REMNI DECEMBER 17December 17
remembrance ni
German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in flames after being scuttled by
her own crew at Montevideo, Uruguay, 1939
Victory in the Battle of the River Plate
The first major naval engagement of WW2, was a great boost to
British morale during the “Phoney War”.
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December 17
When war broke out in September 1939 the German pocket
battleship Graf Spee, commanded by Hans Langsdorff, was
patrolling in the Atlantic. She represented a grave threat to
Allied shipping, sinking eight merchant ships between
September and December.
When the cruiser HMS Achilles opened fire on the German ‘pocket
battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic, at 0621 hours
on 13 /12/1939, it became the first New Zealand unit to strike a
blow at the enemy in the Second World War. With the New Zealand
ensign flying proudly from its mainmast – as battle loomed, a
signalman had run aft with the ensign shouting ‘Make way for the
Digger flag!’ – Achilles also became the first New Zealand warship
to take part in a naval battle.
The 82-minute engagement between the Graf Spee and its three
smaller British opponents – Achilles, Ajax and Exeter – was
inconclusive. All four were damaged, with the British ships
suffering 72 fatalities (among them two New Zealanders) to the Graf
Spee's 36.
But the German warship's subsequent withdrawal to the neutral
Uruguayan port of Montevideo, and its dramatic scuttling by its own
crew on 17 December, turned the Battle of the River Plate into a
major British victory – and a welcome morale boost for the Allied
cause.
NI men in New Zealand ship
Achilles' role in the battle was a special source of pride for New
Zealanders, who welcomed the ship's crew home at huge parades in
Auckland and Wellington in early 1940.
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December 17
The German pocket heavy cruiser “Admiral Graf Spee” in flames
having been scuttled off Montevideo, Uruguay, after the Battle of
the River Plate, 17 December 1939.
On this Day - December 17 1922
The last 3,500 British troops leave Dublin following the creation
of the Irish Free State. In October 1921, there was over 50,000
British soldiers in 68 battalions in Ireland. British troops
remained in the Treaty Ports and Northern Ireland.
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December 17
The last 3,500 British troops leave Dublin
1938 Italy declares the 1935 pact with France invalid, because
ratifications had not been exchanged. France denies the
argument.
1939 Unable to complete the repairs to the Admiral Graf Spee within
24 hours, the time limit stipulated by international law for
foreign warships in neutral ports to leave and under strict
orders by OKM not to go in to internment in Uruguay, Captain
Langsdorff takes his ship outside the harbour of Montevideo
and orders his crew to scuttle her, thus denying the British fleet
that is converging on the River Plate the opportunity of destroying
her in an unequal battle.
Russian forces launch heavy attacks at Summa, Finland. Page 4
December 17
1940 Home Office announces third German spy hanged at Pentonville
Prison. Winchester housewife sentenced to death for spying. Rations
increased temporarily in Britain for Christmas week.
Fifty British Bomber Command Whitley and Hampden bombers attack
German seaplane bases on the island of Sylt, part of the Frisian
Islands.
While pursuing the retreating Italians, the British forces in North
Africa take Sollum, Fort Capuzzo and several other crucial Italian
defensive positions. They also capture another 38,000 Italians
along the way.
Destroyer Acheron sunk by mine off Isle of Wight.
1941 After strong resistance, Rommel’s forces retreat from the
Gazala defensive area.
Japanese troops make gains in northern Malaya and are now only 10
miles from Penang, as British and Commonwealth forces begin to fall
back to the river Perak. Japanese forces make landings in
northern Borneo.
1942 The British Parliament vows to avenge Nazi crimes against
Jews, as Eden announces that the Germans ‘are now carrying into
effect Hitler’s often repeated intention to exterminate the Jewish
people in Europe’. U.S. declares those crimes will be
avenged.
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December 17
The Final US-Australian assault on Buna begins.
1943 The U.S. Fifth Army captures the village of San Pietro in
central Italy after 10 days of heavy fighting.
Roosevelt reveals a plot to assassinate him at Teheran. U.S. forces
invade Japanese-held New Britain Island in New Guinea.
Wings are first awarded to US WASPs - Women’s Airforce Service
Pilots.
1944 U.S. approves end to internment of Japanese Americans. U.S.
Major General Henry C. Pratt issues Public Proclamation No. 21,
declaring that Japanese American “evacuees” from the West
Coast could return to their homes effective January 2, 1945.
After some deep penetrations into the lines of the unprepared
American forces, the Germans make only slow progress due to limited
roads as well as difficult terrain and weather conditions in
the Ardennes, not reaching any assigned first day objectives. The
allies rush reinforcements to the Ardennes.
The German Army renews the attack on the Belgian town of
Losheimergraben against the defending Americans during the Battle
of the Bulge.
The bodies of 81 American soldiers from Battery B of the 285th
Field Artillery Observation Battalion, killed by Waffen
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December 17
SS troops, Dec. 17, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge near
the Belgian town of Malmedy.
U.S. troops capture San Jose airbase on Mindoro. The U.S. Army Air
Force begins preparations for dropping the Atomic Bomb by
establishing the 509th Composite Group to operate the B-29s that
will deliver the bomb.
1945 The Senate votes for U.S. help in establishing a Jewish
homeland in Palestine.
Roll of Honour - December 17 Representing their comrades who died
on this day
1915 +HUGHES, Edward Royal Munster Fusiliers, 7th Btn. Private.
1307. Died 17/12/1915. Age 30. Son of James and Rebecca Hughes.
Edward was born about 1885 near Coalisland in County Tyrone. The
family was living at Derry, Tullyniskane, Tyrone. Edward was
husband to Maggie Hughes, of 67 Parkhead Rows, Bellshill, Scotland.
Bothwell (Bellshill) Cemetery, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Bellshill WM
+SMYLIE, William McAlister Royal Irish Rifles, 12th Btn. Private.
6310. Died 17/12/1915. Larne. St Quen Communal Cemetery,
France
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December 17
1916 +FOSTER, Robert Royal Engineers. Sapper. 64497. Died
17/12/1916 of wounds. Age 23. Training Centre (Newark). Born at
Muckamore. He worked as a joiner and was a member of Thornhill LOL
651. Son of Margaret Foster and the late Robert Foster. Antrim New
Cemetery. St Judes Parish Church, Muckamore WM, Antrim District
Orange WM
1939 They served in HMS Exeter during WW2
BELL, Stanley AB. HMS Exeter. Became a prisoner of war aged 19.
Hospitalised post-war in Freemantle. Father of Eileen Gary. Died
12/1994
CALDWELL, Robert In HMS Exeter at Battle of River Plate, off
Uruguay.12/1939. Presented with a gold watch by the Young Men’s
Institute when he returned on leave. Together with other members
from Exeter, he was presented to Lord Craigavon, Prime Minister of
Northern Ireland. Cowan St., Newry.
CHEYNE, Richard Warren RM. Corporal PLY/X2132. Enrolled 1937.
Reported missing after loss of HMS Exeter in the Second Battle of
the Java Sea 01/03/1942. PoW. He survived. He was one of three men
from Bangor who were Japanese PoWs. Bangor Central PE School.
Former member of 2nd Bangor Scout Troop. Son of Mrs. Cheyne,
Belfast Rd., Bangor. First Bangor Presbyterian Church RH
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December 17
+FREEMAN, William Hugh RN. Blacksmith. HMS Leonian. Died
07/02/1944. Age 23. Joined the Royal Navy in the summer of 1938,
serving on HMS Exeter. which played a heroic part in the battle
with the ‘Pocket’ Battleship Graf Spee off the River Plate in
December 1939. On the morning of 13th December, shortly after 6am
AB Freeman was lying on deck when the order came for “action
stations”. Distant guns flashed and soon HMS Exeter had received
her first baptism of fire. Freeman was a member of the crew of one
of the 4.7 inch guns that returned fire until the gun itself was
disabled by a hit that killed and wounded many men, a piece of
shrapnel cutting a hole in Billy’s cap and a slight cut to one
hand. While serving on board HMS Exeter, Billy served with 14 men
from Northern Ireland as well as men from the Republic of
Ireland.
Prior to the war young William worked with his father as a
Blacksmith and was a keen motor cyclist, having taken part in the
Cookstown 100 motorcycle race in 1938.
He arrived home on leave on 02/03/1940 for 28 days to visit his
parents in Cookstown. It is recorded that there were very
enthusiastic scenes in Cookstown when he stepped of the bus from
Belfast at the Transport Board’s parcel depot in William Street
where he was surrounded by a large crowd of well-wishers. That
evening he was met by the members of Killymoon and Derryloran bands
and paraded to his home carried on the shoulders of some of his
neighbours. There was much loud cheering and Billy Freeman was
heard to say “I hope I live to see Hitler scuttle himself
too”.<br>Son of William Hugh & Mary Freeman, Church
Street, Cookstown. Husband to Iris Elvina Freeman, Devonport.
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December 17
Billy Freeman joined the Royal Navy in the summer of 1938.
Cupuccini Naval Cemetery, Malta. Cookstown WM
MOFFATT, William J RN. Stoker First Class. In HMS Exeter at battle
of River Plate. A presentation was made to him in Lisburn cinema at
a midnight matinee in aid of Lisburn Navy, Army and Air Force Fund.
(Lisburn Standard 15/03/1940). Son of Mr Thomas Moffatt.
THOMPSON, George CPO Stoker. HMS Exeter sinking in Java Sea.
Japanese PoW. Limavady RNA. Castlerock. See this site - August 19,
2018
WITHERS, David HMS Exeter. Presentation made to him by local
community in Killyleagh Castle. (Bangor Spectator 23/03/1940)
HMNZS ACHILLES
+SHIELDS, Francis Henry RM. Corporal. PO/X 653. Died 05/01/1943.
Age 31. HMNZS Achilles. He had served 14 years. Son of James and
Mary Ann Shields, Largymore, Lisburn. (Lisburn Standard
22/01/1943). Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 79. Lisburn WM
TRIMBLE, Samuel RM. Sergeant. CGM. On HMNZS Achilles acting as
spotter for where the guns shells landed to correct range. During
the Battle of the River Plate with the Graf Spee he won the
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. “Stood fast without
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December 17
flinching or complaint throughout the hour of action that followed,
bearing his wounds with great fortitude. When the Medical party
came he helped them to move the (other) wounded and then made his
own way to Sick Bay with little aid”
1940 +HARVEY, James RN. Chief Stoker. C/308315. Died 17/12/1940.
Age 52. HM Boom vessel Thomas Connolly. Served in WW1.22 years
service. Had been in Corps of Commissionaires at Belfast Ropeworks.
Member of British Legion Naval Club. Cregagh, Husband to Margaret
Harvey, Belfast. Son of Thomas James and Ellen Harvey. Chatham
Naval Memorial, Panel 37. Family memorial, Milltown Cemetery,
Belfast
+McKERNAN, William Hugh Johnston HMS Caroline. Chief Stoker. Died
17/12/1940. Served 1903 - 1924. Somaliland 1906, Persian Gulf, and
Bosphorous. Shipwrecked twice. From 1924 - 39 he was caretaker of
Ballymena YMCA. After recall he served six months in Devonport
before posting to HMS Caroline.Son of James and Elisabeth McKernan;
husband of Sarah Annie McKernan, of Ballymena. From Gracehill,
Ballymena Methodist Church RH WW1. Gracehill Moravian
churchyard
+PRICE, Ernest Edward RN. Leading Stoker. P/KX 78405. Date of
Death: 17/12/1940. Age: 31. HMS Acheron. Son of Alfred George and
Emma Jane Price; husband of Sarah Josephine Price, Loughinisland.
Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery.
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December 17
+McMEEKIN, John Royal Artillery, 9 A.A. Regt. 26 Bty. Gunner.
1487270. Died 26/08/1940. Age 30. Son of Patrick and Ann Jane
McMeekin, of Ballymena. Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War
Memorial Cemetery, Egypt
1942 +BROWNE, Leonard RN. Able Seaman. D/SSX 20108. HMS Firedrake.
Died 17/12/1942. Age 22. On the night of 16/12/1942, HMS Firedrake,
an 'F' class Destroyer, was the escort leader to convoy ON153, with
43 ships bound for Canada. HMS Firedrake tracked a contact to about
5 miles south of the convoy, when at 2010 hrs she was hit by a
torpedo fired by U-boat U211. The ship broke in two. The bow
section sank immediately, with the stern just managing to stay
afloat. HMS Sunflower, a Flower class Corvette, came as close as
possible to HMS Firedrake in order to get the survivors off, but
the weather was so bad and the sea too rough. There were 60 foot
waves breaking over the two ships, which were bobbing about like
corks, so the commanding officer of HMS Sunflower decided to stand
by and hope the weather would get better. At about 0040 hrs on the
17th December, the weather worsened and HMS Firedrake’s bulkheads
started to give way under the tremendous battering. The stern of
HMS Firedrake started to sink, so the men had no option but to take
to the water, and at 0045hr the stern sank. There were 168 of the
Firedrake's crew lost. 27 were rescued. Son of William John and
Kathleen Browne, Waterside, Londonderry. Plymouth Naval Memorial,
Panel 64
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December 17
+HESLOP, Thomas New Zealand Infantry, 21st Btn. Private. 64178.
Died 17/12/1942. Second son of Alexander and Rachel Heslip. Born on
16/07/1912 in the district of Dungannon. He was one of at least six
children, all born in the Clonavaddy area. They were a farming in
Aghintober. Thomas emigrated to New Zealand. Prior to enlistment,
Thomas was a farmer living at Cambridge Road, Tauranga, New
Zealand. Tripoli War Cemetery, Tripoli. Tauranga WM
+HEWITT, Samuel Tweedy RAFVR. Flying Officer. Died 17/12/1942.103
Sqdn. This squadron saw service over Occupied Europe and it was in
the course of one such mission that he died. Born in Lurgan on
18/03/1919. Son of Samuel Hewitt of Portadown Road. He was a pupil
at Lurgan College from 01/09/1931 until 30/07/1937. One of his
contributions to the school - the attractive mural of school life
that used to adorn the wall of the History Room. Aabenraa Cemetery,
Denmark. Lurgan College RH.
1943 RAF BLACK THURSDAY
+Brown, John Thomas RAF. Flying Officer.156611. Died 17/12/1943.
Aged 22. The RAF suffered heavy losses on the night of 16th-17th
December 1943, known as "Black Thursday". Belfast-born John Thomas
Brown was one of many losses. He was a navigator with RAF 97
(Pathfinder) Squadron on board Avro Lancaster JB243 OF-P. The
London Gazette on 20th May 1943 listed Brown as a Pilot Officer on
probation to be called up in an emergency. By 20/11/1943, he had
received a promotion to Flying Officer. Brown’s plane came
down
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December 17
near RAF Gravely, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire on the return leg of a
pathfinder mission to Berlin, Germany. Severe weather across much
of England, with heavy fog over airfields, resulted in many losses
for the Royal Air Force. As well as the crew of which Brown was
part, 4 other crews from RAF 97 Squadron resulted in 28 fatalities.
All had taken off from RAF Bourn, Cambridgeshire bound for Berlin.
The other losses from RAF 97 Squadron that night were Duncan Forbes
McKenzie’s crew in JB119, James Kirkwood’s crew in JB219, Ian
Macdonald Scott’s crew in JB117, and Edward Thackway’s crew in
JB176. Poor weather had closed in around Cambridgeshire so that
landing at RAF Bourn was almost impossible. The RAF employed many
techniques to get the bombers down safely. Still, they were unable
to shift the fog or sufficiently illuminate runways. Some planes
diverted to other nearby bases while others decided to wait out the
weather.
JB243 was one of those that decided to wait. The plane ran out of
fuel as they circled the airfield under the command of an extremely
experienced pilot Ernest Alfred Deverill. On colliding with the
ground, the plane burst into flames, leaving the sole survivor with
severe burns. Son of Robert and Elsie May Brown of 51 Wandsworth
Road, Belfast. Dundonald Cemetery
+GRAY, Stanley Nicholson RAFVR. Flight Lieutenant. 125739. Died on
17th December 1943, aged 24. 161 Sqdn. The 17th December 1943 was
referred to in Bomber Command as “Black Thursday” due to the number
of lives lost. Gray and his crew were on a Special Operations
Executive sanctioned mission to France. Special Operations
Executive flew several clandestine
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December 17
missions that night making use of RAF 138 Squadron and RAF 161
Squadron. Missions over occupied territory included dropping
supplies and agents behind enemy lines. Gray was pilot of Mark V
Handley Page Halifax DK206 MA- V. His crew was part of a Special
Operations Executive sortie, Operation Wheelwright 50.
They took off from RAF Tempsford, Bedfordshire. The destination was
Angoulême, France. The crew returned early from the sortie due to
high patchy rain, and thick ground fog over the target area. In the
poor weather, the crew received no responses from Eureka beacons on
the onboard Rebecca set. The fog hid signal lights and no S- Phone
contacts were made.
Bound for a landing at RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk, the bomber came
down at Tangham Forest near Capel St. Andrew, Suffolk at 0505hrs on
17th December 1943. Gray had attempted to take the plane beneath
the cloud base, which had dropped to only 200 feet.
Of the 8 people on board, 3 died in the resulting crash. On board
were 2 French Agents, both of whom escaped. Bofors gun operators at
RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk reported the crash near the south-east of
the airfield.<br>Son of Hugh H. Gray and Martha Gray of
Cooldarragh Pk., Belfast. Hugh was a linen manufacturer. Carnmoney
Cemetery
1944 +MILLAR, William Cecil RAFVR. Leading Aircraftman. 1795872.
Died 17/12/1944. 2724 Sqd RAF Regt. Son of Andrew Mcknight Millar
and
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December 17
VETERAN
ALLISON, William Walter RAMC. Captain. Campbell College. QUB MB
1914. BCh, BAO. Lieutenant RAMC 01/06/1917. Captain 01/06/1918.
Born 09/02/1887. Medical practitioner post-war. Son of Rev Robert
and Louisa Allison, Kilbride Manse, Doagh. Died 17/12/1953.
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remembrance ni
The remembrance ni programme is overseen by Very Rev Dr Houston
McKelvey OBE, QVRM, TD who served as Chaplain to 102 and 105
Regiments Royal Artillery (TA), as Hon. Chaplain to RNR and as
Chaplain to the RBL NI area and the Burma Star Association NI. Dr
McKelvey is a Past President of Queen’s University Services Club.
He may be contacted at
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