IN MEMORIAM
MATTHEW HERBISON 'Herbie' MARSHALL
b. 28th December 1924 - d. 15th June 1944
Died in the service of his country aged 19 years
Matthew Herbison Marshall known as ‘Herbie’ was born on 28th December 1924, the second of four sons, to Herbert and Jeannie Marshall of Springwell Street, Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Herbie worked in the Braidwater Spinning Mill as a machine helper but as soon as he turned 18 he enlisted in the Royal Navy and became a steward aboard the frigate HMS Mourne. The ship was employed as an escort for transatlantic convoys and to protect the landings of the Allied armies in France on D-Day, June 6th 1944. On Thursday 15th June, just nine days after the D-Day landings had started, HMS Mourne was torpedoed by German submarine U-767 whilst patrolling off the Lizard in the English Channel. She went down with the loss of 8 officers, 102 men, one other dying later of wounds. With a full complement of 140 men there would have been less than 30 survivors (actual number unconfirmed).
Herbie is commemorated on the War Memorial in the Memorial Park, Galgorm Road, Ballymena and on the Plymouth Naval Memorial - Panel 91, Column 2. His Commonwealth War Graves Commission records can be found on the links at the foot of the page.
HMS MOURNE
A much larger version of this HMS Mourne photograph can be found here
HMS Mourne (K261) was a River class Royal Navy frigate of 1,370 tons, built at Smiths Dock, South Bank, Middlesbrough and commissioned 30th April 1943. On Thursday 15th June, 1944, commanded by Lt Cdr R.S. Holland RNR as part of the 5th Escort Group she was hit and sunk by a Gnat acoustic type torpedo fired from U-767 in the English Channel.
"On the 15th June on a beautiful summers day when the sea surface was like a sheet of glass, the group were on patrol in the usual line abreast formation with the River class frigate H.M.S.Mourne in company a mile on Bickertons port side, when a bridge lookout spotted a wisp of smoke rising from the sea surface some distance ahead, which was a U-Boat using its schnorkell and all ships went to action stations immediately. Mourne was first to make asdic contact but no sooner had she reported when she disappeared in a massive explosion which left nothing but floating wreckage and a few survivors". more info here.
The following is the text of an eyewitness account by Captain Donald MacIntyre in his book - U-BOAT KILLER (1956). The full text can be read online here. More recently published by Cassell Military Paperbacks - ISBN 0-304-35235-7 - and may still be available online (try abebooks.co.uk).
"At first light on the morning of 15th June 1944, a day of glassy calm and hot blue sky, a report came to me of a patch of smoke on the surface of the water some miles ahead of us. It was soon realised that we were probably getting our first sight of a submarine using its 'schnorkel' and unaware that the exhaust gases from its diesel motors were leaving a condensation trail.
The group was quickly re-disposed so as to sweep in a broad line down on to the position where the smoke was last seen and I prayed that the glassy calm conditions and the hot sun would not yet have produced bad asdic conditions as they undoubtedly would as the day wore on.
The possibility of the U-boat striking back with its acoustic torpedoes came to my mind as we approached the enemy. There were two alternative precautions open to me. I could order all ships to stream their CATS—the noise-makers towed astern to divert the acoustic torpedoes away from the propeller noises; or I could order a speed of 7 knots or less, at which speed it was believed that propeller noises were not great enough to actuate the homing device in the torpedo.
The noise of the CATS greatly reduced the efficiency of the asdic, drowning, as it did, any but the loudest echoes. I would never forgive myself if we missed this golden opportunity for the sake of the extra safety they supplied. So, ‘Speed 7 knots’ I ordered, and at this sluggard pace we bore down.
Soon we knew that we must be about in asdic range of the U-boat and excitement became intense. Then came a brief signal from Mourne, stationed a mile on my port side. 'Am in contact. Attacking.' It was the last signal that she ever made. Almost simultaneously, a tremendous explosion shook her and Mourne literally disintegrated under our eyes. Within a few seconds nothing was to be seen of her but some floating wreckage.
On the bridge of Bickerton we were horror-stricken and could not help thinking of our friends whom we had known in the Mourne. But there was no time for sorrow. Immediate action was necessary, for to continue steaming on our present course was perhaps to drive right into the remainder of the U-boat's pattern of torpedoes. Quickly the necessary signals were made to turn the flotilla away from the danger area and then to come back from another direction to hunt the U-boat. As we passed the wreckage of Mourne on our search we could see survivors clinging to wreckage, but it would have been madness to let a ship stop to pick them up and present herself a sitting target. I had to harden my heart for the time being.
For several hours we searched back and forth for the U-boat but no answering 'ping' came on our asdics. The survivors from Mourne were then picked up by the Aylmer who took them back to Plymouth, but never another smell did we get of the submarine.
Although I knew that water conditions in that hot, calm sea were against us, I was nevertheless very crestfallen that one of my group could be picked off and not be avenged. Later, when the survivors were questioned, it was evident that Mourne had fallen victim to an acoustic torpedo for it was actually seen to pass quite slowly up the Mourne’s side and suddenly turn in and hit her square in her fore magazine which exploded and tore the ship to pieces.
The galling part of it was that the group had been steaming at the slow speed which makes a ship immune to the homing capabilities of these GNATS, as they were known, but, on gaining contact, Holland had rung down for attacking speed just as the torpedo was passing and missing him. The increased noise from the propellers as the ship accelerated probably attracted the GNAT and disaster occurred".
The success of U-boat 767 was however to be extremely short-lived -
"On Sunday 18th June just three days after the sinking of HMS Mourne, U-767 was detected by three ships from the British Support Group 14, HM ships Fame, Inconstant, and Havelock. Fame attacked with her Hedgehog, reporting two or three hits at a depth of 95 feet. The Hedgehog was an ahead throwing weapon, firing off 24 under water projectiles which only explode on achieving a hit on their submarine target. Over the next hour the three ships carried out three deliberate depth charge attacks which drove the U Boat to its doom on the sea floor at a depth of 250 feet. From a crew of 50 only one, a stoker, survived. Walter Schmietenknop escaped from a torpedo tube to surface in the midst of the depth charge explosions and was picked up by Fame".
The location of the wreck of HMS Mourne is recorded as 49.35N, 05.30W - Grid BF 2469 a map of which can be found here.
Some technical details of HMS Mourne can be found here and here and general details of River class frigates here and here.
LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
HERBIE MARSHALL
Casualty Details
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Memorial Certificate
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
HMS MOURNE
Letter with picture of Peter Costello and 5 crew members
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/Letters/PeterCostelloaged19lostin.html
Letter with information
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/Letters/FatherwaskilledontheHMSMo.html
Letter with information
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/Letters/RaymondLGoverwasasurvivor.html
Letter with information
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/Letters/JohnArmstrongastoker1stCl.html
U-767
The Discovery of U767
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/U-767Lostandfound.html
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Link to HMS Mourne Casualty List
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