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Audrey Roche: Depot Ship Rescue World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Audrey Roche: Depot Ship Rescue

Posts 1 to 9

[COLOR="Blue"]Apologies for "lifting this obit but it was such a remarkable story I just [/COLOR]wanted to share it; do people like exist today? where did we go wrong? Audrey Roche, who died on January 13 aged 90, is thought to have been the only woman decorated for bravery at sea during the Second World War; as a Wren whose ship had been torpedoed, she saved the life of a drowning seaman by giving him her lifebelt, and she was mentioned in despatches. As Third Officer Audrey Coningham, she was one of 1,135 passengers in the 15,000-ton submarine depot ship Medway, which, shortly after 8am on June 30 1942, was torpedoed by Kapitanleutnant Heinz-Joachim Neumann's U-372 while being escorted by a cruiser and several destroyers from Alexandria to Haifa. Hundreds of men were thrown into the water along with 47 torpedoes which had broken from their stowage (and were later salvaged and used against the enemy). Audrey Coningham, who had been one of three Wrens on board, swam towards the destroyer Hero, but so many people were crowded around the scrambling nets that she turned and swam towards another ship further off. She had been swimming for between 15 and 30 minutes when she saw two men clinging together. Only one had a lifebelt, and he was supporting the other, whose head kept disappearing beneath the waves. Even though she did not know how long she would be in the water, Audrey Coningham, who had learned lifesaving at her convent school, managed to pull off her own lifebelt and put it on the drowning man. Leading Seaman Leslie Crossman, who had injured his legs sliding across the barnacles on Medway's upturned hull, always remembered her words: "Lie still. You'll be all right. Trust me." Audrey Coningham's selfless act enabled Crossman to stay afloat until he was rescued by a boat. while she swam to the destroyer Zulu, where, after another 20 minutes adrift, she was plucked from the water. The smallest man on board gave up his spare shirt and shorts to dress her. Despite a recommendation from senior officers on the spot, and the strong, personal support of Admiral Sir Henry Harwood, Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, for the immediate award of the Albert Medal (since replaced by the George Cross), it took the Honours and Awards Committee in London six months to deliberate. Eventually it was held that – as a strong swimmer – Coningham had not put her own life at risk, and that the witness to her bravery had helped in the rescue. Instead Coningham was awarded a mention in despatches, and the committee recommended "some publicity". This blithely stated that she had been swimming in the sea when she came across a drowning seaman. It did not admit that there had been Wrens in Medway or even that the ship had been lost. There were 30 dead from Medway. U-372 was sunk five weeks later by Zulu, and Crossman went on to earn the DSM later in the war and the BEM afterwards, and eventually became a grandfather. Despite the grudging nature of the award, Audrey Coningham wore her Oak Leaf decoration with pride – to the outrage of at least one male officer, who could not believe that she was entitled to it. Audrey Sylvia Coningham was born on July 12 1918 into a farming family in Sussex. After convent school she went to New South Wales to work as a ranch hand, where she heard that war had been declared. She returned home and joined the WRNS in 1940, becoming a cipher officer. She worked on the staff of the captain of the 1st Submarine Squadron in Alexandria and in Portsmouth, where she rose to second officer. In 1946 she married David Roche, an officer in the Army in India, where they lived until Partition in 1947. The couple then emigrated to Kenya, packing their two small children and family possessions into an Austin A40 Countryman. They drove through war-ravaged France and Italy, then across the Egyptian desert, and through Sudan and Uganda before arriving in Nairobi in 1951. As a keen golfer, she represented Kenya in international competitions and continued to play into her seventies. The Roches returned to England in 1975, travelling solely by sea, and settled in Wiltshire. When a reunion was arranged between her and Crossman in 1987, she told him: "I can't pretend I would have picked you out. You weren't smiling when we last met." In 2003 Audrey Roche opened an exhibition at the RN Submarine Museum, Gosport. On being asked if being in the Wrens was the most important part of her life, she replied: "Good heavens, no. My family is the best time of my life." She is survived by her five children.

One heck of a Woman, It does make you wonder if the WAGS and X factor generation can produce women of such mettle, I would like to think so but somehow I think most would probably need to consult a publicity agent first.

I'm in two minds about the 'awards committee in London', are theymean spirited in not rewarding a courageous act on the high seas or are they upholding the standard so that when someone [I]does[/I] manage to prize an award out of them, that everyone will know they [I]really[/I] deserved it!! To my mind, that she was a 'strong swimmer' doesn't downgrade what she did. People tire out and/or she could have been swept away... heck, ZULU could herself have caught a torpedo and then where would she have been?

in my opinion "spirit is the key word here, it was her spirit of selflessness that stimulated her act, as you say anything could have happened thereafter. In life it is the spirit that motivates us, or not. Without her genorosity of spirit she could have swum past the drowning man. It is the spirit that needs encouragement by recognition. Medals as a concept are a bit of a strange business anyway. There are those who really earn them and deserve them in that the tell others (bit like an esoteric advertisment) of the wearers exploits and there are those who have them heaped on them because of who they are rather than in reflection of any kind of service. tim

It would have been a priviledge to know her. Thanks, Tim, that's an inspiration. It seems to me that our generation stands upon the shoulders of giants. Our generation has taken for granted, the sacrifice and life work that shaped the world we know today. It is unfortunate that worthy individuals are denied medals by 'committees' who seem to miss the point of the award, as often as they succeed. What we ought to carry forward are the real stories and where possible, correct the records and issue medals that were denied. In baseball, we have the old timer's committee who vote into the Hall of Fame, those that were unfairly bypassed. We need to hold up such deeds as examples for the next generation so that they may aspire to the best that they can be. If Veterans Day or Memorial Day or whatever the important days are called in each country degenerate into just a long weekend holiday and a day off work, then we have failed to set the example. My wish is that every such holiday, some worthy person's deeds are recognized anew in every village, town and city and that we celebrate that life. Our young people need examples ... life examples, not rock stars to tell them what their values should be. Part of the problem is the stress placed upon the family today. The values are under assault from many directions. We also need government and private action to stem the tide of 'short term' rewards for business. The AIG financial group that destroyed much of the financial foundation for billions of people is receiving bonuses for bad behavior. We need to take corrective action and shame these executives as examples of unacceptable behavior. Some executives who violated their fiduciary responsibility need to go to jail. We need a whole wing for the Bernie Madoffs. I guess what I'm suggesting is that there are two sides of this coin. We need to actively find people to honor to hold up as examples AND punish those who harm us all through opposite actions. Fred

Thanks, Tim for posting that. It reminded us both of a past hero and of the sexist, uncareing people that sometimes ran committees! Let us pray that today's committees! are more generous and fair minded. She was most deserving.

Does a list of those who survived thesinking exist?

[QUOTE=Linton;158234]Does a list of those who survived thesinking exist?[/QUOTE] Here's one: [INDENT]The Times 9 Feb 2011: [URL="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article2903861.ece"]Lt Cdr William 'Uncle Bill' Filer MBE GM RN[/URL][/INDENT] [QUOTE][B]Bomb disposal expert who played a leading role in the development of the Navy’s postwar deep diving effort[/B] ...Appointed to the Medway as Senior Diving Instructor, Filer was on board when she was torpedoed by a U-boat on June 10 [I](sic)[/I], 1942, a devastating blow to submarine operations at a period seen as the nadir of the whole Mediterranean campaign. Having been rescued with a couple of Wren cypher officers by the destroyer Hero and returning home for survivors’ leave, Filer qualified as one of the only nine deep divers in the Navy at that time... ...Lieutenant-Commander William Filer, MBE, GM, naval diver, was born on August 6, 1917. He died on January 31, 2011, aged 93.[/QUOTE]

He is not the one I was looking for unfortunately Bob!

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