went under and Dad never saw him again.

I have often wondered if Dad had toned down the exact story as to what had happened as he didn't want Mum to know the full story, but this is something that I will probably never find out. Dad had also told Mum that his mates wanted to put him forward for a bravery award for what he did, but Dad would not hear of it, saying anyone would have done the same thing.

I am immensely proud of my father and this truly reflects the type of man he was.

One can only imagine the anguish he must have gone through after this tragic event, where he was so close to saving his best mate.

My father did belong to the Isle of Wight Branch of the Royal Marines Association but when I contacted them several years ago they could not provide any details regarding which Commando he was in/attached to. The Isle of Wight Branch is no longer in existence.

I could post this photo in the 42(RM) Cmdo album, but at this stage I am still not certain that he was in this unit. I also have this group photo with my father in, which I believe was taken in the Far East.

MNE. RONALD JOHN JACOBS ? PO/X 118350 ? 651 FLOTILLA LANDING CRAFT

I am trying to find out more information regarding my late father, Royal Marine Ronald John Jacobs. Sadly my father passed away suddenly in 1977 at the age of 51 and had never spoken to me, or anyone else within the family, of his experiences during WWII. I have copies of his service records, although they are somewhat sparse in the information contained therein. However, this is what his records contain:

He enlisted into the Royal Marines at Eastney Barracks, Portsmouth, at the age of 17 on April 21, 1943, and was assigned to N Company. During November 1943 he was at HBL RM School of Signalling before joining COPRA on November 21 and serving under this until April 8, 1946. Between April 9 and June 17, 1946, it is recorded, under name of division or ship, that he was with "Shrapnel (Cricket)" ? This, I have found out, was HMS . . . Cricket, a shore base at Bursledon on the South Coast for landing craft personnel. Shrapnel was another base at Southampton. On June 18, 1946, he was again at Portsmouth Division and was discharged on August 27th, 1946, under Class A.

I have enclosed a photo of three Royal Marines, my father is the one on the right. The other two are Dennis "Johnno" Johnson on the left and in the middle, my father's best mate, who sadly did not make it through to the end of the war. I believe his name was "Geordie" Horner or Howarth, although I cannot be sure? He was married with a very young daughter and I think he had lived in Paisley.

Johnno and my father remained good friends after the war and he would come with his family to visit us on the Isle of Wight. Sadly, Johnno passed away in 2006 but had told me earlier on in that year all he could remember regarding his time with my father during the war:

He met my father in 1944 and they were both in Signals (communications). They were at Westcliffe (which I believe was HMS Westcliffe II, a Combined Operations holding base for RM landing craft personnel) prior to D-Day and on June 5 were at Hayling Island. On D-Day they headed for Sword Beach.

A fortnight after D-Day they caught a train to Liverpool where they embarked on a troop carrier to Bombay, India. From here they sailed to Columbo in Ceylon (where they loaded gear) and then onto Rangoon, Malaya. Other ports of call en-route were Mandapam at the tip of India and Trincomalee (3-4 days) in Ceylon.

Some of the landing craft carriers, among others, they had been on: Glenroy, Glen Avon, Silvio (Sylvio).

While in the Far East, they were involved in the assaults on Ramree Island, Akyab Island and the Arakan. Johnno told me that they were put ashore for night patrols under the cover of darkness and left again under the cover of darkness. Now, whether these were for reconnaissance missions or raiding parties I do not know?

At the end of the war, they looked after Japanese in a prisoners of war camp. They returned from Singapore to the UK in January/February 1946 aboard the Queen Emma.

Johnno spoke of my father as a quiet, unassuming, well liked man who was very brave and told me that I should be proud to have had a father as my own, of which I am wholeheartedly.

He also told me that he thought my father may have been promoted or put forward for promotion prior to him leaving the Royal Marines. There is no mention of this on his records but just some figures written down under the Notes section: S.1075 274595 and D.B. 51692 (I have no idea what these could mean?). There is also no mention of what RM Commando my father was in, but from my own research I assume he must have been in/attached to 42 RM Commando (perhaps someone knows different?).

My father was awarded the following medals: The 1939-1945 Star, The Burma Star, The France and Germany Star, The Defence Medal and The War Medal 1939-1945. The Burma Star Association has also told me that my father said he was part of 651 Flotilla Landing Craft.

I would be extremely grateful for any information or help, however small, that anyone may be able to offer.

PS. I have in my possession a black beret, yes black not green , which belonged to my father (I believe Royal Marines were originally issued with a black beret but this was later replaced at some time during WWII with the green beret) and I also have his yellow/red signal flags with 651 marked on the handles. I also know that he brought a Japanese officer's sword back from the Far East as my mother said she refused to have it in the house, so my father took it to his parents' house. Where it went from there, nobody seems to know.