HART Sidney

Sidney Hart lived in Springfield Lane, Lye, and later moved to 133 Cemetery Road. He attended Orchard Lane and Valley Road Schools and worked for a while at a corn and seed merchant’s shop. He enlisted in the Royal Marines in February 1942 and was trained at Lympstone Barracks near Exeter. He was engaged in several special missions during 1943 and was then returned to Britain for operations in support of the Normandy landings. To protect the seaward side of the beaches from German attacks a defence line was put together consisting of minesweepers and other vessels some six miles off shore. On the vulnerable eastern flank the line (designated the Trout Line) was constructed of Landing Craft Gun and Landing Craft Flak and had the heavy responsibility of defending the landings from all kinds of attack from motor boats to torpedoes emerging from German-held France. Sidney Hart was stationed on LCF 1. From dawn on the 17th August there was a series of torpedo attacks and at 6.32 LCF1 was hit as it entered its berth. It blew up and sank with the loss of about 70 casualties. Among them was Marine Sidney Hart. His name is also commemorated on the memorial of St. John’s Methodist church, Lye, (now demolished).

Sidney Hart has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Plymouth Naval Memorial.