KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH

Newsletter No. 548
June 2024

NOTICE OF MONTHLY MEETING THIS SATURDAY 8th June,2024

Thursday 6th June 2024, will be the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. On this day in history an Allied fleet of nearly 7 000 vessels landed some 160 000 men on the coast of Normandy in the largest sea-borne invasion in history. Supported by 1 200 aircraft, this would mark the beginning of the end of the Nazi occupation of Europe.

The event will be celebrated on the site in ceremonies hosting the heads and representatives of the European Nations, the UK and USA. Most serving members of the British Royal family including the King and Queen will be involved either in Normandy or in the UK.

The monthly KZN Branch of SAMHS will commemorate the event in both the DDH starter and the main presentation.

Fellow member Charles Whiteing will present “Normandy Cameos” being an illustrated recollection of his visit with former chair Bill Brady to the Normandy battlefields on 6th June 2008. Apart from the official Govt activities the locals celebrate by dressing up, and parading vintage equipment and vehicles.

This will be followed by Phil Everitt, himself a civil engineer, who will give a presentation on the two unique and somewhat controversial Mulberry Harbours, each the size of the Port of Dover.

This incredible undertaking necessitated the conceptual design, testing andconstruction of 2 miles of offshore floating breakwaters, and 146 concrete caissons along with 70 scuttled ships to form some 6 miles long of fixed harbour breakwaters. Finally, a further 6 miles of floating steel piers connected the shore to depth-adjustable steel pierheads, where ships could berth and discharge men and equipment. All of these had to be constructed in secret and towed across the channel beginning the day after D-Day for erection. The presentation will utilise original papers published by the Institution of Civil Engineers UK, after the war as well as numerous other sources.

The starting time is 1.30 for 2.00pm on SATURDAY 8th June,2024.
The venue remains the St Cyprians Church Hall off Umbilo Rd, with secure parking and liquid refreshments available for cash.

Entry is free and open to all, but a donation of R10 for the raffle and R10 for the car guard are requested from all attendees.

NEWSLETTER

May Meeting Report

DURBAN DURING WWII

This was a unique meeting, with only one speaker covering both DDH and Main Talk slots. This was done in order for us to be able to appreciate the prepared work of member Roy Bowman who, for personal reasons, may be departing our shores for Gauteng in the near future.  

The afternoon gave us some intriguing insights into the history of Durban during WWII. His first DDH short talk covered the wrecking of the 6000-ton SS Ovington Court, on Addington Beach during the night of 26/27th November 1940. He covered the efforts of Capt. Harold Yates who, with his tug the T Eriksen, unsuccessfully tried to assist; as well as the heroic and largely unremembered exploits of young Seaman Lance Harbour of the Seaward Defence whose lifesaving efforts from the shore successfully rescued 3 men. After being taken exhausted to hospital, Lance managed to slip out again and assist further with work on the beach! Although most Durbanites who frequent the beach are aware of the wreck, which can still be seen at low tide, few will be aware of the fascinating details of the full story.

This was followed by an excellent and well-illustrated main talk on the Second World War defences of Durban which were erected during the course of the conflict.These ranged from the magnetic loops on the seabed installed in an arc from Umhlanga Rocks to the southern end of the Bluff, to detect vessels especially submarines. These were controlled by ladies of the South African Women’s Auxiliary Naval Service (SWANS), who were occasionally able to descend through the bush for a refreshing dip in the sea! Also covered was the experimental radar site at Avoca farm (now the site of the SABC Tower), and the 2 x 6-inch guns of the Umgeni Battery. The site still exists without guns and in a vandalised state at the foot of Beachway in Durban North.

Moving south we found the Natal Command Building where the clock tower was demolished as it was a landmark from the sea. The building is also still in existence, and although badly vandalised, may now be being renovated. In front are the remains of the original Beach Battery with only the low parapet wall visible in the gardens. Nearby the old Stamford Hill airport buildings are now the HQ of the Queen Nandi Rifles, (prev NMR) housed the SAAF squadrons of Avro Ansons, Airspeed Oxfords and Mohawks amongst others. Moving to the Bluff and harbour entrance Roy discussed the 6- and 9.2-inch guns of the Bluff batteries mostly now removed except the three 9.2-inch guns of the Da Gama battery now in advanced stages of deterioration. The North and South Docks batteries and the harbour entrance anti-submarine nets were also prominent during the war years but almost all evidence has been lost due to the recent harbour widening. The talk finished with illustrations and discussion of the Flying Boat base for PBY Catalinas and later Short Sunderlands and finally with a review of the Axis surface and submarine raiders off local coastline.  

Of great interest was the overflying of Durban by Japanese seaplanes launched from their submarine offshore. This surely was the great motivator for the authorities to implement a black-out regime in Durban.

A truly informative and fascinating afternoon was enjoyed by an audience of 24, comprising 18 members and 6 visitors.

ADVANCE NOTICE OF JULY MEETING

This meeting will take place on Saturday, 13th July, when Roy will complete the final of his three prepared talks with a DDH on 12 Squadron RAF, “The Bridges”. This will be followed by the main by fellow member Donald Davies who will give us his research relating to HMS Birmingham.

That’s all for now folks, see you on Saturday!
Please spread the news of the meetings and encourage others to come along
Regards
Phil

Phil Everitt
Chair KZN Branch SA Military History Society
Cell: 0844371636
Email: everitt@iafrica.com