William Arthur Massey in the Royal Navy"

1941

The 'D' Day experience of William Arthur Massey

Written March 2006 from interviews with Mr Massey

William Arthur Massey was born in Buckley on the 17^th . June 1922 and was educated locally. With the exception of six years he spent as a Royal Navy Seaman he has worked in the Buckley area all his life. Currently resident in Drury, he has been married to Vera since 1949 and their marriage has been blessed with two daughters, Jennifer and Anne, plus two sons Andrew and Mark. As at March 2006 Arthur has two grandchildren Penelope and Jack.

The following paragraphs describe Arthur's experiences during Word War Two and in particular his recollection of the D Day Landings at Omaha Beach.

As soon as he was able during World War Two Arthur joined the Royal Navy and from the 11^th. October 1941 he trained at H.M.S. Glyndwr. This was a shore base in a converted holiday camp in Pwllheli where he remained until completion of his training on the 23^rd.January 1942.

Upon completion of his training he was seconded as a gunner to D.E.M.S. (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships), his role being to defend merchant ships against aircraft and u boat attack.

Arthur's first posting was to the S.S. Mahana which was equipped with a 4" gun aft and two bridge mounted machine guns - 1 x Lewis and 1 x Hoskins. It also carried two depth charges.

It was a 10,000 ton ship capable of 10 knots and he sailed from Liverpool on his first mission bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina to fetch corned beef back to Britain. The ship was part of a convoy which was escorted across the Atlantic Ocean by Royal Navy destroyers and Arthur saw action during several attacks on the convoy.

Fortunately the S.S. Mahana did not come under direct attack but Arthur did witness other ships alongside being sunk. The ships' Captains however were under orders to continue their journey and not to delay to pick up survivors or else their ships too would become sitting targets for u boat attack.

On arrival in Argentina they sailed up the River Plate to La Plata where they collected bulk amounts of 'Swift's' corned beef and brought it back to Liverpool.

The next mission on S.S. Mahana was to sail to Australia and New Zealand calling first at New York then down through the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean. On this journey their ship was unescorted and it took six weeks to reach Australia.

On the outward journey they carried whisky, large quantities of crockery plus there were Spitfire and Hurricane Aircraft strapped to the deck which were for delivery to the Australian Air Force

Their main mission was to fetch meat back to Britain and this cargo consisted mainly of lamb. The return journey was shorter and Arthur experienced his first sailing along the Suez Canal.

Arthur describes how he criss-crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Australia several times frequently travelling around the Coast of Africa to reach the Indian Ocean.

In 1944 Arthur was seconded to the 'Princess Maude' a converted Ferry ship which was adapted to carry up to 1,000 troops as well as landing craft. He joined ship at Liverpool and sailed down south to Weymouth where 800 Yankee Rangers (U.S. Army 2^nd Ranger Battalion) boarded, - their mission was top secret.

The ship was due to sail on the 5^th.June 1944 but bad weather put their trip back twenty four hours. The following morning however weather conditions had improved and the Princess Maude joined hundreds of other ships to sail across the channel to France. On this journey Arthur described how he spent the journey strapped to his Oerlekin 8mm. gun on the bridge but never saw a German Aircraft nor had to fire a shot in anger.

His ship was fifth to arrive at Omaha Beach where the Rangers began their assault using the landing craft to reach the shore. Arthur recalled the sound and sight of British aircraft flying overhead towards the French coast many of which were towing gliders behind them.

Initially all went well; the beach was a few hundred yards away and once it was reached the soldiers had a fixed amount of time to vacate each landing craft before it was hauled back in for the next unit to board. However, as one craft reached the beach their Officer in Charge was shot dead and the men in the unit appeared to be at a loss for a few minutes. During this period of delay this particular landing craft became bogged down in the sand and could not be retrieved.

The Battleship H.M.S King George V was off shore pounding the enemy with its heavy guns and the sound of machine gun fire and heavy artillery filled the air. Arthur's thoughts still go out to the men who bravely made their way up the beach not knowing if they would be coming back.

Once all the Yankee Rangers were on shore the Princess Maude returned across the channel to collect more Troops. En route Arthur remembers passing a ship he knew was carrying his brother Jack on board the L.C.T North Way and he sent a signal to him wishing him good luck.

For several weeks during the invasion the Princess Maude carried troops across the English Channel to France including on one occasion his brother Hughie. Another of his brothers Alf lied about his age to enlist in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and a younger brother Joe who was too young to join during the war served in the years following Germany's surrender.

On one trip across the Channel, Arthur met Albert Hulley who he knew from Buckley and he took him down to the mess deck and gave him a cup of tea and a sandwich. As they talked Albert Hulley pulled a half crown from his pocket and handed it over saying 'Here, I won't need this where I am going'.

Some years after the War Arthur Massey became Chairman of the British Legion, Buckley Branch and Albert Hulley who survived the War was a fellow member. During a social evening Arthur Massey took great delight in calling Albert to the stage and making a formal presentation of a half crown coin back to Arthur Hulley in the presence of the members present that evening.

As the War drew to an end Arthur volunteered for service abroad in the Japanese Campaign. He sailed to Australia serving on H.M.S. Golden Hind a shore base in Sydney. As the War ended Arthur intended to stay in Australia but he could not settle there and decided to return to Buckley leaving on the 31^st. May 1946.

He and a colleague signed up to work on a tanker with a view to working their passage back to Britain. They ended up however making two long voyages on board the tanker before eventually arriving back in a snow covered United Kingdom in March 1947.

In 'Civvy Street' Arthur gained employment at Tunnel Cement, Padeswood Works, Buckley initially as a Rigger and then as a Laboratory Technician. He remained working at the Cement works until his retirement having completed forty years' service.

Author: Massey, William Arthur

William Arthur Massey in the Royal Navy"

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