‘I’d never seen such an armada in my life!’
The story of the tens of thousands of American GIs who trained in Northern Ireland during World War Two is well-known. But less familiar is the story of the flotilla which gathered in Belfast Lough just before D-Day, June 6, 1944 — 30,000 Allied sailors preparing for the biggest military operation in history.
They were part of the Western Naval Task Force, whose role was to support the landings on the Normandy beaches by bombarding enemy positions.
The story of the Task Force is told in So Vast An Armada, a new publication by local historian Ian Wilson, published for the 70th anniversary of D-Day by the Northern Ireland War Memorial.
Most of Mr Wilson's booklet is comprised of vivid personal reminiscences, as in this exclusive extract: It was indeed only years later that the Allied men realised they had been part of history. Many were only 18 or 19, and for a lot of Americans especially, being drafted to the great battleships Texas, Arkansas, and Nevada (with over 2,000 crew each), it even meant their first view of the sea.
As James Conroy of HMS Erebus recalled: “I had never seen so vast an armada of ships. They were anchored on both sides of the lough, facing each other. Many years later, I was reminded of it by hearing what the German General Rommel said when he stood on the French coast, pointing out to sea: a monster is waiting to be unleashed!”
The veterans again and again refer to the warm Ulster hospitality they received. Particularly affected were the Afro-American sailors, who were used to segregation. “For the first time in my life, I was simply a Yank!” recalls one. Such experiences are believed to have speeded up the Civil Rights movement post-war.
And as Allied sailor Charles Cole recalled: “It was at this time I found myself on board USS Texas, a 35,000 ton battleship, anchored near the city of Bangor, Ireland. My name is Charles Frederick Cole. I was born and grew up in Madison, Indiana, a small Midwestern town. Coming from the wide-open spaces I found the size of Ireland to be very interesting. Roadways and streets are more narrow and in many ways the Irish seem to use everything to its fullest advantage. Most of all, I admired the Irish people!” For some local people, the war was the best, not the worst time of their lives! The famous Bangor dance- hall, Caproni’s, ran weekly American dances. Recalled Sadie Cresswell: “At a dance in Caproni’s with my girlfriend, we met the captain of the Nevada, Captain Rhea. He invited us out to the ship for breakfast. Breakfast! That’s the American way of doing things. Anyway we were young and thought it was just great. I remember getting syrup and waffles, not the kind of thing we ever had!”
As Clifford Bygate of HMS Glasgow recalled: “We found the local people very friendly indeed, and were glad that on our return from Normandy, having been hit twice by the Cherbourg coastal batteries, we steamed into Bangor again before our journey round Scotland to the Tyne for a refit. Although I have not returned to Bangor since 1944, I have never forgotten the local people and the lush green hills around the lough. I visited many countries in my naval days, but the memory of Bangor will remain forever
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‘Eisenhower appreciated the part we played’
As the crucial date drew closer, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces, General Dwight D Eisenhower (left), visited Northern Ireland to encourage the forces. He came to Bangor on May 19, 1944.’ (Such An Armada includes rare photographs from the US National Archives of Eisenhower going aboard the fleet to address crews.)
After the war, Eisenhower was fully appreciative of the role Northern Ireland played, and when receiving the Freedom of the City of Belfast, he uttered these words, which today are on a plaque on the pier in Bangor, from where he embarked to go out to the anchored ships: “From here started the long, hard march to Allied victory.”
The Bangor pier was renamed the Eisenhower Pier in a special ceremony in 2005 by the former president's granddaughter, MaryJean Eisenhower.