Saturday, 29 January

Light cruiser SPARTAN (Captain P V McLaughlin) was sunk by German bombing at Anzio. Act/Warrant Engineer J Batty, nine ratings, and four Marines were killed, two ratings died of wounds, and Cdr G MacN Ambrose, Ty/Sub Lt P F Bicknell RNVR, Lt (E) J D Burke, Warrant Electrician R S Cox, forty four ratings and two Marines missing. Lt D A R M Ramsay was wounded and Seaman D Brindle (a post-war friend of Don Kindell and co-researcher) was among the survivors. Light cruisers DIDO and DELHI departed Anzio on the 30th for Naples with SPARTAN’s survivors.