Lt. Commander Arthur Leyland Harrison
Famous Sons and Daughters No.19: Lt. Commander Arthur Leyland Harrison VC
With the home of the Royal Navy at its heart in the form of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth has been key to the creation of a number of officers who could rightly lay claim to the overused term ‘hero.’
But one of the most celebrated is Lieutenant Commander Arthur Leyland Harrison VC, who received the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for his bravery in the First World War.
Born in February 1886, Arthur Leyland Harrison grew up in Torquay and as a young boy was captivated by the Royal Navy, setting his sights firmly on Britannia Royal Naval College and a career at sea.
He was educated at Brockhurst Preparatory School, where he is still remembered every Armistice Day, and at Dover College, where his passion for sport, and in particular rugby, soon attracted wider attention. Lt Cdr Harrison was capped several times for England while serving in the Royal Navy.
But it was at the age of 32 when he showed unfaltering bravery in the face of death.
On the night of the 22nd April 1918, Lt Cdr Harrison was in immediate command of the Naval storming parties embarked in HMS Vindictive at Zeebrugge when he made the ultimate sacrifice.
The British Naval force attacked the occupied Belgian port with the objective of denying its use to Germany’s U-boats. The British plan was to block the canal to Bruges by scuttling three old, concrete-filled cruisers at its entrance at Zeebrugge. At the same time, some 900 Royal Marines and naval infantry were to be landed on the Mole, a one-and-a-half-mile concrete sea defence built to protect the harbour, joined to land by a jetty on wooden piles. Their task was to keep the German defences busy. To isolate German forces on the Mole, a couple of explosive-filled submarines were sent under the jetty to blow themselves, and it, up.
More than 70 vessels, including submarines, rescue launches and smoke-laying motor boats, took part in what was known as Operation ZO, along with more than 1,700 men. At first a huge smokescreen laid by the fast motor boats hid the British fleet from the guns on the Mole, but at a vital moment the wind changed and the smoke cleared. The Vindictive, which was less than 100 yards away from the pier, came under immediate heavy fire and was hit.
Lt Cdr Harrison was struck on the head by a fragment of a shell, which broke his jaw and knocked him unconscious. Recovering consciousness and despite his terrible injuries, he leapt on to the Mole and took over command of his party, who were attacking the seaward end. He led a charge along the parapet in the face of heavy fire - the silencing of the guns on the Mole head his only priority. Although already severely wounded and undoubtedly in great pain, he displayed “indomitable resolution and courage of the highest order in pressing his attack,” knowing that any delay in silencing the guns might jeopardise the main object of the expedition - the blocking of the Zeebrugge-Bruges Canal.
Lt Cdr Harrison was killed at the head of his men, all but two of whom were also killed or wounded. But thanks to the bravery of this party and their comrades, the Allies succeeded in blocking the Bruges canal and trapping more than 30 German U-boats and dozens of destroyers which had been responsible for inflicting massive losses on British merchant ships.
The raid on Zeebrugge lasted about 70 minutes during which time some 200 of the 1700 Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel involved in the attack were killed, and 300 injured. A further 16 were captured. The painting below depicts the raid and hangs in the BRNC.
Exactly 82 years after the famous raid, a limestone and granite tribute to Lt Cdr Arthur Leyland Harrison was dedicated at Roundham Head, Paignton, overlooking Torbay. The half-tonne monument was paid for by members of the Torbay branch of the Royal Naval Association whose members wanted to erect a lasting memorial to the former England rugby international.
First Published April 2011 By The Dart
