Top secret ‘Cockle’ canoe up for auction
IT was designed for Second World War Special Forces, and marked ‘most secret’, but the rare ‘Cockle’ canoe up for auction in Somerset this month spent more recent years peacefully helping its owner hunt duck on the Somerset Levels.
It is thought that the canoe last saw active service collecting post from a nearby post office during the floods of 2012.
The Cockle Mk 7 light alloy sailing canoe was designed as an oceangoing craft to be carried by submarine, but it is reckoned that in practice most were carried by Catalina or
Sunderland flying boat for service in Ceylon and Burma.
Intriguingly the outriggers were filled with ping pong balls, so that if damaged by enemy guns they would retain their bouyancy.
Holes could be patched with chewing gum.
The example up for auction at Lawrences of Crewkerne on November 18 has been described by Quentin Rees, author of The Cockleshell Canoes British Military Canoes of
World War II as “a rare beast”. It is estimated to fetch between £800 and £1,500.
The Mk7 went into service in 1945, and by around 1954 had been superceded by other models. The father of the vendor was in the army at that time and bought the canoe directly as army surplus. This probably explains why it is a complete original, with all three sections marked with the same military identification number.
The handful of other known Mk 7s do not have matching identity section numbers and have probably been assembled from scrapped craft. This canoe, lot 960 in the sale, is a two-man craft, and comes with its original paddles.
Matthew Denney, Lawrences’ militaria specialist, said: “The history of canoes during the Second World War of this type is best known through the heroic actions of the group of men who have become known as ‘the Cockleshell Heroes’. Much of their use has been blanketed in secrecy for many years. The canoes were of vital importance and the Mark 7 were upgraded from ‘first preference’ to list ‘A’, being primarily used in the Eastern Theatre and South West Pacific.”
The Cockleshell Heroes used an earlier design to launch a night raid on cargo ships in the German-occupied port of Bordeaux.
Mr Rees, author of a definitive book on the Cockleshell Heroes, has offered to share his experience of restoring canoes of this type with the purchaser of the Mk 7.
Mr Denney added: “He also confirms that Mk 7 canoes are a delight to sail, and paddle well – a level of experience which very few living share.”