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Military history of Gibraltar during World War II



In 1943 a British Court of Inquiry investigated the crash of Sikorski's Liberator II AL523, but was unable to determine the probable cause, finding only that it was an accident[29] and the "aircraft became uncontrollable for reasons which cannot be established". A popular theory was insufficient technical maintenance leading to jamming aircraft controls.[30] Despite this finding, the political context of the event, coupled with a variety of curious circumstances, immediately gave rise to speculation that Sikorski's death had been no accident, and may in fact have been the direct result of a Soviet, British or even Polish conspiracy.[31]

Six weeks before the crash, while Sikorski had been at Gibraltar for the first time, en route to his Middle East inspection, a Polish government office in London received a phone call stating that Sikorski had been killed in a crash at Gibraltar; the call had been discounted as a prank, but has since led to speculation. It is often mentioned that two of Sikorski's previous planes had been subject to incidents. The November 30, 1942, forced landing at Montreal, Canada, was suspected to have been caused by sabotage. Another incident might have taken place few months earlier, in March.[31] At Gibraltar, due to the special treatment accorded VIPs, there was uncertainty about who had in fact boarded the plane and about the exact cargo manifest — all leading to uncertainty as to the identity of the bodies recovered from the crash site; some bodies, including that of Sikorski's daughter, Zofia, have never been recovered.[32]

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Aftermath

...a matter so fraught with hysteria and heart burning...
Miles Clifford, Colonial Secretary to the Colonial Office. (July 11, 1944)

The surrender of Italy in September 1943 lifted any possible objections to the return of the evacuees to the Rock.[8] As a result a Resettlement Board was established in November, and at a meeting of the Board on 8 February 1944 repatriation priorities were finally agreed.[8] On 6 April 1944 the first group of 1367 repatriates arrived on the Rock directly from the United Kingdom and on 28 May, the first repatriation party left Madeira, and by the end of 1944 only 520 non-priority evacuees remained on the island.[8]

In London, home-comers were making claims on the evacuees’ wartime accommodation and 500 Gibraltarians were re-evacuated to Scotland and 3,000 to camps in Northern Ireland.[25] Although the Governor, Lt. General Sir Noel Mason-MacFarlane, fought valiantly on behalf of the evacuees and did not accept the lack of accommodation as a sufficient reason for the delays.[25] As late as 1947 there were still 2,000 in Northern Irish camps.[25] The last of the evacuees did not see the Rock again until 1951.[25]

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Notes

I^ Later President of the United States of America.

II^ Originally the Artificer Company during the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783).

III^ British admiral Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope led naval forces in several critical Mediterranean naval battles as Commander-in-Chief. These included the attack on Taranto in 1940, the first carrier-based air attack in history and the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941.

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Citations

  1. ^ The Rock by Warren Tute, publ. by Companion Book Club,. 1958
  2. ^ William G.F. Jackson, The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar, Grendon : Gibraltar Books (1987) 1998
  3. ^ Gibraltar's role in WWII. WW2 People's War. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  4. ^ a b c What life was like on the Rock during the War Years. WW2 People's War. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  5. ^ a b What life was like on the Rock during the War Years. WW2 People's War. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Bond, pp. 97
  7. ^ Bond, pp. 98
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Garcia, pp. 15
  9. ^ GGA, Evacuation 1940: General Mechanics of
  10. ^ Garcia, pp. 16
  11. ^ Garcia, pp. 16
  12. ^ Garcia, pp. 16
  13. ^ Garcia, pp. 16–17
  14. ^ a b c d e The History of RAF Gibraltar. Royal Air Force—Gibraltar. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
  15. ^ a b c Air of Authority—A History of RAF Organisation. Royal Air Force Organisation. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  16. ^ Prior, Dorothy E. (2005). A short History of Loreto in Gibraltar. Gibraltar: DOMA. ISBN 0-9583016-0-3. 
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bond pp. 100–102
  18. ^ a b c d e f Operation Felix: Assault on Gibraltar. Bill Stone. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  19. ^ a b c Naval Assault Units. Commando Supremo. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Operation Tracer" (October 1997). Gibraltar Magazine. 
  21. ^ Backwaters of history—Operation Tracer. The Poor Mouth. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.
  22. ^ Operation Tracer—Stay Behind Cave. discoverGibraltar.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
  23. ^ Ulsterman unravels mystery history of wartime Gibraltar cave operation. The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Address by the Hon P.R. Caruana QC on the occasion of a plaque unveiling ceremony to commemorate 'Operation Torch'. Government of Gibraltar. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  25. ^ a b c d e Bond, pp. 100
  26. ^ a b c The Great Siege Tunnels. Government of Gibraltar. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Real History and the Death of General Sikorski. The Times. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  28. ^ a b c "General Sikorski" . Cathedral of Saint Mary the Crowned. 
  29. ^ Stanczyk, Zbigniew L., "Tajemnica gen. Sikorskiego", Przegląd Polski Online", 7 December 2002, in Polish, retrieved July 31, 2007
  30. ^ (Polish) Various authors. Biuletyn „Kombatant” nr specjalny (148) czerwiec 2003 Special Edition of Kombatant Bulletin No.148 6/2003 on the occasion of the Year of General Sikorski. Official publication of the Polish government Agency of Combatants and Repressed
  31. ^ a b 'Polish soldier's 'fishy' sabotage tale'. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  32. ^ (Polish) Baliszewski, Dawid, "Bransoletka Zofii" ("Zofia's Bracelet"), Tygodnik Wprost, no. 1152 (December 31, 2004), retrieved July 31, 2007.

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References

  • Tute, Warren (1958). The Rock. Watford, Herts: Companion Book Club. 
  • Garcia, Joseph J (1994). Gibraltar: The making of a people; The modern political history of Gibraltar and its people. Gibraltar: Mediterranean SUN Publishing Co. Ltd.,. 
  • Bond, Peter (2003). "The Third Century 1904-2004", 300 Years of British Gibraltar, 1704-2004. Gibraltar: Peter-Tan Publishing Co.. 
  • Prior, Dorothy E. (2005). A short History of Loreto in Gibraltar. Gibraltar: DOMA. ISBN 0-9583016-0-3. 
  • "Operation Tracer" (October 1997). Gibraltar Magazine. 
  • British Possessions in the Mediterranean, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1945 pp.438-439 (on events of 1944)
  • Gibraltar, in : Americana Annual 1940 p.389, 1943 p.318, 1944 p.303, 1945 p.321, 1946 pp.322-323
  • William G.F. Jackson, The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar, Grendon : Gibraltar Books (1987) 1998
  • Gibraltar, in : New International Year Book, Events of 1940 p.313, 1941 p.242, 1942 p.284, 1943 p.242, 1944 p.254
  • "Frogmen First Battles" by retired U.S Captain William Schofield's book (ISBN 0-8283-2088-8)

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Further reading

  • Finlayson, Thomas James (1991). The Fortress Came First: Story of the Civilian Population of Gibraltar During the Second World War. Gibraltar Books. ISBN 094846612X. 
  • Jackson, William (1990). The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar, 2nd, Grendon, Northamptonshire, UK: Gibraltar Books. ISBN 0-948466-14-6.  General Sir William Jackson was Governor of Gibraltar between 1978 and 1982, a military historian and former Chairman of the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society.


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