| WW2 Landing Barges THOSE WALLOWING BEAUTIES Jim Jarman |
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THOSE WALLOWING BEAUTIES W. D. 'Jim' Jarman First published 1997 by |
A navy navy cloth covered book gilt lettering to spine - NEAR FINE condition. In an unclipped dust wrapper showing very minimal shelf wear - Very Good PLUS condition. 263 pages Weight wrapped < kilo £20.00 + Postage ISBN 1857762606 |
Jacket blurb
D-Day was a logistical achievement of unprecedented complexity. In 1944, with every available naval vessel already committed to the invasion, the task of transporting the hundreds of tons of vehicles, ammunition, fuel, supplies and field weapons across the channel seemed impossible. How could the vital support for the Allied forces be established and maintained?
In 1942, with the possibility of the fall of Stalingrad, demand was growing for a second European front. There was, however, a
serious shortage of landing craft. Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten requisitioned over a thousand Thames barges. Some four hundred were commandeered by the Royal Navy when they were converted, many provided with ramps, armed, and motorized. They were manned by 'volunteers', of whom many were previously Thames lightermen. The sole objective of these unlikely craft was the support of a seaborne invasion.
This book is a valuable historical document, carefully organized and meticulously researched, offering an excellent insight into a little known aspect of the Second World War. The inclusion of the many extracts from veterans' own experiences adds colourful authenticity to the work.
The Book Guild Ltd., 25 High Street,
Lewes, Sussex
ISBN 1 85776 260 6
The author
Jim Jarman was born and bred in the East End of London. During the Second World War he served first in the Home Guard and then enlisted in the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman. Promoted to Midshipman, he joined Combined Operations — Landing Barges in 1943 and was posted to HMS Wildfire III for landing barge ferry duties, and served in a flotilla supporting the Normandy landings. After the war he was First Lieutenant on HMS St Kilda, a trawler attached to a mine sweeping flotilla in Genoa. He left the navy in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant RNVR, joining the Midland Bank. Now retired, he lives in Chichester and frequently sails past the anchorage from which he set sail for Normandy in 1944.
Jacket design by ADRIAN MURRELL
