HISTORY
DARTMOUTH IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR By PHIL sCOBLe
A Moonless Night’s Alright for Raiding: Dartmouth’s Hidden life as a Base for Secret Agents
the base for the sort of clandestine operations that you would expect to see in a spy novel. Men left under the cover of moonless nights to risk their lives throughout the war – and the operations they were engaged in are not only the stuff of Boys’ Own legends, they helped win the conflict for the allies. The nazi invasion of France and the continent affected everyday Britons, especially along the South coast, in a way it is difficult to imagine today. France is now a place most of us have popped across to on holiday on a ferry – but in 1940 it was an enemy land on our doorstep; menacing, hostile and frightening. Just 60 miles away, the enemy
D
uring the second World War, Dartmouth was
their own reconnaissance in the run up to D-Day, giving vital information on coastal defences and troop movements. The Free French Naval
Forces also had a base in the harbour and were also involved in supplying and communicating with the Resistance.
Commandos at work.
slipped out under cover of darkness, often never to return. The Coastal Forces, a division of
the Navy dedicated to protecting shipping and launching raids on nazi bases and assets, had a regional HQ in the Harbour, based at the Royal Dart Hotel. The 15th
Motor Gun Boat Flotilla
weighed on the minds of everyone, not just those involved in the military. Torpedoes were housed at the mouth of the river and everyone knew that if an invasion came, their purpose was to sink the first ship at the harbour’s entrance to hinder other enemy vessels coming in. Wars don’t get much closer to home than this. If this was not enough, after
the nazi occupation of Europe, Dartmouth saw its own invasion: more than 70 boats of varying sizes arrived carrying those escaping the nazi menace. Dartmouth was a busy harbour
during the War: it was a safe stop-off for the supply convoys working to keep Britain and its troops going despite the dangers of sailing in the English Channel and the Atlantic. This provided good cover for covert operations and many men
was moored here and, from 1942 to the end of the war, its contribution to the war effort cannot be underestimated. The flotilla, at considerable risk to its crew members, landed countless
Every movement on the water and getting to land was fraught with risk
agents in France, picked them up if they were lucky enough to complete their mission and return and also helped airmen shot down over the continent to get out. The flotilla was also vital in maintaining communication with resistance movements on the continent and at times was one of only two secure links across the whole of mainland Europe. The MGBs also carried out
The danger of what these forces and individuals undertook is difficult to communicate now – they
risked their lives every time they ventured out of harbour. As the resistance movement became more established, so the German efforts to stop them increased and the risk of capture, torture or death rose in tandem. Every movement on the water and getting to land was fraught with risk: the boats had to ensure they were not visible from the land and as silent as possible, despite also having to make their position clear to those they were rendezvousing with. Many of the French residents who helped them were tortured and sent to the notorious concentration camp at Dachau if captured.
The harbour was also a base for some of the earliest operations of the new ‘Commandos’: a force brought together after a direct order from Churchill to undertake daring raids to gain intelligence, strike fear into the Germans and to disrupt their operations. The ‘Small Raiding Force’ as it was known, was set up to achieve the maximum impact on the morale of the enemy whilst risking little in terms of men and operations – churchill wanted the nazi’s to feel that they were constantly in danger of attack, either from Commando raids or resistance attacks from land.
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