Royal Marines, Irish and Welsh Guards - Operation Harpoon

Andy,
Superb documentary evidence of a little-known operation.
This fits in quite nicely with the 'Dutch struggle 1940' thread currently running.
Well done mate.

Mike

 

Near the Stena Line Ferry-docks is the Fort(tress) Hoek van Holland. Nowadays it is a museum, which contains two diorama's which are related to Op. Harpoon.


The last cabinet meeting at Dutch soil was held at the Fort, before the ministers were evacuaded to England.


British troops in the streets of Hoek van Holland.

 

Just to make the casualties more searchable:

2nd Battalion Irish Guards in Hook of Holland General Cemetery

001 BOLGER T 2717655 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
002 BURKE JT 2717202 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
003 CARROLL P 2717392 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
004 HAYES JW 6654626 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
005 MURPHY T 2719871 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
006 PARKER LR 2717456 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
007 POWER T 2717586 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
008 STEWART JR 2716746 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS

2nd Battalion Irish Guards in Gravenzande General Cemetery

001 STEWART G 2718967 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS

2nd Battalion Welsh Guards in Hook of Holland General Cemetery

001 CORNELIUS AW 2733663 2ND BN 13/05/1940 WELSH GUARDS
002 MEECHEM RAW 2733122 2ND BN 13/05/1940 WELSH GUARDS

For headstone pictures see post No.25

 

Few Commonwealth troops were in the Netherlands during the 1940 invasion by the Germans, but a small force composed of Royal Marines and Irish and Welsh Guards landed at The Hook of Holland on May 12 and 13, to assist in safeguarding the Dutch Government. It was from this port that, on May 13, Queen Wilhelmina left for England on board a British destroyer. Heavy air raids on the small area defended by our forces caused many casualties, and speedily rendered the position untenable without considerable reinforcements. These could not be spared, and on May 14, the force was evacuated and returned to Dover. A portion of the Hook of Holland General Cemetery was set aside by the local authorities for the graves of soldiers killed in action and the first Commonwealth burials were of soldiers killed in the air raids of 13 May 1940.



Name: BOLGER, THOMAS
Initials: T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 26
Date of Death: 14/05/1940
Service No: 2717655
Additional information: Son of Patrick and Mary Bolger; husband of Doris Mary Bolger, of Finchley, Middlesex.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: BURKE, JAMES THOMAS
Initials: J T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 31
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 2717202
Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. James Burke; husband of Lilian Burke, of Cwmparc, Treorchy, Glamorgan.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row. F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

 

Name: CARROLL, PATRICK
Initials: P
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 30
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 2717392
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: HAYES, JAMES WILLIAM
Initials: J W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 24
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 6654626
Additional information: Son of James Morris Hayes and Julia Hayes; stepson of Margaret Hayes, of Notting Hill, London.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

 

Name: CORNELIUS, ARTHUR WILLIAM
Initials: A W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Welsh Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 25
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 2733663
Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. David Thomas Cornelius, of Swansea.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: MEECHEM, REGINALD ALFRED WILLIAM
Initials: R A W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Welsh Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 28
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 2733122
Additional information: Son of Alfred and Florence Meechem; husband of Edith Maud Meechem, of Llandaff North, Glamorgan.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

 

Name: MURPHY, THOMAS
Initials: T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 23
Date of Death: 14/05/1940
Service No: 2719871
Additional information: Son of John and B. Murphy, of Ballyglass, Co. Mayo, Irish Republic.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: PARKER, LEONARD RICHARD
Initials: L R
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Serjeant
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 28
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 2717456
Additional information: Son of Robert and Louise Parker; husband of Rosaline Margaret Parker, of Leicester.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

 

Name: POWER, THOMAS
Initials: T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 27
Date of Death: 13/05/1940
Service No: 2717586
Additional information: Husband of Agnes Teresa Power, of Clapham, London.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: STEWART, JOHN REGINALD
Initials: J R
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Guardsman
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 32
Date of Death: 14/05/1940
Service No: 2716746
Additional information: Son of Thomas Lynn Stewart and Ellen Mary Stewart; husband of Rose Lilian Stewart, of Leytonstone, Essex.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Row F. Coll. grave 58-60.
Cemetery: HOOK OF HOLLAND GENERAL CEMETERY

 

Name: STEWART, GEORGE
Initials: G
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service: Irish Guards
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 19
Date of Death: 14/05/1940
Service No: 2718967
Additional information: Son of George and Mary A. Stewart, of Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Coll. grave.
Cemetery: 's GRAVENZANDE GENERAL CEMETERY

 

Just to make the casualties more searchable:

2nd Battalion Irish Guards

001 BOLGER T 2717655 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
002 BURKE JT 2717202 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
003 CARROLL P 2717392 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
004 HAYES JW 6654626 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
005 MURPHY T 2719871 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
006 PARKER LR 2717456 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
007 POWER T 2717586 2ND BN 13/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS
008 STEWART JR 2716746 2ND BN 14/05/1940 IRISH GUARDS

2nd Battalion Welsh Guards

001 CORNELIUS AW 2733663 2ND BN 13/05/1940 WELSH GUARDS
002 MEECHEM RAW 2733122 2ND BN 13/05/1940 WELSH GUARDS

For headstone pictures see post No.25

I am sorry Drew, I have had not seen your post, because I was posting the CWGC records and pictures of the headstones at the same moment.

 

Thanks to Dianes help:

The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Image Details

 

The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Image Details

View attachment 46125

 

I found this website: De H.M.S. Wild Swan en het verloren goud – Mei 1940 | | Jeroen Appel's BlogJeroen Appel's Blog

It is in Dutch, but it includes some photographs I had not seen before from Hook of Holland and the arrival of the HMS Wild Swan.

 

Well found Pieter and thanks for the translation Di. I think Roy Martin maybe interested in this-I think he was doing some research into the Dutch Gold or Diamonds.

Feel free to post any Ref's to files at Kew