Robert Timbrell
Robert Timbrell | |
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Born | February 1, 1920 Operation Dynamo *Battle of the Atlantic |
Awards | Order of Military Merit Distinguished Service Cross Canadian Forces' Decoration |
Later in the war he served on destroyers escorting convoys across the North Atlantic, becoming second in command and then serving on the staff of escort group commanders.
His post-war career saw him command a variety of vessels including the
Early life
Born in
From 1937 served as a Midshipman in the RCN. There was then no naval training in Canada itself, so he was posted to the Royal Navy ships HMS Erebus, HMS Vindictive, HMS Barham, HMS Warspite, and HMS Hood in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic.[1]
Dunkirk
Timbrell was promoted
He was sent to
After fuelling and loading several barrels of fresh water they set off across the English Channel for Dunkirk. Before arriving at the beaches they met a broken down Thames pleasure steamer, crowded with evacuated troops which they immediately towed back to Ramsgate. Setting out once more for the evacuation beaches, this time they reached Dunkirk and started on the evacuation. Then, as Timbrell told CBC in 1980, "On the third or fourth trip we got bombed. We were hit on the fo'csle. I lost about five of the crew and both my anchors snapped. The fuel pipes were severed so both engines died. We drifted up on the beach."[2]
He had succeeded in digging out the propellers and rudder from the sand when a
Back in Ramsgate, in Timbrell's own words, "By then I was an old hand, so I was given four trawlers to add to my fleet. They had come down from Scotland and their old skippers had 20 years' experience – more sea time than I will ever get in my life."[2]
The Guards sergeant, and a few of his men, elected to stay with Llanthony, and had gathered together what they could find by way of weaponry, including
On his final trip to Dunkirk, by which time German troops were already entering the town, he was met on the beach by a drunken British soldier who insisted on paying for his passage home with a case of looted brandy, and who then spent the journey asleep in the wheelhouse of the yacht. Timbrell then returned to Portsmouth in the yacht, by now a shadow of its former elegant self. The funnels riddled with bullet holes, the boats smashed and hull dirty and stained. Disembarking at Portsmouth dockyard, he stopped a civilian bus just outside the gates. Having looked at the dishevelled bunch in front of him, still with their weapons (and brandy), the bus conductor asked, "Are you just back from Dunkirk, sir?" The civilian passengers were still on board as the bus took the military personnel to Whale Island.[1]
Llanthony itself had brought back 280 men, and with the trawlers under his command the total for which Timbrell was responsible was 900 evacuated. Timbrell's DSC was
Remaining war service
Following his Dunkirk experiences he served on HMCS Margaree which was sunk in heavy weather following a collision with a freighter she was escorting. Timbrell survived after spending several hours in a life raft with 20 others in the rough seas of the North Atlantic.[1]
He then served on the destroyers
He was twice mentioned in dispatches, firstly for his part in the destruction of the German submarine U-621 in the Bay of Biscay on August 18, 1944, and then for the sinking of U-984 two days later.[1]
As part of the small corps of professional Canadian naval officers, Timbrell had an important role to play as the RCN expanded from a pre-war strength of just 3,700 to 96,000.
Post-war
In 1946 he married Patricia Jones. He then served successively as
Following these sea commands, he was appointed as vice-commandant of Royal Roads Military College and then attended a staff course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. This in turn was followed by command of the brand new destroyer HMCS St. Laurent.[1]
After two years of command, he was appointed as executive officer of the naval base HMCS Shearwater and then had three years on the staff of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia.[1]
He then returned to sea in command of
Retirement
Following his retirement Timbrell became president of the
He made a final return to Dunkirk in May 2000, as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations. Llanthony had been restored for the occasion, but in the event bad weather meant he could not complete the crossing on his original vessel, so he travelled on the British destroyer, HMS Somerset.[1]
He died on April 11, 2006, and is survived by his widow (Patricia Timbrell née Jones, after nearly 60 years of marriage), their daughter and their grandson, who is following the family naval tradition, by becoming an officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command.[1]
Awards and decorations
Timbrell's personal awards and decorations include the following:
Ribbon | Description | Notes |
Order of Military Merit (CMM) |
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Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) |
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1939–1945 Star |
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Atlantic Star |
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Africa Star |
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Defence Medal (United Kingdom) |
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Canadian Volunteer Service Medal |
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War Medal 1939–1945 with Mentioned in dispatches |
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Canadian Centennial Medal |
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Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD) |
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Rear-Admiral Bob Timbrell". The Telegraph. 27 April 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2006.
- ^ a b c d "Rear Admiral Robert Timbrell". The Guardian. 6 May 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ "No. 34925". The London Gazette. 16 August 1940. p. 5064. Initially incorrectly listed as a bar to the DSC, a correction was issued in "No. 34932". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 August 1940. p. 5218.
- ^ "The Governor General of Canada List". Gouvernment of Canada.
- ^ Distinguished Service Cross: London Gazette of 16 August 1940 (no Canada Gazette). "For good service in the withdrawal of the Allied Armies from the beaches at Dunkirk." He was appointed in command of a commandeered yacht (HMS Llanthony) and brought back over 600 soldiers in six crossings at Dunkirk. The first four trips were unremarkable with 120+ troops being taken back to England each trip. On the fifth trip, a German bomb hit the forecastle killing five crews and severed the fuel line. The crew and army troops created a jetty out of trucks until the tide could lift the ship back into the water. The fuel line was repaired and the yacht returned to England. On the sixth trip, this young officer has four trawlers under his command as well. He had armed the yacht while fixing the fuel line with spare guns from the vehicles left behind and was able to drive off two E-Boats.
- ^ RCN / HMCS Ottawa – Awarded as per Canada Gazette of 20 January 1945 and London Gazette of 5 December 1944. "For services in destroying an enemy submarine on 18th-19th August, 1944."
HMCS Ottawa (II) (River Class Destroyer – H31), HMCS Kootenay, and HMCS Chaudiere sank U-621 in the Bay of Biscay on 18 August 1944. They also sank a second U-Boat, U-984 on 20 August 1944 as well. These actions are described in Chapter 49 of "The Canadian Naval Chronicle 1939 – 1945".
External links
- Canadian history website, collection of obituaries(subscription)
- The Independent newspaper article about Dunkirk 60th anniversary celebrations: subscription required to read the complete article.
- Globe and Mail newspaper article about Timbrell returning to the Llanthony after 60 years.