Carol singing around the Christmas tree on the village green. Everyone welcome.
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The Raid on St Nazaire – 27/28 March 1942
Nick Beattie
Truly the Greatest Raid of WWII
This suicidal mission took place at a very low point in the 2nd WW. The almost incredible aim was to destroy a dry dock situated six miles into the River Loire at the very heavily fortified military port of St Nazaire.
This extraordinary story is told by Nick Beattie, who says:
On 26th March 1942 a small flotilla consisting of one small destroyer and eighteen MTB’s, MGB,s and ML’s with 622 sailors and commandos, left Falmouth harbour to travel a somewhat hazardous 300 miles to the mouth of the river Loire in western France. This was a combined service operation with the RAF also involved.
Their objective was to travel six miles up the river, which was the most heavily fortified in Europe, to ram the dock gate at St Nazaire and destroy the dock and port infrastructure. Surely a crazy idea!
This raid is known as ‘The Greatest Raid of All’ and resulted in about 130 gallantry awards including 5 VC’s.
This is the most extraordinary story of bravery and self sacrifice, illustrating what detailed planning and daring to do what was thought impossible can achieve.
I will tell the story of why this was important, how they did it and how successful they were, together with the consequent repercussions of the event.
I am passionate about telling the story and keeping the memory of the participants alive. My father was one of the participants of the raid.
Nick Beattie
President, St Nazaire Society.
You couldn’t make it up!
Top Gun is a 1986 American action film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an article titled “Top Guns”, written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. The film stars Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, with Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt in supporting roles. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Edwards), are given the chance to train at the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.
In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Annual General Meeting
The Gaddesden Society
The Annual General Meeting of The Gaddesden Society will (a) be held in Little Gaddesden Village Hall at 8:15pm before this evening’s talk and (b) be short.
Header image: Barry Callebaut on Flickr