SAS Operation Titanic

Operation 'TITANIC' opened on the night 5/6 June 1944, (D-1) when a small party of 1 SAS personnel dropped into FRANCE on a DZ SOUTH of CARENTAN.

This party consisted of the following personnel: -

Lieut FOWLES 'B' Sqn.
Tpr. HURST 'B' Sqn.
Tpr. MERRYWEATHER 'B' Sqn.

Lieut POOLE 'A' Sqn.
Tpr. DAWSON 'A' Sqn.
Tpr. SAUNDERS 'A' Sqn.

The party jumped at approximately 0040 hrs on 6th June and on landing found that they were about 2 Kms NW of the intended DZ. On collecting each other it is found that Lieut. FOWLES and Lieut. POOLE were missing. Parachutes were then buried without difficulty. The visibility was good and a search was started for the containers. This search covered a wide area, including the actual DZ but not one container could be traced. At approximately 0300 hrs., the party laid their Lewis Bombs (20 of them) in an area of 500 sq yds and ignited them. By this time it was getting light so refuge was taken in hedge about half a mile north of the area where they dropped. This they made their lying-up place for the following day. The only activity seen during the day was a bicycle patrol cycling up the main CARENTAN road, That evening at 2000 hours a resistance member (Monsieur Le DUC EDOUERD) contacted the party and informed them that he would get them away that night. He left them but returned again at about 2300 hours. This time he took the party with him and escorted them to the ruins of an Abbey, roughly two miles West of the DZ. The party laid us here and their escort again departed, returning at 0100 hours 7th June with food and cider. Again he left them and Tpr HURST states we were well hidden and everybody was happy'.

At 1000 hours that same day the Frenchman returned with Lieut. POOLE. Apparently Lieut. POOLE had 'rang the bell' on leaving the aircraft and had knocked himself out for three quarters of an hour. His lip was cut and his chin scraped. After recovering he wrote a message stating that he had rung the bell and lost contact with the remainder of the party. This message he despatched by pigeon.

Three days were spent at this place during which times regular patrols were done within a four mile radius but there was no activity to report. The Marquis supplied the food and at 1500 hour on 10 June the party were again made up to full strength when the Frenchman paid another visit, this time bringing Lieut. FOWLES with him.

Lieut. FOWLES had landed about a field away and had searched both for the party and the containers but all in vain. Tpr. HURST stated that Lieut. POOLE did not bring his MCR 1 with him and that he neither mentioned what he had done with this or his bombs. Apparently the majority of the time had been spent in lying up in a farm about three kms away but Lieut. FOWLES had sniped a few Germans but did not succeed in hitting any. He had also cut a few local telephone wires which led to German HQ. For some reason unknown to Tpr. HURST, Lieut. FOWLES left the party and returned again at 2300 hours.

It was decided to stay at this hiding place, but during the next three weeks there was no activity at all on the part of the enemy. It was not until 28 June that anything happened and it was on this day that a German Parachute Regiment took possession of the village - REMILLY-SUR-LOZON (Sheet 3a & 8 - 250,000 T/37). The Frenchman who had been a good friend to the party right from the start informed them that the enemy knew of them and it would therefore by necessary for them to move. The Frenchman led them three kms South back to the original DZ where the party laid up in a small wood for the night. On the following night the party moved again (about 2 kms South) to an old brushwood cabin where they remained for three nights and three days.

It was now the 2nd July and the food situation was none too good so it was decided to make for our own lines which were at this time approximately six kms to the NORTH. That night the party moved again and continued to do so for the next six or seven days. Progress was slow owing to the great number of enemy patrols in the area. These patrols moved on foot and consisted of six or seven men armed with LMGs and/or Schmeissers.

Round about 25th June the Frenchman took three American Parachutists to join our party. One was a Capt. BERRY (a medical officer), and the other were PFCs. All of them belonged to 508 Parachute Battalion US Army. One of the PFCs had been wounded. They had all apparently been taken POW on the 7th June at EDENSVILLE and that day were being driven them in convoy of four trucks along the GRANDE NATIONALE ROAD when American planes straffed the convoy. All the trucks were fully loaded and many were wounded and killed. They took this opportunity and succeeded in escaping and had hidden until joining our party. They remained with our party throughout the remainder of the actions described in this summary.

On the night 9th July, the party laid up only a quarter of a mile from positions against which our troops were directing mortar fire. HURST states that the party 'had many near misses', The following morning it was decided to recce their position which was close to the village of RAIDS (Sheet 3a and 8 250,000 T/37). It was agreed to make a break for it that night (9/10 July) but at 1200 two German Parachutists were seen advancing towards the party. They saw our men and immediately threw grenades before turning around and running off. Tpr HURST was seriously injured by the shrapnel on both lower legs, and Tpr MERRYWEATHER was wounded in the back. Neither of these men could walk. Lt FOWLES was also wounded in the back, and the two Americans received wounds. The unwounded personnel carried the wounded to a farm house about 150 yards away. Lt FOWLES, although wounded, left the party in search of the Germans, upon whom he had no doubt planned revenge.

Unfortunately for our men, their position was given away by the French, with the result that half an hour later the farm was surrounded by forty German Parachutists, all dressed in camouflaged suits. They were armed with four LMGs and the majority carried Schmeissers, the remainder being armed with rifles. They were all very young, white faced and appeared rather 'jumpy'. The Sergeant shouted 'Come out' and the party either walked or were carried out of the farm. Each man was lightly searched for weapons, which when discovered were laid on the floor. The Germans passed some remark about our men being out of the war. The party was marched and carried to an old sunken road where 20 Germans were dug in and then taken to an Orchard where an old French hut had been turned into an HQ. Each man was interviews by a Captain who asked only for Number rank name and ###### which he retained. Escape kits were still in possession of our men who carried them sewn in their battle dress. After about two hours the were all taken to an advanced dressing station where the wounded had their wounds dressed by a German Surgeon. They were given half a dozen German cigarettes ('bad' according to HURST) and sweets and candy. By this time HURST was feeling 'pretty groggy' but all were moved again to an old monastery where HURST and others (Not MERRYWEATHER) were operated on. The operating room was an old room full of straw and pretty filthy. About fifty enemy wounded were also there.

Whilst at the dressing station Lieut.FOWLES was carried in by a German. He was badly wounded in the back. Just before HURST was operated on he said cheerio to Lieut.POOLE, DAWSON, and SAUNDERS. He never saw them actually leave and in fact has not seen them since.

On 13 July HURST was taken to Hospital at RENNES. The 'ambulances' (20 in all) were ordinary 3 ton trucks packed with straw. On their canopies was a Red Cross. The 'Hospital' to which HURST was taken was a school which had been converted. It was staffed by one or two German Surgeons, six French civilian doctors, and eighty French nurses.

HURST spent a month in this hospital. Tpr. MERRYWEATHER arrived here the day after HURST. Tpr HURST reports that the medical treatment was good but the food was poor. Dinner usually consisted of black bread and beans, and for tea the menu was macaroni. There was never a breakfast - only luke warm coffee. HURST could not eat so he had fluid injections.

When HURST arrived at this hospital it had about 400 patients, including personnel from 6th Airborne Division. During his stay about 30 American and British wounded were admitted.

On the 2nd August news got around that the Americans were coming so the Germans picked up and left. The town was shelled by the British and Americans, and the hospital received three direct hits but there were no casualties. The following day and night street fighting could be heard and on the fourth day the Allies took the town. Cigarettes and beer were given to the patients and the following day - 6th August - the entire hospital was moved by ambulance to 35th Evacuation Hospital. The patients received penicillin for three days and good food was served thus everyone was happy.

On 12 August the patients were moved to an air strip and the evacuation began. Tpr MERRYWEATHER, by this time a walking patient, left on the 12th and Tpr HURST was evacuated the following day. At the time of writing MERRYWEATHERs location is not known but the following are Tpr HURSTS movement up to date.

13 Aug. Evacuated from RENNES to NEWBURY 98th General Hospital
16 Aug. Moved to 7th General Hospital US Army.
21 Aug. Moved to British Military Hospital, LINCOLN

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Tpr HURST spent 35 days behind enemy lines, 27 days in hospital as POW and 9 days in the hands of the Americans before returning to UK.

Military Medal : On the night 5/6 June 1944. Tpr. Merryweather landed by parachute with a party of 2 officers and 3 0.Rs. about 15 miles south of the Cherbourg Peninsula. The party dropped within enemy lines with the task of distracting the Germans from a large scale airborne operation by American Forces to the north. They were told they could expect to be overrun by American troops in 9 days. They waited for six weeks and were captured while trying to reach the Allied lines on 17 July 44. During this period they endured very considerable hardship and danger. They were constantly hunted by the enemy who detached a Coy of troops for the purpose. Because they moved at night and had to be constantly about during the day they got almost no rest. During the last 3 weeks they lived almost exclusively off raw vegetables. They were seldom over 200 yards from Germans and as the area was packed with enemy troops they were subject to constant shell-fire from our own guns. They accomplished much valuable sabotage work. Some 8 times Tpr. Merryweather volunteered to accompany an officer on sabotage expeditions. In the darkness they passed Germans often at 30 yards, several times fired upon. Four times for food they entered a farmhouse partly occupied by Germans. Once they went 10 miles to collect two escaped American Ps. O.W., one so wounded that the had to be carried. Despite the acute nervouse and physical strain, Tpr. Merryweather showed exemplary fortitude and courage which contributed inestimably to the morale of the party. His determination and audacity were of the highest qualitity.

Military Cross : On the night 5/6 June 1944, Lt. FOWLES with another officer and 4 men landed by parachute near LE MESNIL - VIGGT just SOUTH of the neck of the CHERBOURG peninsula as part of an operation involving 200 dummy parachutists intended to distract the enemy from the 82nd American Airborne Div. which was "dropping" to the NORTH. German Tps in the area were a Panzer Grendier Div., a S.S. Div and a mixed Bde of Mongolian and Ukrainian Tps. Altho' the work of the party was prejudiced by a mis-timing of their "drop", the success of the operation as a whole was not inconsiderable, as it drew away approx one enemy Div from the American area. Lt. Fowles' party had been told that they could expect to be over-run by American Tps in approx 9 days. The party spent 6 weeks waiting to be relieved and on the 27th July 44, they were captured. During this period they did considerable damage by sabotage work to signal & electrical installations and collected valuable information which they passed to Intelligence Channels. Their situation was highly unenviable. During the 3rd week a German Anti-Parachute Coy was specifically detached to hunt them and on occasions came vary alose indeed, as illustrated by the fact that once Lt. Fowles' party and the Germans spent the night at opposite ends of the same field with the germans passing at 20 yards. The mobility of the party was greatly hampered by their having 6 escaped American P.O.Ws of whom one was badly wounded and had to be carried. The party was seldom at any time more than 450 yards from germans; in fact, they found greater safety from pursuit in keeping within 200 yds of of different enemy unit HQs. Being 12 within enemy lines they were subjected to constant shell-fire from our own guns. Their endurance was severely taxed by lack of food, as from the 3rd week, their French contacts could only bring food once or twice a week and at that in very limited quantities. They could not cook as it was impossible to light a fire. For the last two weeks they lived chiefly on raw vegetables. Throughout a period of acute nervous and physical strain. Lt. Fowles showed outstanding resourcefulness and audacity. He took part in an ambush which resulted in the destruction of 3 enemy lorries and casualties to the troops therein. Under cover of darkness he organized and conducted sabotage and foraging parties, frequently encountering the enemy. On numerous occasions he entered a farmhouse for food, part of which was occupied by the enemy. The effect of his work & example towards sustaining the moral of his party cannot be over-estimated.

On 17 Jul 44, the party had worked its way NORTH into "No-Man's-Land" and would have gained the American lines had the germans not over-run them in a counter-attack. They were then found in a ditch by an enemy patrol, who threw grenades amongst them, wounding all but two of the party. Lt. Fowles sustained 5 wds but arose & chased the germans until he collapsed. Had it not been for this stroke of misfortune on the 42nd day of them being in enemy lines, Lt. Fowles would have succeeded against overwhelming odds in bringing back his party to the Allied lines. His determination, courage & leadership were highest exemplary value and and quality.

Military Cross : On the night 5/6 June 1944, Lt. POOLE with another officer and 4 men landed by parachute near LE MESNIL - VIGGT just SOUTH of the neck of the CHERBOURG peninsula as part of an operation involving 200 dummy parachutists intended to distract the enemy from the 82nd American Airborne Div. which was "dropping" to the NORTH. German Tps in the area were a Panzer Grendier Div., a S.S. Div and a mixed Bde of Mongolian and Ukrainian Tps. Altho' the work of the party was prejudiced by a mis-timing of their "drop", the success of the operation as a whole was not inconsiderable, as it drew away approx one enemy Div from the American area. Lt. Pooles' party had been told that they could expect to be over-run by American Tps in approx 9 days. The party spent 6 weeks waiting to be relieved and on the 27th July 44, they were captured. During this period they did considerable damage by sabotage work to signal & electrical installations and collected valuable information which they passed to Intelligence Channels. Their situation was highly unenviable. During the 3rd week a German Anti-Parachute Coy was specifically detached to hunt them and on occasions came vary close indeed, as illustrated by the fact that once Lt. Poole's party and the Germans spent the night at opposite ends of the same field with the germans passing at 20 yards. The mobility of the party was greatly hampered by their having 6 escaped American P.O.Ws of whom one was badly wounded and had to be carried. The party was seldom at any time more than 450 yards from germans; in fact, they found greater safety from pursuit in keeping within 200 yds of of different enemy unit HQs. Being 12 within enemy lines they were subjected to constant shell-fire from our own guns. Their endurance was severely taxed by lack of food, as from the 3rd week, their French contacts could only bring food once or twice a week and at that in very limited quantities. They could not cook as it was impossible to light a fire. For the last two weeks they lived chiefly on raw vegetables. Throughout a period of acute nervous and physical strain. Lt. Poole showed outstanding resourcefulness and courage. His coolness and clear mindedness during moments of crisis as well as during the hours of shelling and suspense, sustained the other members of his party incalculably. He carried out numerous sabotage attacks. Upon the 12th day a report was received that two escaped American POW, both unable to walk from wounds and lack of food, were in hiding some 5 miles away. Lt Poole undertook to fetch them and succeeded in doing this despite the hazards of crossing country densely filled with Germans. The effect of his work & example upon his men cannot be over-estimated.

On 17 Jul 44, the party had worked its way NORTH into "No-Man's-Land" and would have gained the American lines had the germans not over-run them in a counter-attack. They were then found in a ditch by an enemy patrol, who threw grenades amongst them, wounding every member of the party except Lt. Poole and one other. The party repelled the enemy patrol after which Lt Poole succeeded in leading & carrying his men 200 yds across "No-Man's Land" to house which necessitated his making several trips across fire-swept ground. He then prepared such defences as his limited resources would permit & made further excursions into "No-man's land" to fetch water for the wounded. The house was finally surrounded and attacked by a german platoon. Had it not been for this stroke of ill-fortune on the 42nd day of their being within enemy lines, Lt. Poole would have succeeded against overwhelming odds in bringing back his party to the Allied lines. His determination, courage & leadership were highest exemplary value and and quality.