Able Seaman William Alfred Savage

Motor Gunboat 314

Savage was born at 7 Raglan Avenue , off Raglan Road in Smethwick on the 30^th October 1912 with six elder before him.  He was baptised at St Matthew’s Church on 22 November of the same year. His father, James Savage, worked for twenty-seven years for the M & B Brewery, for at least part of that time in the bottling department. The family lived for a time in Birmingham and the 1891 census found the newly married couple at 19 Garbett Street in Ladywood. The 1901 census found them at 2 back 222 Heath Street which was in fact split between Birmingham and Smethwick . James Savage was 33 in 1901 and already working as a Brewer’s Drayman, probably for M & B.

When William Savage started at Cape School in 1917 the Savage family were still at the nearby Raglan Avenue in Cape Hill.  After leaving Cape Hill he followed his father into the bottling department at the M & B Brewery, Cape Hill, in Smethwick and was secretary of the bottling store’s darts club and was also a member of the brewery swimming and water polo teams, with whom he won a number of prizes at the annual galas. Other enthusiasms in his life included cats, weightlifting and the odd pint of his employer’s product! On 27^th March 1937 at St Matthew’s Church in Smethwick he married his childhood sweetheart, Doris Hobbs (19), who had also attended Cape School . The Savage family address now being at 137 Raglan Road . Following his retirement from M&B, James Savage ran a General Stores from this address.

William and Doris set up home at 35 Durban Road , round the corner from Raglan Avenue and the brewery.  He joined up with his elder brother Jack on 18^th December 1939. Savage, C/JX 173910, was posted to Chatham where he trained as a gunner and shortly after he was assigned to MGB 314.  He was promoted to Able Seaman sometime in 1940. One of his shipmates, Ronald William “Bill” Bannister, joined the MGB in 1941, fresh from qualifying as a Petty Officer at the Royal Navy barracks in Devonport. Bannister recalled that:

“We did various channel patrols from Weymouth to Dover , then we would escort two cross-channel ferries. These vessels were commandeered for the war to carry the commando barges for raids in France . They would lie off the coast and we would tow the commando barges in to the French coast and wait for them to do their jobs and then bring them out again. Sometimes they all came out, or some were wounded but sometimes none ever made it back at all. When we came out sometimes the large cross-channel ferries were gone, as they were such big targets, and then we would tow the barges back to Portsmouth . We were then put on clandestine missions dropping off secret agents on the French coast, and bringing back those who had completed their missions”.

During his last leave Savage was waiting to go on the St Nazaire raid. “He had a bad leg”, said niece Jeanne Davis, “And he could have ducked out of the raid but he wanted to go. He would never shirk responsibility”. Wife Doris confirmed that he had suffered from pulled muscles and had indeed declined to use it as an excuse to withdraw from the raid. Jeanne poignantly remembered that:  “It was the tradition in those days to touch the sailors’ collars for good luck and I went to touch Bill’s collar but he wouldn’t let me because he didn’t feel very well”.  As he left to go Savage told his family: “I’ll see you when I come home again”. His shipmate Bill Bannister recalled that everyone on the raid had been instructed to make a Will because they were not expecting many survivors.

The raid, code-named “Operation Chariot”, on German facilities at the French port of St Nazaire on 27^th/ 28^th March 1942 had been planned because St Nazaire was the only dry dock on the Atlantic Coast capable of holding the Tirpitz. This warship, although it rarely ventured out from the Nowegian fjords following the sinking of it’s sister ship “ Bismarck ”, was a constant threat to the Atlantic Convoys which were a vital lifeline for the British Isles .  Destroy St Nazaire and The Tirpitz sphere of damage would be confined to the North Sea area. So it was that on 26^th March 1942 the destroyer HMS Campbeltown and 18 motor gunboats left Falmouth in Cornwall on a mission to destroy the dock. The intention was for the flotilla to sail right up the Loire estuary into the harbour itself. Once there HMS Campbeltown would ram the dock gates and would have it’s consignment of explosives time detonated. The gunboats and the destroyer itself carried a complement of commandos who were to be put ashore with the objectives of destroying other key buildings and causing as much confusion as possible. Surviving commandos were to make their way back to the gunboats for the escape but the cost in human life was expected to be high. Plans for bomber support were abandoned owing to bad weather which increased the risks for the attacking force. In fact as soon as the flotilla entered the estuary it found itself under attack from both sides of the bank, despite this heavy fire the attack was carried out and deemed a success.  The explosion of HMS Campbeltown was the main goal and this was delayed by several hours during which time the Germans had boarded and examined the ship. The eventual explosion shook the whole town, destroying the caisson gate and killing over 100 German soldiers in the process. The Normandie dock was effectively put out of action for ten years.

In all 144 men were killed, 215 were captured, and 271 made it back to England ..  Apart from Savage four other VCs were awarded for actions during the raid.  Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Charles Newman of the Essex Regiment who was attached to the Commandos. Newman led the Commandos on the shore offensive and was taken prisoner for the remainder of the war. Sergeant Thomas Frank Durrant of the Corps of Royal Engineers, also attached to the Commandos, was killed while defending his Motor Launch against a German Destroyer.  Robert Edward Dudley Ryder was Commander of the raid and he was decorated for his inspirational leadership under heavy fire. His skill and courage in escaping with his Motor gun boat, full of wounded and dead men, under intense close fire was also praised. Ryder in fact was on MGB 314 which was the boat on which Savage was killed. Lieutenant-Commander Stephen Halden Beattie of the Royal Navy was commander of HMS Campbeltown itself and was decorated for accomplishing the ramming of the dock gates in the face of overwhelming odds. Beattie was also one of the men captured on the raid.

Savage and his number 2 Frank Smith  were completely exposed on the forward pom pom but kept up a duel with the german shore batteries with coolness and complete disregard for danger.  Gun 63 in a concrete emplacement on the Mole was silenced by Savage who put several shells straight through the slit in the front of the bunker. Savage kept up his fire on other targets before yet again silencing gun 63 after it had been re-manned. At one point Curtis was informed that only three of the men on board were not killed or wounded but Commander Ryder was still concerned as to whether there was anything further could be done to aid the stranded Commandos who had made it ashore. Reluctantly the order was given to retire and make for the open sea. Gordon Holman of the London Evening Standard felt it was at this point that he saw Savage killed but this is unlikely. Instead it was on the desperate flight out of the harbour that Savage was killed.  As MGB314 fled for the open sea and safety Savage kept up a steady fire but the end came when the boat passed Les Morees Tower doing about 24 knots. Here the coastal artillery trained on the escaping boat and on e of the very last salvos caught Savage.

The original intention had been for Savage to be buried at sea but the fleeing British force was under pursuit by the germans and it was also felt Savage should be buried “home “in Falmouth . His body was transferred to one of the two Destroyer escorts along with the survivors aboard MGB 314. The crippled gunboat was then scuttled. In another aweful twist for his family he had been killed the day after his fifth wedding anniversary. Doris Savage received the dreadful news of his death while she was in hospital recovering from an appendix operation.  After leaving hospital Doris Savage obtained a position as conductress with the City Corporation, serving on the Hagley Road bus route.  Savage’s body was brought back to Falmouth in Cornwall and he was buried in the local cemetery. Only his brother Roland was able to make the journey to Falmouth for the funeral.