Able Seaman C/JX 648953 John Henry Grimes

BMD details:
Birth registered 1st Qtr 1924 at Prescot, Lancashire. Vol 8b - Page 1431. Death registered Sep 1945 at Prescot, Lancashire. Vol 8b - Page 513.

Family details:
Son of Richard and Margaret Grimes, of St. Helens.

Census details:
1939 Register - Not identified.

[pic]imgs/S1PWHYAOTV/HMS_Thruster_zps7b2ef642.jpg[/pic][caption]HMS Thruster[/caption] [i]HMLST(1) Thruster[/i] was built by Harland and Wolf, Belfast, Northern Ireland and launched on September 24th 1942, being commissioned in the Royal Navy on January 28th 1943. She later took part in the invasions of Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and those in Southern France. In WW2 there were many kinds of landing craft, large and small and each type served a particular purpose. [i]HMLST Thruster[/i] and similar craft were the forerunners of today's roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ferries - they carried tanks, lorries, other vehicles, heavy equipment and the men to operate them. The main differences were that [i]Thruster [/i]only had bow doors and it was flat bottomed to allow it to discharge its cargo directly onto the beaches in the absence of useable harbours. [pic]imgs/S1PWHYAOTV/John_Henry_Grimes.jpg[/pic] [caption]The headstone of Able Seaman John Henry Grimes at St Helens Cemetery.[/caption]