85-628: Rear-Admiral Sir Morgan Charles Morgan-Giles , DSO , OBE , GM , DL (19 June 1914 – 4 May 2013) was a Royal Navy officer , decorated during the Second World War , who later served as a Conservative Member of Parliament . At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former member of the House of Commons . The eldest son of Francis Charles Morgan-Giles OBE, Naval architect and yacht designer, and Ivy Constance Morgan-Giles (née Carus-Wilson), Morgan-Giles' childhood
170-705: A British loss of five aircraft shot down and two crewmen killed. The attack by air and sea was conducted by the Royal Navy , after France had signed armistices with Germany and Italy , coming into effect on 25 June. Of particular significance to the British were the five battleships of the Bretagne and Richelieu classes and the two fast battleships of the Dunkerque class , the second largest force of capital ships in Europe after
255-480: A British scientist, and his wife the former Dorothy Mead-Waldo. He wrote an autobiography entitled The Unforgiving Minute . His son, Rodney Charles Howard Morgan-Giles, married Sarah Jennifer, third daughter of Sir Hereward Wake, 14th Baronet ; they have four sons and a daughter. Morgan-Giles's second daughter, Melita, married Victor Lampson, the third Baron Killearn . Morgan-Giles died aged 98 on 4 May 2013. Rear admiral (Royal Navy) Rear admiral ( RAdm )
340-627: A contingency plan, Operation Catapult, to eliminate the French fleet in mid-June, when it was clear that Philippe Pétain was forming a government with a view to ending the war and it seemed likely that the French fleet might be seized by the Germans. In a speech to Parliament, Churchill repeated that the Armistice of 22 June 1940 was a betrayal of the Allied agreement not to make a separate peace. Churchill said, "What
425-402: A day after four years' good service: "That is not much to give a girl for saying 'Yes, Sir' all day and then 'No, Sir' all night." Yet he opposed Wrens serving on warships because: "woman's eternal role is to create life and nurture it; a fighting man must be prepared to kill. Women do wonderful things for men but combat duty to defend us should not be one of them. Vive la difference." He served in
510-568: A deal might have been done. Lacouture accepted that there was a danger that the French ships might have been captured by German or more likely Italian troops, given the ease with which the British seized French ships in British ports or the Germans seized French ships in Bizerte in Tunisia in November 1942. In 2004, David Brown wrote that foreign opinion was generally favourable to Operation Catapult and that
595-563: A gunboat Rigault de Genouilly ( Louis Georges Emile Frossard [ fr ] ). Admiral James Somerville , commander of Force H , based in Gibraltar , was ordered to deliver an ultimatum to the French, the terms of which were contrary to the German–French armistice. Somerville passed the duty of presenting the ultimatum to a French speaker, Captain Cedric Holland , commander of
680-512: A gunboat" because of the impression that he gave of steaming into action with all guns blazing on behalf of his constituency and also in loyal protection of any perceived threat to the Services. Charles Moore writing in the Spectator regarded his Pro bono publico. No bloody panico utterance to stop a row over Europe as his best contribution to Parliament – a sentence also used by Norman Tebbit about
765-567: A little dinghy for his young son. Due to the war, there was a shortage of good wood, and legend has it that FC Morgan Giles could not find quite what he wanted to finish her off. His wife came home one day to find the best table in the house had mysteriously vanished but the little boat had a new mahogany transom . When the boat was completed (she was called Pip Emma and is now in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth )
850-540: A magazine, the ship sinking with 977 of her crew at 6:09 p.m. After thirty salvoes, the French ships ceased fire; Force H altered course to avoid return fire from the French coastal forts but Provence was badly damaged by several hits, Dunkerque was hit by three shells, severely damaged and run aground to avoid sinking, the destroyer Mogador lost its stern and two other destroyers were damaged; their crews running them aground to prevent them from sinking. Four French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighters arrived, outnumbering
935-557: A matter of honour rather than see them fall into German or Italian hands. The results of the attack were the opposite of what the British intended because it had sunk or put out of action very little of the French fleet, rather than ensure that the fleet was neutralised; prompted French ships that had been dispersed to remote bases in French North Africa, where they were beyond the reach of the Axis, to concentrate at Toulon, where they formed
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#17330941270201020-511: A powerful striking force and were in far greater danger of seizure by Axis forces. The attack united the French Navy and French people in hostility to the British. The British lost access to the French Empire and French leaders other than Charles de Gaulle and an undeclared Anglo-French conflict over the next few months made the British strategic situation worse. Melton called it a "myth" that
1105-501: A ruthless foe; and in his mind the American reaction to our attack on the French fleet in Oran was of the first importance". On 4 July, Roosevelt told the French ambassador that he would have done the same. Jean Lacouture , in a biography of De Gaulle, blamed the tragedy mainly on miscommunication; if Darlan had been in contact on the day or if Somerville had possessed a more diplomatic character,
1190-469: A small night attack on 5 July, when many bombs landed in the sea. The British believed that the damage inflicted on Dunkerque and Provence was not serious and on the morning of 8 July raided Mers-el-Kébir again in Operation Lever, with Swordfish aircraft from Ark Royal . A torpedo hit the patrol boat Terre-Neuve , moored alongside Dunkerque , full of depth charges. Terre-Neuve quickly sank and
1275-623: Is a flag officer rank of the Royal Navy . It is immediately superior to commodore and is subordinate to vice admiral . It is a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is major-general ; and in the Royal Air Force it is air vice-marshal . The rank originated in the 17th century, in the days of naval sailing squadrons when each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head. The admiral would command from
1360-796: Is one thing, war is another". As sceptics had warned, there were also complications with the French empire; when French colonial forces defeated de Gaulle's Free French Forces at the Battle of Dakar in September 1940, Germany responded by permitting Vichy France to maintain its remaining ships armed, rather than demobilised. On 24 September Gibraltar was bombed by sixty Vichy French aircraft which dropped 45 long tons (50 short tons; 46 t) of bombs and that night, 81 bombers dropped 60 long tons (67 short tons; 61 t) of bombs. The French 2nd Destroyer Division comprising Fougueux , Frondeur , Épée and Fleuret had sailed from Casablanca on 24 September and in
1445-647: Is the value of that? Ask half a dozen countries; what is the value of such a solemn assurance? ... Finally, the armistice could be voided at any time on any pretext of non-observance...". The French fleet had seen little fighting during the Battle of France and was mostly intact. By tonnage, about 40 per cent was in Toulon , near Marseilles , 40 per cent in French North Africa and 20 per cent in Britain, Alexandria and
1530-845: The Adriatic from Italy to the Dalmatian Islands in support of Tito's partisans . While aboard Wheatland , he commanded a Royal Navy force off the Kvarner Gulf Pag Island in Action of 1 November 1944 against the Kriegsmarine . From 1945 to 1948 Morgan-Giles served in Ceylon , Cape Town , England , and Trieste . In 1950 he became the Captain of HMS Chieftain , then stationed in Malta . In 1953, he
1615-473: The Battle of Oran . In 1941, he was sent to the Suez Canal , where he was in charge of the anti-magnetic mine campaign. In April of that year, he acted as a liaison with the Royal Air Force using Wellington bombers as torpedo bombers. During his time with No. 201 Group RAF at Dekheila he survived three serious aeroplane crashes (one of which he was the sole survivor). Following a period of staff training at
1700-493: The French West Indies . Although Churchill feared the fleet would be used by the Axis, the need to man, maintain and arm the French ships with items that were incompatible with German and Italian equipments made this unlikely. The Kriegsmarine and Benito Mussolini made overtures but Adolf Hitler feared that an attempted take-over would provoke the French fleet into defecting to the British. Churchill and Hitler viewed
1785-518: The House of Commons until 1979, when he stood down and was succeeded by John Browne . In 1971, hearing that his beloved HMS Belfast was due to be scrapped, Morgan-Giles started "Operation Sea Horse", which had the object of forming the "HMS Belfast Trust", and saving the Belfast by transforming her into a museum. The Belfast became part of the Imperial War Museum in 1978. Morgan-Giles
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#17330941270201870-687: The Royal Naval College, Greenwich , Morgan-Giles was then sent to the Far East as Staff Officer Operations of Force W. There he accepted the Japanese surrender of Thailand . Morgan-Giles was awarded the George Medal for "gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" during bomb and mine disposal work while serving at HMS Nile , the naval base at Ras el-Tin Point, Alexandria. Morgan-Giles had been sent to help clear
1955-582: The United Kingdom on 8 July. French aircraft retaliated by bombing Gibraltar and French ships exchanged fire several times with British ships, before a tacit truce was observed in the western Mediterranean. On 27 November 1942, after the beginning of Operation Torch , the Allied invasion of French North Africa, the French Navy foiled Case Anton , a German and Italian operation to capture its ships at Toulon, by scuttling them . In 1997, Martin Thomas wrote that
2040-399: The battlecruiser HMS Hood , the battleships HMS Valiant and Resolution , the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and an escort of cruisers and destroyers. The British had freedom of manoeuvre, while the French fleet was anchored in a narrow harbour, its crews not expecting an attack. The British capital ships had 15 in (380 mm) guns and fired a heavier broadside than
2125-464: The "ruthlessness of the captains and pirates of the C16th". In 2015, George Melton offered a dissenting opinion, and argued that much of the historiography of the attack represented a "Churchillian perspective" that ignored how the British attack on Mers el-Kébir had been a "tactical failure". Melton wrote that the attack was unnecessary, because the French Navy had pledged and planned to scuttle its ships as
2210-753: The 2nd Battleship Division, Rear-Admiral Jacques Bouxin [ fr ] , embarked) and Bretagne (Captain Le Pivain [ fr ] ), the newer Force de Raid battleships Dunkerque (Captain Barois [ fr ] ) and Strasbourg (Captain Louis Collinet [ fr ] ), the seaplane tender Commandant Teste (Captain Lemaire), a flotilla of six destroyers comprising Mogador , Volta , Tigre , Lynx , Kersaint and Le Terrible (Rear-Admiral Émile-Marie Lacroix [ fr ] ) and
2295-723: The Admiralty wanted to send him elsewhere, so Fitzroy had to appeal to the top..."you said I could have anyone I want for this mission", he asked Winston Churchill , "and I want Morgan Giles". The prime minister agreed, over-ruled the Second Sea Lord, and Morgan joined Fitzroy in Cairo, and was promoted to Acting Lieutenant-Commander. Morgan-Giles became the Senior Naval Officer, based in Vis , in charge of running boats with guns and supplies across
2380-622: The Atlantic and communications with the rest of the British Empire . In Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Armistice terms, the German government "solemnly and firmly declared that it had no intention of making demands regarding the French fleet during the peace negotiations" and there were similar terms in the armistice with Italy but they were considered by the British to be no guarantee of the neutralisation of
2465-704: The Atlantic approaches open, which made the risk of the Germans or the Italians seizing the French capital ships too great. Because the fleet in Toulon was well guarded by shore artillery, the Royal Navy decided to attack the base in North Africa. The most powerful group of French warships was commanded by Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul at Mers-el-Kébir in French Algeria , comprising the old battleships Provence (commander of
2550-807: The Baltic. He was then appointed to the Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager before serving in HMS ; Cumberland , Suffolk and Cornwall on the China Station before returning home to join the torpedo school at HMS Vernon . He was promoted to Torpedo Specialist in 1938. During the Second World War, Morgan-Giles served on HMS Arethusa during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, HMS Emerald escorting Atlantic convoys, and took part in
2635-487: The British Skuas. Another nine French fighters were spotted at 7:10 p.m. and a dogfight ensued in which a Curtiss H-75 and an M.S.406 were damaged. Three more Curtiss fighters appeared and there was another engagement. Strasbourg , three destroyers and one gunboat managed to avoid the mines and escape from the port under attack from a flight of Swordfish bombers from Ark Royal . The French ships shot down two Swordfish,
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2720-547: The British attack at Mers-el Kébir remains controversial but that other historians have written that it demonstrated to the world that Britain would fight on. After the Fall of France in 1940 and the armistice between France and Nazi Germany , the British War Cabinet was apprehensive about control over the French navy. The French and German navies combined could alter the balance of power at sea, threatening British imports over
2805-461: The French Fleet now at Mers el Kebir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives; (a) Sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans. (b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port. The reduced crews would be repatriated at the earliest moment. If either of these courses is adopted by you we will restore your ships to France at
2890-601: The French at Oran by attacking British ships, Hood in particular. After receiving orders on 3 July to form a north–south patrol line in the Mediterranean for a distance of 20 nmi (37 km; 23 mi) east of Alboran Island and south of Cape Palos during the night of 6/7 July to protect Oran and attack British ships, the French submarines Archimède , Le Conquérant and L'Espoir got underway from Toulon at 2:45 a.m. on 4 July bound for their patrol area at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). No contacts were made and
2975-728: The French battleships. On 3 July, before negotiations were formally terminated, six British Fairey Swordfish planes escorted by three Blackburn Skuas from Ark Royal dropped five magnetic mines in the harbour exit. The force was intercepted by five French Curtiss H-75 fighters which shot down a Skua into the sea with the loss of its two crew, the only British fatalities in the action. The six La Galissonnière -class cruisers at Algiers were summoned but did not reach Mers-El-Kebir in time. The Préfet Maritime at Toulon ordered two submarine groups, A, consisting of L'Espoir , Le Conquérant and Archimède and B, comprising Iris , Vénus , Sultane , Sirène , Pallas and Cérès to assist
3060-621: The French fleet. On 24 June, Darlan assured Winston Churchill against such a possibility. Churchill ordered that a demand be made that the French Navy ( Marine nationale ) should either join with the Royal Navy or be neutralised in a manner guaranteed to prevent the ships falling into Axis hands. At Italian suggestion, the armistice terms were amended to permit the French fleet temporarily to stay in North African ports, where they might be seized by Italian troops from Libya. The British made
3145-533: The French government that the alternatives were internment or battle but omitted the option of sailing to the French West Indies. Removing the fleet to US waters had formed part of the orders given by Darlan to Gensoul in the event that a foreign power should attempt to seize his ships. Along with French vessels in metropolitan ports, some had sailed to ports in Britain or to Alexandria in Egypt . Operation Catapult
3230-415: The French naval force from Algiers, four heavy cruisers, four light cruisers and several destroyers, was steering to rendezvous with Strasbourg . Without Valiant and Resolution , Somerville concluded that by the time his ships came within gunnery range of Strasbourg , shortly after 9:00 p.m., he would be outnumbered by the combined French force and ill deployed for a night engagement, silhouetted against
3315-443: The French ship replied with nineteen 5.5 in (14 cm) shells before being hit by Enterprise and withdrawing. A British aircraft had sighted Danaé and Eurydice shortly before 8:00 p.m. and dropped illuminated floats to guide a British destroyer to them. The destroyer depth-charged the two submarines but they escaped without damage. Valiant and Resolution fell behind Hood . Somerville had received information that
3400-451: The French troops had disembarked, the ships were interned until the Commodore agreed to take away the evacuees, who, reflecting tensions generated after the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, were escorted to the ships at bayonet point, minus many of their possessions. On 19 November 1942, the Germans tried to capture the French fleet based at Toulon, against the armistice terms, as part of Case Anton,
3485-450: The Mediterranean, confine the Italian fleet to the Mediterranean and to blockade ports still under French control. The Admiralty was against an attack on the French fleet in case the ships were not sufficiently damaged, France declared war and the French colonies would be less likely to defect. The Royal Navy lacked the ships permanently to blockade the French naval bases in North Africa and keep
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3570-634: The Royal Navy in January 1964, Morgan-Giles stood for Parliament for the Conservative Party in his local constituency of Winchester at a by-election following the resignation of Peter Smithers (who had been appointed to the Council of Europe) and was elected a Member of Parliament on 14 May 1964. He is known to have regarded being an MP as a retirement occupation. His House of Commons speeches were often greeted by affectionate Labour Party cries of "Send
3655-459: The Royal Navy. The British War Cabinet feared that the ships would fall into Axis hands. Admiral François Darlan , commander of the French Navy, assured the British, even after the French armistices with Germany and Italy that the fleet would remain under French control. Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet judged that the risk was too great. Darlan repeatedly refused British requests to place
3740-460: The attack had demonstrated British resolve to the United States, something British decision-makers did not discuss prior to the attack and which he wrote could have been more convincingly achieved through an attack on the Italian fleet or a large bombing raid against Germany. Melton suggested that Churchill's anger at France for its capitulation to the Axis and his "obsession" with seizing or sinking
3825-905: The autumn, the French sent a convoy through the Strait of Gibraltar untroubled, a state of affairs that rarely changed during the Mediterranean Campaign. In early June 1940, about 13,500 civilians had been evacuated from Gibraltar to Casablanca in French Morocco . Following the capitulation of the French to the Germans and the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, the Vichy government found their presence an embarrassment. Later in June, 15 British cargo vessels arrived in Casablanca under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been rescued from Dunkirk. Once
3910-427: The boats were recalled on 5 July when it was discovered that the British ships had returned to Gibraltar. Gensoul ordered the four submarines at Oran, Ariane , Danaé , Diane and Eurydice to take post off the port. The orders to the four French submarines were quickly decoded and London ordered Somerville to act; the boats were unable to close with Force H. Churchill ordered the British ships to open fire at
3995-444: The carrier HMS Ark Royal . Gensoul was affronted that negotiations were being conducted by a less-senior officer and sent his lieutenant, Bernard Dufay, which led to much delay and confusion. As the negotiations continued, it became clear that agreement was unlikely. The French made preparations for action and 42 aircraft were armed and made ready for take-off. Darlan was at home on 3 July and could not be contacted; Gensoul told
4080-472: The casualties from the mustard gas would likely have been extensive. Morgan-Giles later served with the Tobruk Garrison , in Tobruk during the Siege of Tobruk , where he 'swam' a mine out of the harbour, before being made the liaison officer in Le Fantasque , and after that the Italian destroyer Legionario . As an Acting Lieutenant Commander, he joined Sir Fitzroy Maclean's mission to Yugoslavia in October 1943, at his particular request. Initially
4165-412: The centre vessel and direct the activities of the squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval battle. In the rear of the naval squadron, a third admiral would command the remaining ships and, as this section of the squadron was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of the rear would typically be
4250-434: The coast of Devon and Cornwall. Morgan-Giles was educated at Clifton College . At Clifton he demonstrated his ability to work the system as he wanted to crew for his father in a sailing race, but was told that instead he must attend a cricket match between Clifton College and Tonbridge School . So he took the train to London , passed through the turnstile at Lord's Cricket Ground ; straight in, round and out again, and took
4335-410: The conclusion of the war or pay full compensation if they are damaged meanwhile. (c) Alternatively, if you feel bound to stipulate that your ships should not be used against the Germans lest they break the Armistice , then sail them with us with reduced crews to some French port in the West Indies — Martinique for instance—where they can be demilitarised to our satisfaction, or perhaps be entrusted to
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#17330941270204420-587: The crews being rescued by the destroyer Wrestler ; a French flying boat also bombed a British destroyer. As the British bombing had little effect, at 6:43 p.m. Somerville ordered his ships to pursue. The French aviso Rigault de Genouilly , en route to Oran, met Force H at 7:33 p.m. and steamed towards Hood , only to come under fire from the light cruisers Arethusa and Enterprise at 12,000 and 18,000 yd (5.9 and 8.9 nmi; 6.8 and 10.2 mi; 11 and 16 km) respectively. Hood also fired several 15-inch shells at Rigault de Genouilly and
4505-402: The demonstration of British determination had succeeded. In 2010, Colin Smith wrote that the attack was the first big triumph of Churchill's premiership and that they had been received favourably by the governments of the US, Turkey, Greece and Brazil, with condemnation from Spain and Switzerland. Count Galeazzo Ciano , the Italian foreign minister, made a diary entry that the Royal Navy retained
4590-481: The depth charges went off, causing serious damage to the battleship. Another attack took place on 8 July, when aircraft from the carrier Hermes attacked the Richelieu at Dakar , seriously damaging it. When word of the events at Dakar reached Oran, the French submarines Ariane , Diane , and Eurydice got back underway on 8 July to form a patrol line off Cape Falcon, Algeria, in case of another British attack on Oran, which did not occur. Churchill wrote, "This
4675-473: The early hours of 25 September encountered the destroyer Hotspur patrolling off Gibraltar. Épée opened fire but its 13 cm (5.1 in) guns broke down after firing fourteen shells, Fleuret did not open fire because it could not get on target and the other French destroyers fired six shots between them. Hotspur returned fire but this was not reported by the French ships. On 27 September Force H stayed at sea after receiving "a charming message [that]
4760-471: The end, and if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our Ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany. Should we conquer we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France. For this purpose we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have instructed me to demand that
4845-415: The evening twilight, giving an advantage to the French gunners. At 8:20 p.m. , when Hood had closed to 25 nmi (46 km; 29 mi) from Strasbourg , Somerville called off the pursuit. After another ineffective Swordfish attack at 8:55 p.m., Strasbourg reached Toulon on 4 July. The French cruiser force from Algiers missed its rendezvous with Strasbourg but arrived at Toulon on 4 July. During
4930-458: The fleet as a potential threat; the French leaders used the fleet (and the possibility of its rejoining the Allies) as a bargaining counter against the Germans to keep them out of unoccupied France (the zone libre ) and French North Africa. The armistice was contingent on the French right to man their vessels and the French Navy Minister, Admiral François Darlan , had ordered the Atlantic fleet to Toulon and to demobilise, with orders to scuttle
5015-466: The fleet in British custody or move it to the French West Indies , out of German reach. The British attack was condemned in France as an attack on a neutral nation and resentment festered for years over what was considered betrayal by a former ally. The French thought that their assurances were honourable and should have been sufficient. Marshal Philippe Pétain , who was appointed the Prime Minister of France on 16 June, severed diplomatic relations with
5100-448: The four modern French battleships ( Jean Bart , Richelieu , Dunkerque , and Strasbourg ) was largely responsible for the attack. Following the 3 July operation, Darlan ordered the French fleet to attack Royal Navy ships wherever possible; Pétain and his foreign minister Paul Baudouin over-ruled the order the next day. Military retaliation was conducted by ineffective air raids on Gibraltar but Baudouin noted, "the attack on our fleet
5185-472: The in-fighting in the Conservative party during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum . Once, while still in hospital after a riding accident, Morgan-Giles wrote to James Callaghan , the then prime minister, of "the cold, silent, teeth-clenched fury" among servicemen about a pay review board, which "did not seem to know, in blunt nautical language, whether it's on its arse or elbow". He complained that Wrens only received threepence extra
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#17330941270205270-444: The military occupation of Vichy France by Germany. All ships of any military value were scuttled by the French before the arrival of German troops, notably Dunkerque , Strasbourg and seven (four heavy and three light) modern cruisers. For many in the French Navy this was a final proof that there had never been a question of their ships ending up in German hands and that the British action at Mers-el-Kébir had been unnecessary. Darlan
5355-422: The most junior of the squadron admirals. This has survived into the modern age, with the rank of rear admiral the most junior of the admiralty ranks of many navies. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined career path . The command flags flown by a rear-admiral changed a number of times during this period. The Royal Navy rank of rear admiral should be distinguished from
5440-410: The naval base at Mers El Kébir , near Oran , on the coast of French Algeria . The attack was the main part of Operation Catapult , a British plan to neutralise or destroy French ships to prevent them from falling into German hands after the Allied defeat in the Battle of France . The British bombardment of the base killed 1,297 French servicemen, sank a battleship and damaged five other ships, for
5525-460: The night of 3/4 July 1940, Ariane , Danaé , Diane and Eurydice patrolled on the surface off Oran in a north–south patrol line and they remained on patrol off Oran until 8:00 p.m. on 4 July, before returning to Oran. On 4 July, the British submarine Pandora encountered Rigault de Genouilly off the Algerian coast, mistook her for a cruiser and sank her. The French Air Force ( Armée de l'Air ) made reprisal raids on Gibraltar, including
5610-425: The office of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom , which is an Admiralty position usually held by a senior (and possibly retired) "full" admiral. Attack on Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1941 1942 1944 1945 The attack on Mers-el-Kébir ( Battle of Mers-el-Kébir ) on 3 July 1940, during the Second World War , was a British naval attack on French Navy ships at
5695-407: The old battleships Paris and Courbet , the destroyers Le Triomphant and Léopard , eight torpedo boats , five submarines and a number of lesser ships. The French squadron in Alexandria (Admiral René-Émile Godfroy ) including the battleship Lorraine , the heavy cruiser Suffren and three modern light cruisers , was neutralised by local agreement. The British force comprised
5780-400: The old battleship Lorraine and four cruisers, were blockaded by the British on 3 July and offered the same terms as at Mers-el-Kébir. After delicate negotiations, conducted on the part of the British by Admiral Andrew Cunningham , Godfroy agreed on 7 July to disarm his fleet and stay in port until the end of the war. Some sailors joined the Free French while others were repatriated to France;
5865-453: The same time and the British commenced at 5:57 p.m. from 17,500 yd (8.6 nmi; 9.9 mi; 16.0 km). Provence began its reply within 90 seconds of the British opening fire but the main armament of Dunkerque and Strasbourg was forward of the superstructure and could not immediately be brought to bear because they were tied up at the mole, with their sterns facing the sea. The third British salvo hit Bretagne and detonated
5950-435: The ships at Alexandria went on to be used by the Free French after May 1943. The British attacks on French vessels in port increased tension between Churchill and Charles de Gaulle , who was recognised by the British as the leader of the Free French Forces on 28 June 1940. Eric Seal , Churchill's principal private secretary , wrote "[Churchill] was convinced that the Americans were impressed by ruthlessness in dealing with
6035-483: The ships from the harbour as quickly as possible, because they were loaded with explosive and ammunition, and (although unknown at the time) mustard gas . Whilst on board HMS Zetland , helping to get move the ship out of the harbour to minimise losses, a bomb struck a nearby ammunition ship, and he was hurled the length of the deck, but was uninjured amongst the wreckage and fire. He was nevertheless able to climb onto an American Liberty ship , SS Lyman Abbott that
6120-413: The ships if the Germans tried to take them. The British tried to persuade the French authorities in North Africa to continue the war or to hand over the fleet to British control. A British admiral visited Oran on 24 June, and Duff Cooper , Minister of Information , visited Casablanca on 27 June. The French Atlantic ports were in German hands and the British needed to keep the German surface fleet out of
6205-414: The three-year-old Morgan was placed in her and launched out to sea. This started off his lifelong passion for boats and the sea. As a child Morgan-Giles' family would spend their Easter holidays at Swallerton Gate on Dartmoor . In 1928, when he was 14 he managed to save enough pocket money to buy a Douglas flat-twin motorbike for £2, which was also 14 years old. In addition to this form of transport, he
6290-621: The train down to Ryde , on the Isle of Wight , where father and son entered the race, and won; this was the Prince of Wales Cup, one of the most prestigious National dinghy races of the year. Morgan-Giles joined the China Fleet as a midshipman at 18 in 1932, serving on a variety of ships, including Yangtze river patrol boats. He first sailed in the training cruiser HMS Frobisher to the West Indies and
6375-621: The war and rallied the British Conservative Party around Churchill ( Neville Chamberlain , Churchill's predecessor as prime minister, was still party leader). The British action showed the world that defeat in France had not reduced the determination of the government to fight on and ambassadors in Mediterranean countries reported favourable reactions. The French ships in Alexandria under the command of Admiral René-Emile Godfroy , including
6460-449: The whole of the Toulon fleet was coming out to have a scrap with us" but the two navies adhered to a tacit understanding that the British did not attack more powerful French forces at sea or ships in port but intercepted other French ships, Though British commanders had precise instructions regarding the interception of French shipping, discretion might prove the better part of valour if Vichy escorts were liable to inflict serious loss. In
6545-664: Was Prime Warden of the Shipwrights' Company 1987–88. He had farming interests in Hampshire and New South Wales . Morgan-Giles was Mentioned in Despatches once in 1942, twice in 1944, and once more in 1945. He received the George Medal in 1941, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1944 and advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1944, and
6630-491: Was an attempt to take these ships under British control or destroy them. The French ships berthed in Plymouth and Portsmouth were boarded without warning on the night of 3 July. The submarine Surcouf , the largest in the world, had been at Plymouth for the last month. The crew resisted a boarding party and three Royal Navy personnel, including two officers, were killed, along with a French sailor. Other ships captured included
6715-685: Was awarded a Distinguished Service Order in 1945. Morgan-Giles was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1985 New Year Honours List for political services, and was made Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire in 1983. He also was awarded the Order of the Partisan Star ( Yugoslavia ) by Josip Broz Tito . Morgan-Giles married twice (both wives predeceasing him) and had six children by his first wife, Pamela Bushell, daughter of P.H. Bushell of Darling Point, Sydney, whom he married in 1946. He married secondly in 1968 Marigold Katherine Steel, daughter of Dr Percy Lowe OBE,
6800-516: Was blocking the harbour exit. Once aboard, he found not a single man alive, and no power, therefore no method of weighing her anchor. He, and two other men that had joined him, were therefore forced to tamp explosive into the anchor chain, light the fuse and take cover. The explosion severed the cable, and they eventually managed to get the ship towed out of the way. It emerged after the war that Lyman Abbott had also had mustard gas on board. Had Lyman Abbott been hit whilst still inside Bari's harbour,
6885-405: Was lent a little motor boat, one of the first in-board motor boats, originally designed and built by his father, called Shush (also in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall ) in which he spent nearly every waking hour, buzzing about on the river. His father built a succession of sailing boats for Morgan, and his brothers and sister, to race, which they did with great success at regattas up and down
6970-589: Was promoted to Chief of Naval Intelligence, Far East. He became Captain (D) of the Dartmouth Training Squadron in 1957, then moved to HMS Vernon Torpedo School in 1958. He took command as Captain of HMS Belfast , then Flagship of the Far East Fleet , in 1961. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1963, the same year he became President of Royal Naval College, Greenwich . He left the Royal Navy in January 1964 to stand for Parliament. Retiring from
7055-533: Was spent idyllically "messing around with boats" at Teignmouth , where his father had his boatyard. The family lived across the river at Shaldon , necessitating a short row across the Teign River several times a day. Morgan-Giles said that he could "row before he could walk". Morgan-Giles' first memory was of his father (on sick leave from the Royal Navy with petrol poisoning during the First World War ) building
7140-468: Was the most hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned." Relations between Britain and France were severely strained for some time and the Germans enjoyed a propaganda coup. Somerville said that it was "the biggest political blunder of modern times and will rouse the whole world against us ... we all feel thoroughly ashamed..." The attack revived Anglophobia in France, demonstrated British resolve to continue
7225-450: Was true to his promise in 1940, that French ships would not be allowed to fall into German hands. Godfroy, still in command of the French ships neutralised at Alexandria, remained aloof for a while longer but on 17 May 1943 joined the Allies. It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German enemy. We are determined to fight on until
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