The Raid on Zeebrugge - 23rd April 1918

e-mail Colin McKenzie

Lt Col John Elliot - commander of the Royal Marines assault party landed on the Mole from HMS Vindictive. He was killed in the first few minutes of the attack

The old chalk pits at Wouldham near Chatham

THE FERRIES IRIS AND DAFFODIL

Admiral Keyes realised early in his planning that the Vindictive could not carry a sufficiently large assault force to be sure of overwhelming the German troops stationed on the Mole. He therefore issued an order that two passenger ferries be commandeered for the operation.

For many years the Royal Daffodil and the Royal Iris II had been used to ferry passengers across the River Mersey in Liverpool. They were considered to be ideal for the Zeebrugge raid, not only because of their large carrying capacity, but also because of their shallow draft which would allow them to sail over the top of mine fields and navigate the shallow waters close to the Mole. Their double hulls made them almost unsinkable and they had an added advantage, in that as ferries they had been built to withstand constant bumping into quaysides.

These ferries were taken by Keyes' men, and to explain their disappearance the people of Liverpool were told that the vessels were to sail across the Atlantic to collect American troops to join the war effort. Both ferries were to survive the Zeebrugge Raid and return to a hero's welcome in Liverpool to resume their peacetime duties.

Vindictive stripped for action, leaves for Zeebrugge. The fighting top (right) and ramps are clearly visible.

 ... Volunteers

THE PREPARATION

Capt Halahan and his 200 sailors arrived at Chatham in Kent to start their training and were joined by a detachment of Royal Marines under Colonel John Elliot. To maintain secrecy they were all housed aboard HMS Hindustan, an old battleship moored inside Chatham Docks. Their training took place during February and March of 1918 near the village of Wouldham just outside Chatham. To make the training realistic, a model of the Zeebrugge Mole was built in a disused chalk pit and soldiers from the Middlesex Regiment acted as the German opposition.

At no time during their training were the sailors told where or when the attack might take place. Secrecy was paramount and it was not until a few days before the attack, when they were all safely aboard the Hindustan that full details of the plan were explained to them by Admiral Keyes himself. Even at this late stage they were given the chance to withdrawn from the operation, but none did.

The Mersey ferries Iris and Daffodil, commandeered for the Raid, to carry assault troops to the Mole (IWM)

Ramps built on the port side of Vindictive. Assault troops were to charge up these ramps on to the Mole. Of twelve ramps, ten were destroyed by the German's opening fire (IWM)

THE SHIP ARE PREPARED

Iris and Daffodil sailed to Chatham dockyard where they joined the Vindictive and the other old cruisers which were all being stripped of their furniture, fittings and any useful pieces of equipment which would not be required on their final voyage. All these vessels then had extra protection fitted to their superstructure to help shield them from the German guns on the Mole, which were expected to be firing at them from point blank range.

On HMS Vindictive barricades were constructed on the main deck and the assault troops were to shelter behind these until the ship came alongside the Mole. The troops would then run up ramps onto a specially constructed false deck and charge onto the Mole across twelve gang planks which would be lowered from her port side. The false deck was designed to be high enough for the gang planks to reach the parapet wall which ran alongside a pathway, sixteen feet above the main deck of the Mole.

Smoke screen ....