The LST and Landing Craft Association home page

The LST and Landing Craft Association was founded in 1987 by Shipmate WJ (Bill) Chalk who was Vice-President from 1989 to 2003. Without Bill's vision and courage this Association would not have existed and flourished today in it's present form.

The main aim of The Association is to promote and maintain fellowship between members of a similar service background. It also serves to give moral support to members in case of need and to provide financial assistance to less fortunate members, as funds may allow, at the discretion of the Management Committee.

The Annual Reunions are very well attended (usually over 400 in total) and normally run from Monday to Friday. The Association’s Annual General Meeting is held during the course of the Reunion which also includes a Church Parade and Memorial Service. Local visits and other events are arranged which, together with convivial evenings on the dance floor, at the bar or just 'swinging the lamp', all contribute to a truly enjoyable and nostalgic break from the outside world.

The first Reunion was held in 1988 at Portsmouth when 129 former LST and Landing Craft crew members, together with 68 wives, were in attendance. Since then Annual Reunions have been held at Portsmouth (1989), Blackpool (1990, 1998, 2000, 2004 & 2006), Skegness (1991), Bognor Regis (1992), Ayr (1993), Pwllheli (1994), Brighton (1995), Scarborough (1996), Weston-Super-Mare (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 & 2009), Hayling Island (2002 & 2007) and Coventry (2008). The next reunion venue is yet to be decided. It is intended that each Annual Reunion shall be held, if possible, in a different part of Britain so that once in a while members will have less distance to travel. Difficulty in finding suitable venues, however, has resulted in some consecutive reunions being arranged in the South. Meanwhile, we are still looking for alternative venues.

To cover the more local and frequent interests of members, Britain is divided into Regions - about 20 at present - each with a Regional Representative who co-ordinates local activities and meetings within the Regional Groups. Some of the Regions circulate their own Newsletters.

In order to keep members in regular touch, a quarterly Newsletter "The Kedge Hook" is circulated. This is in the form of an A5-size journal of around 40 pages covering all manner of items of interest to members. These include reports by the principal officers of the Association, reports on activities from the Regions, book reviews, members’ letters and anecdotes, historical notes relevant to Landing Ships, Craft and Barges and much more.

There are a number of memorials to the men of the landing ships and craft, some of which are the Association's own.

The Association badge is based on the World War Two Combined Operations emblem. It is worn on blazers, berets, ties, ladies’ headscarves and sweaters. There are also lapel badges, brooches, car windscreen stickers and wall plaques. All of these give members an appearance and feeling of identity, unity and pride.

The Association has its own national Standard and some of the Regional Groups have their own Standards based on the national one.

All offices of the Association are honorary posts and at present are: -

The President
Vice-President
Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership Secretary
Supply Officer
Newsletter Editor
Archivist

These officers, together with a number of full members elected for a period of three years, form the Association's Management Committee.

MEMBERSHIP

The membership currently stands at 1,149 (984 Full members and 165 Associate and Honorary members).

Full members are those former and present members of the RN, RM, RFA, WRNS and other armed services who served or are serving in Landing Ships, Craft or Barges and Beach Parties and Base Staff. Annual subscription £6 (£7.50 from January 1, 2009).

Associate members are wives and husbands of full members, widows and widowers of former members and of Service personnel who would have been eligible as full members as well as certain others considered able to make a positive contribution to the Association. Annual subscription £4 (£5 from January 1, 2009).

The Association has an appreciable number of overseas members. Apart from the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland there were, at the last count, full members in: -
Australia (17), Canada (7), France (2), Holland (1), Italy (1), New Zealand (11), Republic of South Africa (1), Spain (1), USA (14)

Most members did not spend all of their service during the Second World War in Combined Operations (generic term for most of those serving in or connected with landing ships, craft or barges). Many saw service also in other RN ships:

battleships e.g. "Warspite"
aircraft carriers e.g. "Colossus"
cruisers e.g. "Ajax"
destroyers e.g. "Jervis"
frigates e.g. "Fal"
etc.

More recently we have been glad to welcome serving members and those who have not long left the Service of: -

amphibious ships e.g. "Fearless" & Intrepid".

Sometimes former Shipmates meet again after a gap of possibly 50 or 60 years or more. Often new friendships are forged as a result of becoming members of this Association.

Many of our members who served during World War Two took part in some of the larger-scale raids and landings such as: -

Anzio
Burma
Dieppe
Lofoten Islands
Madagascar
Narvik
Normandy
North-West Africa
Salerno
Sicily
South-East Asia
Walcheren

APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP

We welcome applications for Full and Associate memberships and will answer all enquiries regarding membership.

For an application form to join the Association please download one here or send a stamped and self-addressed envelope and brief details to the Membership Secretary: -

Shipmate F Roy Sanderson
2 Old Wortley Road
ROTHERHAM
S61 1NH

FURTHER INFORMATION

Requests for information about anything which comes within our general field of activity, except enquiries about membership, should be made by letter enclosing a stamped and self-addressed envelope to: -

Shipmate Paul Motte-Harrison
17 The Meadway
Shoreham Beach
SHOREHAM-BY-SEA
BN43 5RN

or by e-mail to: -

Shipmate Paul Motte-Harrison at paul.m-h@ntlworld.com
or
Shipmate Mike Cresswell at mike@gamrudding.freeserve.co.uk

The Association's History and Archives

The Association's Historian and Archivist, Shipmate Tony Chapman, can be contacted at a.chapman93@ntlworld.com

Book List

A list of books concerning landing craft and ships of WWII, including some written by members of the Association, can be downloaded here.

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