blazed for days in Liverpool's Gladstone and Alexandra docks. Throughout Christmas, contingents
of 100 soldiers battled night and day. During one dramatic operation, the men found themselves
wading up to their ankles through molten rubber, which was flowing off a blazing ship. 'There was a
consignment of Wellington boots nearby on the dockside and we grabbed them and put them on to
protect ourselves,' Corporal Prince recalled. To the men's indignation, a punctilious officer warned
them they might face a looting charge. However, reason apparently prevailed and no such charges
materialised.
For many men of the 7th, this period was doubly agonising, because Liverpool and Birkenhead
were their home towns. As they stood guard and saw the night skies ablaze, or fought fires in the
midst of the air raids, they had no way of knowing if their loved ones had become victims.
It was the Blitz that inflicted the battalion's first fatal casualty. As the air raids disrupted civilian
services, the 7th took on postal duties and Private Albert Stones, who volunteered for this work,
was killed by a bomb blast in billets in Bootle on November 21.
As 1941 opened, another period of change dawned for the battalion. At the start of February, the
CO, Colonel Wilson, stepped down because of illness and his second-in-command, Major Plant,
took over.
On February 3, the 200th anniversary of The Loyal Regiment was celebrated with a parade at the
Marine football ground in Blundellsands, followed by a march through Blundellsands, Crosby and
Waterloo. There was a welcome bonus for the men - a half day's holiday.
THE YORKSHIRE COAST
February to November 1941
'There was deep snow and frost and the men were
thrown entirely on their own initiative. It would be difficult
to imagine a harder or more exacting life '
Riding of Yorkshire, to take up positions along the cliff-lined coast either side of Whitby as part of
the Durham and North Riding Division.
Again, the 7th's role was coastal defence, guarding against possible German airborne or seaborne
landings at Whitby or nearby Scarborough. Headquarters was at the Raven Hall Hotel, Ravenscar,
with A and C companies at Cloughton, B Company at Robin Hood's Bay and D at Hayburn Wyke.
'The battalion's role was entirely operational and training was fittted in wherever possible,' wrote
Major Crane. 'However, opportunities for normal training were very few, as for many months the
unit stood to along a 30-mile front with a scale of 50 per cent all night and 100 per cent at dusk and
dawn.'
It was a hard winter. 'There was deep snow and frost and in it the men had to dig trenches, dugouts
and shelters, in which they lived entirely. The men were thrown entirely on their own initiative and for
weeks on end knew no pleasures or entertainment of any sort.
'There were a few casualties from mines and several from exposure. It would be difficult to imagine
a harder or more exacting life. The whole front was patrolled continuously every night and sections
had to dig into the cliffs, which rise to 600ft in places.' During this time the battalion had to acquaint
itself with a variety of weapons, including Vickers and Browning medium machine guns, Lewis guns,
six-pounder Hotchkiss guns and beach and anti-personnel mines. 'Wiring was a wholetime job, with
constant revetting of billets and weapons pits. A French 75mm gun was promised, but - perhaps
fortunately - never materialised.'
As well as patrolling, one of the assignments for a detachment of men in Whitby was raising the
anti-submarine boom in the harbour each morning to let the fishing fleet into the North Sea. Since it
was wound up by hand, it was an arduous task. However, there was compensation - in the form of
fish from the grateful skippers when they returned.
Tragedy struck along the coast on April 5, when two privates were killed by a German sea mine
which exploded after being washed ashore. On the 25th, there was a heavy air raid, with hundreds
of incendiaries and a land mine falling, but no casualties despite a bomb exploding 500 yards from
battalion billets at Fyling Hall.
and Skinningrove. B Company was transferred from Robin Hood's Bay to Larpool Hall, and C
Company moved to Whitby. D Company left Hayburn Wyke to base itself at Upgang and
Sandsend.
Near Whitby on June 4, a German plane crashed, killing three crew. As the month ended, so did
the battalion's long, hard stint along the rugged coast. After being relieved by the 7th South Staffs,
they were transferred some 20 miles north east to Darlington, County Durham, with headquarters at
The Highland Laddie Inn, Haughton le Skerne.
Here in July, intensive training started in movement by motor transport and making swift contact
with the enemy. But at the beginning of August, the battalion again found itself stationed on the coast,
moving back north of its previous positions to the Redcar district, with headquarters at Kirkleatham
Hall.
On the 1st, a training plane made a forced landing on B Company's area and on the 19th, a
German bomb broke 59 windows in their billets. From August 23 to 25, the battalion took part in an
exercise to test co-operation between infantry and artillery in defence of Royal Artillery barracks
and batteries. Coastal defences were strengthened.
September started with a mock attack by Commandos on the battalion headquarters. They
penetrated the grounds, but could not get into the buildings. 'Several weak spots were discovered,'
the war diary noted.
On the fourth, two sea mines exploded on rocks near Redcar Pier, breaking many windows in the
locality. Five days later, the battalion took part in endurance tests and field firing exercises, with B
Company the winner. 'All ranks had a chance to learn the firepower of a company and the sound
that various weapons and projectiles make. The exercises were most realistic - at times, almost too
realistic.'
This note of apprehension had a grim echo on September 15, when Private Sydney Taylor of A
Company was killed as he stepped on an anti-tank mine while out on a working party.
October opened with the battalion undergoing anti-invasion exercises and concentrating on beach
defence - D Company was despatched to guard Grangetown Aerodrome, near Middlesbrough.
Back in Redcar, a German bomber struck on the 21st, causing civilian casualties.