On the 18th November,1941 Auchinleck, who had taken over from Wavell attacked and after heavy fighting, with the help of the garrison,
Tobruk was relieved on the 10th December - the siege had lasted for 242 days.
During the period of the siege a further 7 Mk1s and 6 Mk2s were lost so that 20 craft in total were lost during 1941.
After studying the detail of the operations it is amazing to me that the losses were not a lot higher.
When the accolades were being publicised about the siege the contributions made by the Inshore Squadron and the
WDLF were not mentioned and there was a strong feeling that their efforts were not appreciated.
This can be seen by a last verse that was added to the first song I related to you.
The fame of Tobruk is beginning to fade, Under miles of red tape and tons of gold braid,
Now the siege is lifted,
The campaign half won,
All the base - wallahs tell us how things should be done.
So we`ll sail from Tobruk with a pain in our hearts,
And leave them to stuff their advice da-da-da
But we`ll sigh for the port as it once used to be,
Where the sands of the desert sweep down to the sea.