Service Record: Roy Tomkins

[Dorcas]

I am looking into MTBs and would like to hear from anyone who had a relative serving on them between 1941 and 1944. My brother was killed on MTB Mantis off Lowestoft July 20th 1944. He was mentioned in dispatches for a raid on Tripoli Harbour when three MTBs destroyed an Italian submarine before returning to Malta. His name was Roy Tomkins Able Seaman JX296533

[Alan B]

Hiya Dorcas

Have you tried

www.coastal-forces.org.uk

Good luck
Alan

[John Brown]

Hi Dorcas

I was very interested to read your post. I wonder however, if you could clarify the details a little. HMS Mantis was a Coastal Forces Base and not actually a vessel. The CWGC site show your brother as a LEADING Seaman and his boat was HMMTB 687 when he died on 20/07/44. However, the CWGC also show a Leslie Graham as being killed in HMS Mantis on 14/07/44 which could mean the base was subjected to air attacks. Do you know if your brother was killed at the base or at sea?

Regards...

[stontamar]

Hi Dorcas

I was very interested to read your post. I wonder however, if you could clarify the details a little. HMS Mantis was a Coastal Forces Base and not actually a vessel. The CWGC site show your brother as a LEADING Seaman and his boat was HMMTB 687 when he died on 20/07/44. However, the CWGC also show a Leslie Graham as being killed in HMS Mantis on 14/07/44 which could mean the base was subjected to air attacks. Do you know if your brother was killed at the base or at sea?

Regards...

I realise this is a little out of date but the following may be of interest to members and to Dorcas if still in touch with the Forum.

Sub Lietenant John W Gordon MID RNZNVR and AB Roy C Tomkins MID P/JX296533 were both killed while serving at sea on MTB687 (Fairmile D Type) during an attack on a German convoy intercepted on the night of the 19/20 July 1944. AB Tomkins is buried in Hitchin Cemetery whereas S/Lt Gordon has no known grave and is commemorated on the New Zealand Naval Memorial in Devonport Auckland.

The attacking force included six Fairmile D Type including the Norwegian MTB’s 709 and 722 and Royal Navy MTB’s 683, 685, 687 and 729. None of the other British or Norwegian boats appear to have suffered fatalities but I have no details of how the Germans faired in terms of casualties although damage to the vessels on both sides appears to have been light.

The Norwegian manned D Types appear to have operated out of Scottish ports for much of the war but it is known that the 54th MTB Flotilla relocated to the Nore Command based at Lowestoft in March 1944 before returning to Lerwick in the autumn of that year. The action is reported to have taken place in the English Channel and while I am unable at present to be specific about the location of the action I would hazard a guess that it was off the Dutch coast.

Regards

stontamar