Arnold Ernest Dyer (1918 – 1940)

The title of this blog “Air” & “Service” in the series 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks. The story is about Arnold Ernest Dyer, my 1st Cousin 2 x removed, my maternal grandmother”s cousin. Arnold also seems an appropriate subject at the time of writing, as we approach the 8th May 2020, being the 75th Anniversary of VE day.

Unfortunately I know nothing much more about Arnold’s life, he was born on 1st November 1918 to Edgar Percy Dyer (known as Percy) & Edith Emily Harding. He lived with his parents and 5 brothers in North London. According to the 1939 Register his father was Representative Sanitary Electrics Works!

Sadly Arnold died on Friday 13th December 1940 and he is buried in a Commonwealth War Grave in Libya. (TRIPOLI WAR CEMETERY (Number of casualties: 1242) Cemetery reference: 7. H. 22)

Arnold was a navigator in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and in 1940 he was with the 830 Squadron FAA stationed at HMS St Angelo the Royal Navy base in Malta.

As a naval base, HMS St Angelo was self-sufficient. It had a sick bay, dormitories, silos, a water distillation plant, a mechanised mechanised flour mill, at least two pubs and even a cinema. This was one of the first cinemas on the island.

The 830 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron formed in Malta in July 1940 flying Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers. During 1940–41 the squadron carried out attacks against the Axis supply effort in the Mediterranean. These included torpedo attacks against merchant ships and their Royal Italian Navy warship escorts, and also bomb attacks on port installations in Sicily and Libya.

The book A history of the Mediterranean air war, 1940-1945. Volume 2 by
SHORES, C. F., MASSIMELLO, G., GUEST, R., OLYNYK, F. J., & BOCK, W. (2013). Records the events of 13th December 1940.

Friday, 13 December 1940
Swordfish of 830 Squadron from Malta dive-bombed Tripoli harbour. During this attack K8866 was lost, Sub Lts R.H. Thompson and A.E.Dyer being killed.
Following the raids on 7 December, the RAF was mainly engaged in activities over Cyrenaica and the Egyptian frontier area. It was to be two weeks before a further heavy attack was made in Tripolitania. This time the assault came not from Malta, but from the deck of the newly-arrived aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious.
This vessel had been involved in two recent sorties mainly connected with Malta convoys, although on 12 December her Swordfish had bombed transport laagers near Bardia in support of Operation Compass. Following a return to Alexandria to refuel, she had sailed again with the Mediterranean Fleet to attack targets on Rhodes and Stampalia (see Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, 1940-41).
Heading then to Malta, where the battleship HMS Warspite put into harbour briefly, the fleet approached Tripoli to interdict the flow of supplies to the Italian forces in Libya.
On 21 December nine torpedo-armed Swordfish drawn from the carrier’s two squadrons, intercepted a convoy of three merchant vessels off Kerkennah Island, claiming seven hits which sank the 6,511 -ton refrigerator ship Norge and the 1,926-ton steamer Peuceta.
Next day 15 Swordfish attacked Tripoli, claiming to have set fire to warehouses and dumps, all save one of the aircraft returning safely to their parent ship.
Throughout this particular sortie, which lasted from 15-25 December, no aerial attacks were experienced, and the carrier’s fighters were not called upon to fly any defensive operations.

Arnold’s brother, Geoffrey was kind enough to pass on some photos including Arnold’s funeral, the Italians in Tripoli awarded him full military honours!

Royal Navy casualties for Friday 13 December 1940
FAA, 802 Sqn, Sparrowhawk, air crash RUSSELL, Godfrey F, Lieutenant, killed FAA, 830 Sqn, Grebe, air crash DYER, Arnold E, Py/Ty/Sub Lieutenant (A), RNVR, missing THOMPSON, Richard H, Sub Lieutenant (A), RNVR, missing Pembroke SMITH, Frederick O, Stoker Petty Officer, C/K 1705, died RN Hospital, Hong Kong, illness ALLEN, Arthur, Warrant Wardmaster, died Southdown FORD, Walter F I, Supply Assistant, P/MX 68968, MPK

Arnold is remembered on a war memorial in Broomfield Park, Palmers Green.

P.S. The National Archives in Kew, have the service records of the RNVR, so I have added this to my ever growing “look up list”. The National Archives are closed at present, as this blog post was written during the 2020 lockdown due to Covid 19 world wide pandemic!