From Saving Private Ryan to Beeston Marina
US LANDING CRAFT WAS ‘FOUND BY ACCIDENT’ AND HAS BEEN USED IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES STARRING TOM HANKS AND GEORGE CLOONEY
THE story of how a D-day landing craft ended up being moored at Beeston Marina has been revealed.
According to its owner, the boat came from the USS Samuel Chase, which took part in the beach landings at the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War.
PA 26-25 has made a number of film and television appearances over the years, most notably in The Monuments Men with George Clooney and Saving Private Ryan.
The boat is now used for charity boat trips that start at the Marina.
Eddie Smith, 49, who works as a mechanic on the boat at the marina, said its owner had stumbled on the boat while doing construction work.
“It was found essentially by accident. My boss was looking for something to move some equipment over a stretch and he found this in a museum in the Isle of Wight – and it had basically been ignored.
“As far as I know the number on the side means that it came from the USS Samuel Chase and was the 26th boat.”
He added: “It was hired by the company behind The Monuments Men and my gaffer insisted I had to be on the boat but I couldn’t skipper it as I didn’t have a licence.
“But in the end they couldn’t wind the door on the back up, so you can see me in film for a few split seconds helping them out – the shortest of Hollywood careers.
“Before we got hold of the boat it was said to have been used in Saving Private Ryan, but it’s also been on a load of BBC and other documentaries.”
He said it had also been used for reenactments, and loaded up with jeeps and “troops”. But it is now used by the Marina’s Riverside Bar to go on charity tours. Mr Smith added: “Once we were done with using it to move equipment back and forth over the river we started taking some charity runs, collecting some change as we went up the canal.
“I’m very fond of it, it’s so different to anything you see nowadays.
“When I show it to other mechanics in the workshop they’re always confused about how it works. It’s a very strange boat regardless of its past.
“It’s a head turner, it makes people look as it goes past. The history that comes with at as well makes it a lot more interesting; it’s a big mystery.
“When you put it against a bank and drop the door down you get a sense of that history and what it would have been like – pretty scary. “We’ve occasionally had war veterans take trips and that was very moving. There were definitely a few people in tears.”
The charity boat trip can be booked through the Riverside Bar at the Marina. Manager Karen Witts, 54, said that everyone loved the boat.
“We take it out two or three times a year and we’ve had some good on days on it. Whenever we go out in it we get a lot of people looking and taking photos or asking what it is.”
Ms Witt said that money raised by the boat trips had gone to the Peter Le Marchant Trust, which helps provide day trips and holidays on the water to children and adults who experience health and social issues, and also to the children’s ward at the Queens Medical Centre.
She added: “I love it, I never miss out on a trip now. It’s very nostalgic. I’ve been on it for the last seven or eight years. It’s great fun with everyone because most are regulars at the bar.
“It fits around 30 people, and every time it’s a sell-out. Once you’ve been on it once you want to be on there every time.”
It’s a very strange boat regardless of its past. It’s a head turner, it makes people look as it goes past Eddie Smith