World War 2: Connecting w a Veteran (8)

Lloyd sent me eleven rare black and white photos from the 1940s in all. Some appear in an earlier post and my honest response to Lloyd in a return email was, "Wow, you sure made my day!"

The next batch he sent seem rarer still in my opinion. Few things in life can knock me off my chair the way they did - one in particular.

Lloyd only said this: My son was here yesterday and fixed couple of problems I was having. Here is a couple more pictures.

I'm guessing, but I think we have here three landing craft at a dock in friendly waters, e.g., in Southampton or Portsmouth, southern England. First we have the LC Lloyd is standing upon. Then we have LCM 627 (landing craft mechanized), with it's bow landing platform open. Several men are standing about. And behind it we see a larger craft, perhaps LCT 160, i.e., landing craft (for) tanks. It wouldn't surprise me that while the crafts were under repair or between war dates they acted as places the men would meet, to fix this or that, perhaps relax a bit.

Below, Lloyd is sitting above us on his own craft. Man on the right is unknown. Circa 1943.

The photos just keep getting better. Above, one of my father's closest Navy pals, Chuck Rose (from Chippewa, near Niagara Falls, Ontario), stands aboard and sweeps up a landing craft. The coxswain behind Chuck is unknown. I'm guessing, but I feel Chuck is cleaning up after a practice run before or after the raid on Dieppe, spring of 1942.

My father writes that he refused an order to clean up a landing craft after it returned from Dieppe - he lost his first mates during that disastrous raid and their remains were still on board - but he didn't receive a black mark on his records for doing so. I assume Chuck is on an LC that is meant for transporting supplies, e.g., fuel, tank mesh, food, ammunition. LCs for troops are deeper, contain benches down the middle and sides and have canvas awnings above the side benches.

["Above photo - post Dieppe raid - of LCM

from Canadians at War/1939 - 1945"]

To authenticate the above photo from Lloyd I would have to visit him or an archive of Navy records concerning Dieppe. But I think this is a photo of Robert McRae, LT, RCNVR (center, light coat, not numbered) being greeted by fellow officers after he returned from a German POW camp near the end or after the war. Does he not look like the man in the sketch below?

["Above photos from pg. 63 - 64, St. Nazaire to Singapore"]

The last photo may not seem like much - at first glance - to most who view it. Five unknown men sitting beside their landing craft.

But look closer. Don 'Westy" Westbrook (far right, from Hamilton) is sitting atop metal framework in the LC, canvas awnings appear (so the craft is deep enough for troops), clotheslines are hung (the fellows may be living on board at times), shorts and helmets are seen (so it might be summer, 1942 or '43, in England or Malta), Don Linder from Kitchener is on the left (another of my father's chums), and though five men are easily counted, there are actually six members of Combined Ops sitting beside their landing craft.

See the head poking out from behind the second fellow (on left) and sporting wavy hair?

That's my dad.

Thank you, Lloyd!!

More 'connections w Lloyd' to follow.

Photos courtesy of Lloyd Evans, unless otherwise stated

Link to Connecting w a Veteran (7)