Captain Norman "Bill" Limbury Auchinleck Jewell
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
DSC DSC may refer to:
Academia
* Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
* District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India
* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Educational institutions
* Dalton State Col ...
(24 October 1913 – 18 August 2004) was an
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
.
As commander of the submarine
HMS ''Seraph'', Jewell was involved in one of the most vital acts of deception of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The story of
Operation Mincemeat
Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating r ...
, as the plan was known, became the subject of several books and was made into the 1956 film ''
The Man Who Never Was
''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based ...
''.
Early life
Jewell was born on
Mahé in the Seychelles on 24 October 1913 where his father was a doctor and a
colonial officer. His father left his family in the Seychelles to join the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in East Africa during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. At the end of the war, the family moved to Kenya and Jewell was sent to
prep school
Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools
*Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools
*College-preparatory school, ...
in England and finally
Oundle School
Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...
before joining the Navy in 1936.
Naval career
Jewell served on
HMS ''Osiris'' and
HMS ''Otway'', and in November 1940 joined
HMS ''Truant'' commanded by Lt-Cdr Haggard, who was constantly seeking the enemy and was something of a mentor to Jewell. On one occasion Haggard disobeyed orders not to approach within 15 miles of
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
but in fact penetrated a dense
minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
by following an Italian minelayer. Six months later he led battleships of the
Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
through the same minefield to bombard Tripoli.
On 27 May 1942, Jewell took command of
''Seraph'' and its 44-man crew, little realising what part it would play in naval history.
''Seraph'' was chosen to take the American General
Mark Clark and his staff to talks with
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
officers in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. This was known as
Operation Flagpole (World War II)
Operation Flagpole was part of the run-up to Operation Torch, the planned Allied invasion of North Africa during World War II. It involved arranging for and carrying out a top-secret high-level meeting between U.S. General Mark W. Clark, represen ...
. On 19 October Jewell landed Clark's party in small collapsible canoes about 50 miles west of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, with three members of the British
Special Boat Section
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
paddling them in. ''Seraph'' spent a day lying submerged in deep water but, after dark, Jewell took her in until there was less than 10 ft of water under the keel. The sea was too rough to recover the boats from the beach so Jewell took ''Seraph'' in until she was almost aground. Clark and his party then dashed for the boats, paddled hard through the surf, and were hauled on board; ''Seraph'' reached
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
on 25 October.
Operation Mincemeat
His most famous mission was Operation Mincemeat, widely regarded as one of the most successful disinformation exercises of the war. The intention was to deceive the Germans about Allied intentions to invade Italy in 1943. It became the subject of several books, and two films, ''
The Man Who Never Was
''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based ...
'' and ''
Operation Mincemeat
Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating r ...
''.
As part of the ruse,
a corpse in a
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
Major's uniform, with a briefcase stuffed with "secret" papers containing disinformation chained to its wrist, was used. The body was transported in a metal container packed with dry ice by Bill Jewell in his submarine. On 30 April 1943, just off the port of
Huelva
Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias ...
in Spain, Jewell surfaced. He had never performed a burial at sea, but aptly chose
Psalm 39
Psalm 39 is the 39th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a boo ...
(..."I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me").
Later career and retirement
In 1948, Jewell became Captain 3rd Submarine Flotilla. He was a director of the
RN Staff College at
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
and also worked on
Mountbatten's staff. He retired in 1963, and worked for the
Mitchell and Butler brewery in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, where he was also life president of th
Submarine Old Comrades' Association
Awards and decorations
*
MiD (1941)
*
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(1943)
*
DSC DSC may refer to:
Academia
* Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
* District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India
* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Educational institutions
* Dalton State Col ...
(1944)
*
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
(1945)
*
Croix de Guerre with Palm (1946)
Personal life
Jewell married, at
Pinner
Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011.
Originally a med ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, in July 1944 Rosemary Patricia Galloway, a
WRNS cipher officer.
They had met at
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
when she was stationed there after arriving in port after his part in Operation Mincemeat.
The couple remained married, until her death 53 years later.
Their two sons and a daughter survived him.
Death
In 1998, when he was 85, Jewell suffered a serious fall and was paralysed from the neck down. He spent the remainder of his life at the
Royal Star and Garter Home
The Royal Star and Garter Home on Richmond Hill, in Richmond, London, was built between 1921 and 1924 to a design by Sir Edwin Cooper, based on a plan produced by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1915, to provide accommodation and nursing facilitie ...
,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. He died on 18 August 2004 aged 90.
References
Captain Bill Jewell– ''The Daily Telegraph'', 24 August 2004
– ''The Independent'', 27 August 2004
External links
Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewell, Bill
1913 births
2004 deaths
People educated at Oundle School
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Royal Navy submariners
Royal Navy submarine commanders
Naval history of World War II
Operation Mincemeat
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
Legionnaires of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
People from Mahé, Seychelles