The following article is taken from the latest issue of the Globe & Laurel magazine.
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by Mne Cartwright
If someone asked you if you would like to spend two weeks on a Landing Craft Utility (LCU), you would be within your rights to tell them where to put that idea! However, for two weeks in July, 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines deployed on Ex Green Tulip – a LC exercise covering long sea transits, inland waterways navigation and cultural visits in three countries covering 100s of nautical miles.
Leaving HMS Albion behind in Den Helder, the first leg was rough, as we headed south along the coast of the Netherlands towards Rotterdam in heavy sea conditions. We soon entered the canal system, heading inland and relishing the calmer waters of Europe’s busiest shipping port. We went alongside in the city centre before a quiet night in.

We left Rotterdam the next morning at 0700, carefully navigating the canal systems towards Vlissingen. This was a long transit of around 14 hours, but the protection provided by the canals meant it was a breeze in comparison to the waves we had faced on day one. Once we arrived, we had the remainder of the evening to relax before going on a battlefield tour of Walcheren the following day delivered by Cpls Klimke and Matthews from Support Tp. Operation Infatuate was the code name given to an Anglo-Canadian operation in November 1944 during WW2 to open the port of Antwerp to shipping and relieve logistical constraints. The operation was part of the wider Battle of the Scheldt and involved two amphibious assault landings from the sea.
We left Vlissingen early the next morning at around 0530, heading back into open water and the North Sea. It is fair to say we were all expecting the worst and prepared for terrible weather and sea states, but we were pleasantly met with some of the calmest seas of the whole exercise, and we arrived in English waters ahead of schedule.
We woke up the following morning to be met by Tower Bridge and the Shard ‘towering’ over us before we came alongside in St Katharine Docks Marina. Whilst alongside in London the SSM was able to arrange fascinating visits to 10 Downing Street, the Palace of Westminster and Houses of Parliament.
After leaving St Katharine Docks Marina and navigating our way back down the Thames, which offered the chance to see London from a different perspective, we headed back out and into the English Channel to be greeted by the same calm seas we had enjoyed previously, before heading south and through the lock gates of Port-en-Bessin, France, in the early hours of the next morning.
The next day we headed to the 47 RM Cdo Memorial at the top of the hill to pay our respects and received another brief from Support Troop on the amphibious actions that took place during D-Day in June 1944. We then had the opportunity to go to the Overlord Museum and the American Cemetery, which was an eye-opening experience for anyone who had not been before. We wound up the day by stopping at Omaha Beach for a final visit to the Memorial there.
We left Port-en-Bessin early the next afternoon, with crowds of people lining the port to watch the two LCUs slip and make our way back to open water. Our original plan had been to call in on Jersey before heading home but unfortunately the weather had a say and plans were changed accordingly. Instead, we headed directly for Plymouth to meet back up with HMS Albion. We arrived at Plymouth and completed our final offload prior to getting the boats alongside.
Overall, it was a great experience for the Squadron to work independently, visit some important places from Corps’ and Landing Craft Branch history and to learn how to use the barbecue properly.
Read more from the Journal of the Royal Marines
For more information, and to read similar stories, visit: Globe & Laurel – RMA – The Royal Marines Charity (rma-trmc.org)
