Zeebrugge - Iris

[daggers]

Accounts of the raid mention this officer as the navigator who took control of the former Mersey ferry when she came under fire. Can anyone confirm that his DSC is the one Gazetted in the supplement on 29/8/17: “For services in action with enemy submarines” ?

Thanks in adavance, with confidence that someone will know.

Daggers

[sadsac]

Daggers, herewith conformation of the award of DSC to Lt. Spencer, later lost ;

SPENCER George N/E Lt. RNR 083P145 Cullist

C-in-C Queenstown 29.08.17 Gazetted

Actions with enemy Submarines 13.07.17 DSC

For services on the occasion of the sinking of an enemy submarine by gun fire on the 13th July, 1917.

No knowledge as to which U-boat was attacked / sunk - no doubt OLIVER will have something to say !

Sadsac

[daggers]

Sadsac

Thank you that confirmation.

I have just come across a curiosity when looking at sites about the Zeebrugge raid: a certain Mr Brock of the fireworks firm lost his life while there for various purposes including the illumination of targets.

CWGC describe him as "Wing Commander, Royal Navy" which seems odd.

D

[Philip Wilson]

His entry in 'Fringes of the Fleet and the Distinguished Service Cross' by R.C.Witte published in 1997 reads:

Spencer, George, Lt RNR, LG.29 Aug. 1917

For action against U Boats, Q Ship Cullist fought a gun battle with and seriously damaged a U Boat 13 July 1917 between the Irish and French Coasts. See 'Q Ships and Their Story,' pp.166-167 and 'Times History of the War' Vol. XV111, p.348. He died of wounds 23 April 1918 at Zeebrugge. He was navigator of HMS Iris, which was exposed to heavy fire from the Germans. See also 'Keyes Naval Memoirs 1916-18' p.279.

Philip

[daggers]

Excellent

Thank you, Philip

D

[Philip Wilson]

{quote name='daggers' date='Mar 6 2010, 05:03 PM' post='1370264']

Sadsac

Thank you that confirmation.

I have just come across a curiosity when looking at sites about the Zeebrugge raid: a certain Mr Brock of the fireworks firm lost his life while there for various purposes including the illumination of targets.

CWGC describe him as "Wing Commander, Royal Navy" which seems odd.

D

D

Brock is referred to in some official histories as Wing-Commander F.A.Brock RN and in others as a Lieutenant-Colonel RAF. His OBE in LG 7 January 1918 page 375 is for service with the Royal Naval Air Service. There is an excellent pen picture of him in Barrie Pitt's book 'Zeebrugge - Eleven VCs before breakfast.'

Here is -

Philip

[Mike763222]

Frank Brock's is a story worth telling. I reproduce below extracts from my book, Dover and Folkestone during the Great War, hoping they will be of interest.

Negotiating the rapidly moving shoals and enemy minefields at night and without lights would require top class navigators. As the armada approached the enemy coast and ran in towards the Zeebrugge guns they would need to be protected somehow. In helping to solve a number of these problems the services of a remarkable man were enlisted. Wing-Commander Frank Brock, RNAS, had already made a contribution to the work of the Dover Patrol by inventing the Dover Flare, which turned the Straits at night ‘from end to end as bright as Piccadilly’.

Frank Arthur Brock was born in 1884 into the family of the famous firework manufacturers, C T Brock & Co. After attending Dulwich College, where he managed to blow up a stove in his form room, he entered the family business and developed his inventive talents, especially for anything connected with pyrotechnics. At the outbreak of war Brock was commissioned into the Royal Artillery but soon transferred to the RNAS, though his flying days were curtailed when his particular skills were recognised. He became a member of the Admiralty Board of Inventions and Research where, as well as the Dover Flare, he developed the Brock Incendiary Bullet for use against Zeppelins.

On arrival at Dover in early 1918, Brock was briefed on the plan to attack Zeebrugge and the use of smokescreens by the attacking vessels was explained. The key drawback of the current method of creating a smokescreen was that it also created a huge flame which, of course, would defeat the object as the German gunners would simply fire at that.

With sixty men working under him in a factory in Dover, Brock soon came up with the solution. He called it ‘artificial fog’, a chemical mixture which was injected directly under pressure into the hot exhausts of motor torpedo boats and other small craft or the hot interior surface of the funnels of destroyers. The larger ships each had welded iron contraptions, in the region of ten feet in height into which were fed solid cakes of phosphide of calcium. Dropped into a bucket-like container full of water, the resulting smoke and flames roared up a chimney and were dispersed by a windmill arrangement. One of the ingredients for the brew being concocted by Brock was saxin, which was a popular substitute for sugar. He required so much that, with the blessing of the War Cabinet, all supplies in March and April were diverted to the factory in Dover. The reason for the nation’s forced dependence on unsweetened tea was, of course, kept secret. During the trials for the smokescreen chaos was said to have been caused in the Dover Straits when the smoke lingered for three days, and captains of merchant ships sent in complaints to the weathermen who had mentioned nothing of fog in their forecasts. Brock’s contribution to the Zeebrugge Raid was not limited to his fog. One difficulty the attacking force would face would be navigation; finding its way in the dark into enemy waters. Buoys could be useful but if they were laid too long before the operation the Germans would spot them, and it would take too long on the night to light and lower the buoys currently in use. Brock needed no more that twenty four hours to design and manufacture the answer – buoys which lit up as soon as they were thrown into the water.

The seamen storming the Mole were now being led by Lieutenant-Commander Adams and, as he could do no more with his flame-throwers, Commander Brock decided to join the attack. There is no hard evidence about Brock’s fate, but he was last seen, revolver in hand, running into an enemy hut. His body was never found. It was later revealed that when Arthur Brock had boarded the Vindictive, he had brought with him a box marked ‘Highly Explosive. Do Not Open’. The box contained several bottles of vintage port for his men. Hearing of his death, an old friend said ‘he was the sort of man who would never dream of going back. I can imagine him being on the mole at Zeebrugge and, if he lost his revolver, fighting with his hands.’

Mike

[daggers]

Fascinating stuff - all new to me.

Thank you.

D

[sadsac]

DAGGERS, find here the award of Mention for services at Zeebrugge ;

SPENCER Cecil E.R The Hon Lt. RN 79D035 H.M.C.M.B 13

Vice Admiral Dover Patrol 02.11.17 Gazetted

Attack on Zeebrugge 21-22.08.17 Menioned in Despatches

For the plucky way he carried out a successful attack on Zeebrugge on the night of the 21, 22nd August, 1917.

In spite of a raging sea on the way out the attack was carried out according to a pre-arranged plan.

Sadsac

[daggers]

Sadsac

Thank you for that, but he is the wrong Spencer. Does that 'Hon' place him in the Althorp family, I wonder, but I must not go down more blind alleys!

D

[sadsac]

DAGGERS, Oh Dear , silly, silly me posting the wrong Spencer - find here the one I meant to post ;

SPENCER George DSC - Killed Lt. RNR 79D153 Iris 11

Vice Admiral Dover 23.07.18 N/E

Operations on Belgian Coast 23.04.18 Zeebrugge & Ostend Mentioned in Despatches

Acted as Navigating Officer of "Iris 11", and was most useful throughout the operation.

He showed great bravery and though seriously wounded in the legs and unable to move, continued conning the ship until relieved by Lieutenant Henderson.

Sadsac

[daggers]

Nice one, this time!

Thanks yet again.

D

[Paul D Kendall]

Here is an extract from my book 'The Zeebrugge Raid 1918: The Finest Feat of Arms' relating to Lieutenant George Spencer. The book also features a photo of Lieutenant Spencer and many photos of HMS Iris.

Kind regards

Paul Kendall

Lieutenant George Spencer DSC RNR Lieutenant George Spencer enlisted in the Merchant Navy at the age of 15 and at the same time joined the Royal Naval Reserve. During the First World War he was commander of a destroyer serving off the China coast. The following year he returned to Europe and served in the English Channel escorting allied shipping. In 1917 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for ‘action with submarines’.

Two months prior to the Zeebrugge Raid Spencer was serving aboard the Q ship HMS Cullist, when she was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Irish Sea. An explosion ripped through the middle of the vessel after midday on 11th February 1918. Water began to fill the vessel immediately. Hannah Spencer recalled her brother’s experience in a letter to a relative: ‘They had been assured several times that the ship was so built that it was impossible for it to sink quickly and it would keep afloat for 3 or 4 hours. George said no one quite believed that, but they thought that she would float for ½ an hour perhaps, accordingly every one went to his appointed place and those poor fellows whose duty took them down below were drowned with any chance of escape, because the ship went down in 3 minutes. First it tipped (sic) over to one side, and George had to jump off into the sea. He clutched hold of a life boat in doing so, hoping it would float, but the men hadn't had time to release it properly so it was dragged down with the ship, and George found himself underneath it for a little while and quite thought he was being drowned. However, as he says, he kept on kicking and presently found himself up on the top of the water. By this time the ship was up and on one end…. The life boats were dragged down with her and except for a few spars, the only thing left floating was a raft that George himself had had made. He managed to get on to it, and they picked up a few more, including the Capt. whose shoulder was dislocated by being knocked down when the explosion came. Then the submarine came up closer to have a look at them, and the brutes trained their gun on the raft, and George says they thought they were all going to be shot. However the Germans evidently changed their minds and did not shoot. They picked one man up out of the water and made off.’(9).

HMS Cullist comprised of a crew of 75 men. 30 survivors including Lieutenant Spencer found refuge on the raft where they drifted for five hours until they were rescued by a trawler. After ten days leave Spencer was immediately transferred to the Zeebrugge operation and was assigned navigating officer onboard Iris. After the ordeal of being sunk by a German submarine he must have been keen to take part in an operation devised to block this menace at Zeebrugge. When Commander Valentine Gibbs was wounded during the operation, Lieutenant Spencer took command of Iris. Moments later Spencer was severely wounded when his right leg was shattered by one of the numerous explosions that were pounding the vulnerable Mersey ferry. Lieutenant Henderson wrote that Spencer ‘Though seriously wounded he remained by the compass, conning the ship until relieved by myself.’ (10).On arrival at Dover, the mortally wounded George Spencer was transferred to Gillingham Naval Hospital where he passed away later that day on 23rd April. He had been married for over two years and his wife Grace Spencer was expecting their child. A month and a day after he died, Grace gave birth to a daughter whom she named Iris.

George Spencer was brought to Brondesbury in north London, where he received a funeral with full military honours. Borne on a gun carriage, with his coffin draped by the Union Jack, bearing his naval sword he was taken to Hampstead Cemetery, where three volleys were fired and the Last Post sounded, before he was buried. His bravery during the Zeebrugge raid was recognised when he was listed as being mentioned in dispatches in the London Gazette, dated 23rd July 1918.

[daggers]

Paul

That is generous of you to provide such a substantial quotation from your book. I shall be looking out for a copy, having had [and lost] a much earlier-written account of the raid, long long ago.

My current interest is in those named on the Liverpool Town Hall Roll of Honour who earned gallantry awards, and this is clearly one of the best accounts.

Daggers

[per ardua per mare per terram]

As Brock died so soon after the formation of the RAF, it is understandable that there is confusion over his rank and service. More confusion would be due to working on this project before the formation and being retained for its completion. Interesting to note he was one of those officers who served in all 3 services.

There are RNVR & RAF Officer's records for him online

Name Brock, Frank Arthur

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...;resultcount=12

Name Brock, Frank Arthur

Date of brith: 29 June 1884

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...;resultcount=15

Offline:

ADM 273/4 Page 35: Frank Arthur Brock OBE. RNAS Officers Service

ADM 273/28 Page 35: Frank Arthur Brock OBE. RNAS Officers Service

ADM 273/29 Page 361: Frank Arthur Brock OBE. RNAS Officers Service

[sadsac]

DAGGERS, Per Ardua, find here recommendation for award to Major Brock ;

BROCK Frank A OBE - Killed in action Major RAF 79D115 N/E

Vice Admiral Dover N/E N/E

Operations on Belgian Coast 23.04.18 Zeebrugge & Ostend N/E

Was in charge of the experimental base at Dover.

He worked with a great energy to obtain the materials for an effective system of smoke screening and organising the means and of plans and of eventually developing the resources with which the force finally set out. These were of great value even on the adverse circumstances which arose on the Mole.

Major Brock was very keen on obtaining knowledge of the range finding apparatus used by the enemy.

Note ; Major Brock RAF !!

Sadsac

[per ardua per mare per terram]

...Note ; Major Brock RAF !! ...

Many thanks Sadsac, one would hope such a primary source as you are using would have his rank at the time correct.

The rank of Major reflects the demotions suffered by RNAS officers who transferred to the RAF, as his equivalent rank would have been Lt-Col.

[sadsac]

Per Ardua, yes, wonder if that was one reason why the RAF changed to Flight.Lt, Sqdn.Leader, Wing Commneder Etc ???

Sadsac

[domwalsh]

Daggers,

I don't have anything to add to Paul's very full account. If you want a copy of the photo posted, let me know.

Cheers,

Dom