On Saturday 3rd October hundreds of people paid tribute to the heroes of the greatest raid of all, the raid on St Nazaire in 1942.

The memorial service took place in Falmouth on the Prince of Wales Pier and was conducted by the Reverend Barrington Bennetts. Those in atendance included veterans and their families, local civic dignitaries, a civic party from St Nazaire including the Mayor, crew from HMS Chatham, HMS Tyne and HMS Campbeltown.

Veteran Major General Corran Purdon gave a reading and a French piper played Amazing Grace while wreaths were laid around the memorial.

Following the service the Parade, led by the 6th Rifles Peninsula Cadet Band, reformed and marched through the town centre to the Royal British Legion where a reception was held. The veterans and other dignitaries were invited to a separate reception held on board HMS Chatham.

In the evening the Town Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor Geoffrey Evans, hosted a reception at the Royal Duchy Hotel which was followed by a re-union dinner for members of the St Nazaire Society.

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The Raid
St. Nazaire has been called the greatest raid of all and its main objective was to destroy the gates of the only dry dock outside Germany and not in allied hands, that was capable of taking the German battleship ‘Tirpitz’. The Military force selected, consisted of number 2 Commando and demolition parties in all totalling 80 service-men and under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.C. Newman. They were trained and lead by Captain W.H. Pritchard.

After extensive planning, reconnaissance & training and the addition of 30 further commandos, a total force of 265 personnel, plus the ex U.S. Navy Destroyer ‘Buchanan’, now converted as HMS ‘Campbeltown’ to look like a German torpedo boat and supporting warships, left Falmouth on 26 March, 1942. The Naval Force Commander was Commander R.E.D Ryder.

Following a challenging voyage taking some thirty hours and 250 miles in distance, including 6 miles up the Loire River, HMS ‘Campbeltown’ successfully rammed the dock gates at 01.34 hours on 28 March [four minutes late!]. During the following 18 hours of combat, which witnessed extraordinary personal sacrifice, unselfish commitment and valour, the Royal Navy lost 31 Officers and 751 ratings and the Commandos 34 Officers and 178 other ranks.

Five Victoria Crosses (the greatest number ever awarded during a single raid) were awarded to:

Commander Ryder,
Lieutenant – Commander S.H. Beattie of HMS ’Campbeltown’,
Lieutenant – Colonel Charles Newman and
Posthumously to Able Seaman Savage and Sergeant Durrant
The battleship ‘Tirpitz’ never left her base in Norway and was destroyed by the RAF in 1944.

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The Memorial
The initial St. Nazaire Raid Memorial was commissioned by the St. Nazaire Society in the 1980’s. It was located on the waterfrontage of Falmouth’s Church Street car park.

In March 2008, Falmouth Town Council in conjunction with the St. Nazaire Society and supported by Carrick District Council, took the decision to relocate the Memorial to the Prince of Wales Pier, which was used for the Raid preparation and boarding. It was also where the body of Able Seaman Savage and survivors were repatriated after the Raid.

The existing Memorial stone which was dedicated by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall last year, is of local granite, has been supplemented by six individual ‘seats’; topped with poignant inscriptions and five Victoria Cross designs implanted into the Memorial walking surface. This incremental design and project management was carried out by local consultants Mor Design.

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