Letters from Major James Lindsell

On 25 November 1943, HMT Rohna, a British troop ship requisitioned from the civilian fleet, left Oran, Algeria to join Convoy KMF 26 heading for India. On board, in addition to the British crew and Lascar seamen, was Major James Lindsell, O/C Movement and Troops GHQ / MEF, a small contingent of British Army medics, and a large number of American troops.

On 26 November, the convoy was attacked by German aircraft. The attack had little impact until, at the end of the sortie, a lone aircraft peeled away and unleashed an Hs-293 guided bomb, a new type of German weapon, on HMT Rohna. It had a devastating effect. 1,015 US soldiers were lost - the largest loss of U.S. life at sea due to enemy action in any one incident - as well as approximately 123 others of the crew, Lascars, and Army medics.

Major Lindsell survived, but he and all the other survivors, British and American, were instructed never to speak about the incident nor to release any information about what happened. In the case of the US survivors, they were threatened with court martial should they do so. The British survivors appear to have been under similar strictures. Whether Major Lindsell ever spoke about it to his wife, Curlie, we will never know (see note below regarding the gap in the letters from 23 November to 3 December 1943). He certainly never spoke about it to his children, mentioning only, and almost casually, that at one point in the war he had been sunk in the Mediterranean and rescued. The reasons for the extreme classification of the incident remain obscure to this day. Certainly, Churchill and Roosevelt were concerned not to let the Germans know how effective the Hs-293 had been.

Major James (1st Btn Hertfordshire Regiment TA) and Curlie (ATS) Lindsell met at an Army Administration Course in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, early in 1942. They both had leave in July 1942 and went to stay with Curlie's aunt near Tenby in Pembrokeshire. They got engaged on the beach at Tenby on July 14th and were married two days later on July 16th. About ten days after that, Major Lindsell had to leave for the Middle East, and they would not see each other again for two years. They agreed to write to each other 'every day' when possible. As the post tended to arrive in bundles of several letters at a time, they numbered their letters so that they would know which to read first, and if there were any missing. Thus we know that eight letters (L/C = Letter Cards) between L/C 137 dated 23 November and L/C 146 dated 3 December were either lost with HMT Rohna or destroyed by the authorities after the sinking to avoid any information leaking out.

It is understandable that Major Lindsell was very anxious to see his wife again, and almost every letter refers to the possibility of 'the miracle' which meant Leave. They were planning to have children as soon as possible and referred to these future children as "J.A. and M.M." - first a boy and then a girl. (Ultimately they had four children).

It is unclear why Major Lindsell was seconded from his regiment to the position of O/C Movement and Troops GHQ/MEF on HMT Rohna. Presumably, as a solicitor in his civilian life and as a result of the courses he had attended, he was considered a good administrator.

The title certainly appears most relevant in terms of the Sicily landings, in which the Rohna was actively involved (see L/C 131).

The letters also offer a vivid depiction of the life of an officer on board such a ship at this time.

In addition to the main body of the letters, the following are also attached:
- The Times article of 14 July 1943, referred to in L/C 104 (most relevant section highlighted in red. (From The Times Archive).
- Major Lindsell's handwritten report following the sinking of the Rohna. (From BNA).