On two occasions in it's history the city of Londonderry has
played a pivotal part in the history of Europe. The first was the ‘great
siege’ of 1689 when, over 105 days, the constitutional future
of the British Isles and of Europe was decided in and around the city.
The second occasion was even more important. In June 1940 the city became
a naval base and was destined to become the Allies’ most important
escort base in the Battle of the Atlantic. Not only did Europe’s
future depend on this base but so also did the political shape of the
post-war world.
Had the Allies lost the Battle of the Atlantic, the Nazi domination
of Europe could not have been broken and Hitler’s dictatorship
would have continued. Winning the Battle of the Atlantic allowed the
western Allies to invade Europe and led to the final defeat of Nazism.
The naval base at Derry – shared by the Royal Navy, the Royal
Canadian Navy and the United States Navy – was vital to the protection
of convoys in the Atlantic and, at one time, 140 Allied escort ships
were based on the Foyle.
The Diamond, Londonderry
Photo courtesy of Richard Doherty
The service population of the city of Londonderry probably exceeded
the pre-war civilian population with over 20,000 Royal Navy personnel,
some 10,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders, over 6,000 Americans and
men from many of the occupied nations to whom were added the soldiers
and airmen defending the city and surrounding area. So important was
the base that the Admiralty pressed for anti-aircraft (AA) defences
that, proportionately, exceeded any other city in the UK, except London.
A massive balloon barrage was added to twenty-eight heavy and twelve
light AA guns, which could be supplemented by the firepower of HMS Foxglove,
the Royal Navy’s AA guardship, and any ships that might have been
in the harbour at the time of a raid.
Marines march out of their Beechill
Base.
Photo courtesy of US Marines.
Hitler’s invasion of Russia saved Derry from destruction in
the winter of 1941–2 and the city’s AA defences remained
untested. But the civilian population carried on a fairly normal life
in spite of rationing and the blackout, the two most obvious signs that
a war was on. Indeed an almost surreal social life supervened with dances,
social functions at which servicemen were guests and even visits to
the skating rink set up by the Canadians. Romances flourished between
local girls and servicemen with many marrying sailors from the Royal
Navy and the US Navy and some marrying Canadians. A large proportion
of children with English fathers at local schools in the 1950s bore
testimony to the number of marriages.
Shipquay Street
Courtesy of Richard Doherty
While Allied servicemen were stationed in Derry many of the city’s
sons and daughters were serving in uniform elsewhere. They served on
ships of the Royal Navy from the Arctic to the Pacific, in tank and
artillery regiments and infantry battalions of the Army from Norway
to Burma and in aircraft of the Royal Air Force in the skies over Europe
and farther afield. The largest proportion – over 500 men –
served in 9th (Londonderry) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, known as the
‘Derry Boys’, which fought in North Africa, the Sudan, Italy
and the UK. Over 250 local men lost their lives on active service, some
of them on ships of the Merchant Navy which sustained Britain throughout
the war.
2425 Battery L'Derry heavy anti
aircraft regiment, Alexandria.
Courtesy of Richard Doherty
While the city was the hub of this activity, outlying areas and other
towns were also affected. Two major airfields were built in the vicinity
of Limavady, one of which, Ballykelly, continued in RAF use until 1971;
both played important parts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Other RAF
airfields, at Eglinton and Maydown, were handed over to the Fleet Air
Arm in May 1943 and became HMS Gannet and HMS Shrike respectively. These
were also key bases in the Battle of the Atlantic with Eglinton playing
a training role and Maydown providing the home base for the Fairey Swordfish
aircraft that operated from the small aircraft carriers that escorted
convoys from 1943 onwards. About 100 Swordfish from two squadrons, one
of which was Dutch, were based at Maydown.
Fleet Air Arm, Eglinton.
Photo courtesy of Nat McGlinchey
The war years were also years of full employment in the
city and the demands of the various bases for workers also provided
employment for people from outlying areas. It is believed that about
1,000 individuals from across the border, principally County Donegal,
worked in the city’s bases. The presence of the Allied navies
on the Foyle had a direct effect on Moville; a tanker was based off
the village to refuel escort ships and many sailors came ashore to spend
time in the village; it was considered that leaving his hat on his ship
meant that a sailor was not in uniform.
Wartime Moville
Photo courtesy of Nat McGlinchey
There was much cross-border movement as civilians and service personnel
took advantage of the availability of meat, butter and other rationed
goods to indulge in a considerable amount of smuggling. Service veterans
of those days even recall sending parcels of meat home to their families
in Great Britain, or reminisce about the steaks they could have in restaurants
across the border where butter was served in ‘dollops’ and
not the thin slivers that wartime Britain witnessed.
Sailors on a US Navy Escort Ship.
Photo courtesy of Richard Doherty
Although the American service presence was short – from January
1942 until August 1944 – memories of the ‘Yanks’ dominate
most accounts of life in the city during the war. In part that was because
the Americans were more colourful than their British and Canadian counterparts,
had more money to spend than the British servicemen and were, of course,
very different. Here was Hollywood come to the streets of a small town.
Its people were bound to be impressed by the sights and the sounds of
the ‘Yanks’ and the children were treated generously with
candy and ice-cream and other treats that were not available in the
wartime United Kingdom.
Almost sixty years later, the memories of the ‘Yanks’ are
still strong but few citizens realise just how important their city
was during the Second World War. Most would be surprised to learn how
vital its role was.
Richard Doherty
September 2004
