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HMS Furious World Naval Ships Forums Archive


HMS Furious


Posts 1 to 50


Hi My father served on this aircraft carrier from 1940-43 perhaps one of the most eventful periods of this ships long and illustrious history.I am particularly interested in researching this period further and establishing contact with others whose relatives have links to this period. I am very keen to make contact with Neil Hodges who posted his fathers account on the main site.I have a photo of both his father and his friend Bill Dixey who is also mentioned in the account and would like to share these with him as I understand they were all friends.

Hello Everyone I am researching my grandfathers naval history. My Grandfather John Henry William Hosking (known as Jack) served on HMS Furious from 9/4/1940 to 16/3/1943 & HMS Black Prince from 22/7/1944 to 29/9/1945. I am led to believe that he was in charge of the groups of four on the pom pom guns. If anybody has any memories of being on either of these ships at the time of my grandfather or any photos, I would be truly grateful. Thank you Becky

Hi Becky, Here are 2 photo's. The first is HMS FURIOUS in 1941, the other is HMS BLACK PRINCE in 1944 Rgds Rik
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Hi Becky, good luck with your quest. Here are a couple more pics. Bob.
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Hi Rik & Bob Thank you very much for the photos. My Dad is sorting out my Grandad's photo's of his time on Furious, so as soon as I get copies I will post them on here. Thanks again Becky

We look forward to seeing them Becky. Bob.

Becky I was scanning some photos of my father's. He died in 1997. My father Sam Morley from Reading was a stoker on Furious in WW2 . I am not sure of the dates or the name of other vessel/s that he served on. He was certainly on Furious at the time of her refit in Philadelphia USA in, I believe, 1942. The attached crew photo that includes Sam may or not be furious. I was trying to research Ships crests to indentify . ( Without sucess so, far perhaps somebody can help ) when I came across this forum & found your posting. The attached photo is fairly low resolution for ease of posting , if it could be of interest to yourself or anybody else I could supply a better copy. Perhaps somebody could advise of optimal file size for posting here ? If this group is not in fact Furious and therefore a red herring for you , then my apologies. regards Richard Morley Thanks
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Just an opinion. I see that the senior officer is a commander. I am not sure if a Commander would be "Captain" of an Aircraft Carrier. I think that it is normal that a capital ship would have a "four ringed" Captain. A thought has occured to me that a commander might take command when the ship has been decomissioned (In reserve or long refit).

I believe Black Prince was engaged in the Tunnel operations in the Western Approaches, someone will quickly tell us! is so you will find a lot of earlier dialogue on Tunnel and the 10th DF in ealrier posts. I also have a feeling that towards the end of the war she was transferred to either NZ or Australia along with Bellona (a sister ship of the Dido class?) If your father was involved in Tunnel you can be assured that these were very exciting and dangerous nightly battles along the French coast, at high speed, in the dark with limited electronic support. I wont go on until you confirm this is relevant! all best tim

Tim Thanks , but sorry I was only just picking up on the HMS Furious aspect of Becky's original post. Not Black Prince. Sorry for any confusion. regards Richard

everything helps, there is so much out there we need every thread to weave back a pattern to even somethins as recent as our parents lives; imagine how speculative it is to recreate history from Nelson's era or earlier, makes you realise just how superficial the record of history really is!

I have been unable to identify the ships badge, it's not one of the official Royal Navy one's that I'm aware of, it doesn't correspond with any Fleet air arm squadron either....so I can't help identify the crew photo. Regards Alan

Black Prince was indeed involved in some of the Channel actions with the 10th DF so please do take a look back at some of these posts for more details on those events. tim

24.1.45 air strikes on Palambang from Illustrious Indomitable Victorious and Indefatigable , fleet attacked by enemy fighters but all shot down Illustrious damaged by shell from one of our own ships (not us) sea rescue,sub lt Gibson WG 894 sqdrn seafire from HMS Indefatigable undercarriage failed bailed out picked up by Whirlwind Notes on the attack on Palambang of 24:1:45 code name Meridian 1 The fleet designated Force 63 comprised of the first carrier Squadron Indomitable, Illustrious, Victorious and Indefatigable the battle ship King George V 4th Cruiser Squadron Argonaut, Black Prince, Ceylon and Euryalus 25th Destroyer Flotilla Grenville (Captain D), Undaunted, Undine and Ursa 27th Destroyer Flotilla Kempenfelt (Captain D ), Wager, Wakeful, Wessex, Whelp and Whirlwind The fleet departed Trincomalee on the 16th of Jan the first 3 days were spent carrying out night encounter, aircraft shadowing, interception, torpedo attack, and gunnery exercises The flying off position was 70 miles east of Enggango island off the Sumatran coast , the coastal air strip at Mana\ was also to be attacked, the pilot of a seafire was recovered from the sea by Whirlwind . Force 63 withdrew to their south west for re fuelling on the 26-27th of January. 29.1.45 more attacks we lost 8 fighters and claimed 40 Jap fighters with 39 damaged ( I imagine that could be taken with a pinch of salt Notes on the attack on Palambang of 29:1:45 code name Meridian 11\par Force 63 approached the coast of Sumatra on 29th January during the day the fleet was attacked by Japanese aircraft including 7 suicide attacks it was during one of these attacks that two shells from Euryalus struck Illustrious killing twelve men and wounding twenty one , the total loss of aircraft from the four carriers was forty one , sixteen in combat ,eleven ditched and fourteen from deck landing mishaps at 1530 Admiral Vian signalled "Meridian Complete" and force 63 set course southward for Australia \par 1.2.45 crossing the line ceremony 4.2.45 arrive Fremantle \par 5.2.45 en route Sydney very rough trip Plummer block fell over weather very cold \par 11.2.45 arrive Sydney we stayed there until ? 28.2.45 at sea en route Manus we were with the fleet but my diary makes no mention of other ships ,during our trip we made our first contact with the Americans when their aircraft carried out dummy attacks on us, whilst at Manus we again put to sea almost daily for exercises with the carriers 21.3.45 at sea to join up with the B.P.F from then until 22.5 we were at sea with the fleet mainly carrying out air strikes on Okinawa and Sackishima ,during this period the fleet was often attacked and at last we fired our first angry shots we celebrated V.E closed up at action stations throughout the day whilst the carriers carried out strikes , we were constantly employed as fleet messenger boy and I spent hours on B gun deck firing the Costyn gun and I was proud of my record of never missing, W.A.F. Hawkins won a few gins on this by challenging the rival captain Notes on operation Iceberg the attack on Sackishima. On the 17th march the logistic support group sailed from Manus designated task unit 112/2/1 it comprised the escort carrier Strike, the sloop Crane, the frigate Findhorn and the Whirlwind ,and tankers San Ambrosio,Cedardale and San Adolpho. On the 25th of march the British Pacific Fleet made a rendezvous with task unit 112/2/1 for refuelling Kempenfelt and Whirlwind join the BPF to replace Quality and Whelp both having defects,Whelp having bearing trouble. On the 26th the BPF reached its flying off point 100 miles due south of Miyako, its targets were the 6 principle airfields of the Sakishima Gunto, 3 on Ishigaki and 3 on Miyako. its aim was to keep these air fields out of action in order to deny\par the Japanese use of them in the defence of Okinawa . The BPF was now designated Task Force 57 and comprised . The battle ships King George V and Howe. Carriers Indomitable, Victorious, Illustrious and Indefatigable. Cruisers\par Swiftsure, Gambia, Black Prince and Argonaut. And the Destroyers Euryalus, Grenville, Kempenfelt, Ulster, Udine, Urania,\par Undaunted, Quickmatch, Quiberon, Queenborough, Wager and Whirlwind. Becky you may find this of interest Nigel

I had the great priviledge of speaking with Chevalier Jerry Billing, one of WWII's ACES. He flew to Malta from HMS Furious. His exploits are the stuff of legend, so much so that the French dug up his plane and even had his knee pickled for the museum (after it was replaced for an artificial one, that is). His adventures around France with the underground after being shot down read like a tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel. You can find out about one of the great aviators of WWII at [url]WWW.jerrybilling.com[/url]. Jerry has been waging a different war with the Canadian government. It seems that they cut his pension. Jerry, not being one to take the insult lying down, launched into a campaign to improve treatment of the vets. They ought to be raising the pensions of the few that are left, just out of principle. Jerry also flew a restored Spitfire well into his 70's. When I spoke to his wife about two months ago, he was in bed with a bad case of virtigo. Fred

[QUOTE=rmorley206;42760]Becky I was scanning some photos of my father's. He died in 1997. My father Sam Morley from Reading was a stoker on Furious in WW2 . I am not sure of the dates or the name of other vessel/s that he served on. He was certainly on Furious at the time of her refit in Philadelphia USA in, I believe, 1942. The attached crew photo that includes Sam may or not be furious. I was trying to research Ships crests to indentify . ( Without sucess so, far perhaps somebody can help ) when I came across this forum & found your posting. The attached photo is fairly low resolution for ease of posting , if it could be of interest to yourself or anybody else I could supply a better copy. Perhaps somebody could advise of optimal file size for posting here ? If this group is not in fact Furious and therefore a red herring for you , then my apologies. regards Richard Morley Thanks[/QUOTE] Richard Trust that you are tuning into this Forum for I can confirm that the photograph you attached in your post ~6 [B] is indeed [/B]a shot of some of the ship’s complement of HMS Furious. I met yesterday with an old friend Dennis and his wife, Betty. Dennis joined the Royal Navy, a little underage, in early 1942 as the lowest rate of Stoker and was shipped to the eastern seaboard of the US where he joined HMS Furious whilst the ship was being refitted at Philadelphia Naval Yard. He seems to recall going to Brooklyn Naval Yard first, so I assumed that was for some training. I showed Dennis and Betty your picture and simply asked “anyone you recognise on this photo?” Betty immediately exclaimed [I]“there’s you Dennis”[/I] pointing to a sheepishly looking very young man with his cap cocked slightly to one side. [I]“Well bless my soul, so it is”[/I] or words to that effect! responded Dennis. You’ll love the next bit: Betty then chides Dennis for not wearing his cap in an orderly fashion – almost 69 years after the event! Dennis then pointed out that the item at the foot of the picture was not the badge of HMS Furious, as Alan Benn also has stated on the thread. He had no idea what it was or why it was there (I attach an image of the correct badge). He just about recalls the photo being taken, but having had a couple of strokes, struggled to recall the names of the two members mentioned on this thread. He did recall that other photos were taken also and posing for these usually involved only a portion of the ship’s crew, ie those on duty went about their work. He couldn’t recall when her C.O., Captain Tom Bulteel RN, came aboard, but he had a high regard for him. (This officer died of an illness aboard HMS Furious in February 1943). He referred politely to all officers on all his RN warships between 1942-48 as “Subby’s, two ringers, two and a half ringers, three ringers” etc Dennis went on to mention that in the time he was aboard the AC after return to European waters, they were in the Med on convoy duty delivering fighter aircraft to Malta, spent some time in the Arctic and “we had a couple of goes at the Tirpitz with our aircraft when she was holed up in a Norwegian fjiord” (see relevant excellent account on specific thread by emason). After late summer 1944 he served on a variety of ships and submarines before being discharged in late 1948 as a P.O. he was happiest in submarines (HMS Springer and HMS Shakespeare) due to the "cameraderie of good mates being together in confined quarters". Please also see my Private Message to you (top RHS of this page to open it). Regards David
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Dave Thanks , I was thrilled with your post. That sort of solves the mystery of the ships badge in the photo. In a sense of course it raises further Qs about badge. I have already sent you a better copy of the photo and am happy to do the same for anybody else who is intersted. To clarify for others ;we are talking Furious of course & not Black Prince. The second part of the thread title came from somebody elses earlier posting that I had latched onto a year or so ago. Many many thanks & regards Richard

From wikipedia [b]Furious served as the flagship for the convoy bringing most of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to Britain in mid-December 1939. In the darkness on 17 December the west-bound ocean liner SS Samaria passed through the convoy unseen. She ripped off the horizontal wireless masts on Furious's starboard side, carried away five overhanging lifeboats from the port side of RMS Aquitania and just missed the third and fourth ships in line.[/b] Has anyone got any more info on this incident please? Dont suppose there are any pictures of the damage to Furious? Cheers

[QUOTE=GaryH;143113]From wikipedia [b]Furious served as the flagship for the convoy bringing most of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to Britain in mid-December 1939. In the darkness on 17 December the west-bound ocean liner SS Samaria passed through the convoy unseen. She ripped off the horizontal wireless masts on Furious's starboard side, carried away five overhanging lifeboats from the port side of RMS Aquitania and just missed the third and fourth ships in line.[/b] Has anyone got any more info on this incident please? Dont suppose there are any pictures of the damage to Furious? Cheers[/QUOTE] Roskill states that only superficial damage was done and that the collision had been caused by the SAMARIA being given a route close to the inward-bound convoy's track, the routing authority in Liverpool not having been informed of the troop convoy's movements. He also comments that "excessive security precautions are liable to produce unforseen and unfortunate consequences".

My father, William Raymond Hopkins, served on HMS Furious during WW2. We have a few photos, but Dad never spoke about the war and as he died when I was 16, I never got to ask him about it. He was always called Ray, or, as i believe, with any sailor with the surname Hopkins, Polly. If anyone can pass on any information on Dad's time in the Navy, especially the time spent in America when The Furious was under refit in Philadelphia, I would be very appreciative. :) Rx

A warm welcome Ray's daughter. I am sure you will find the answers to all your questions from our knowledgeable gathering. I did,my dad died in Japanese hands when I was 7 and I knew very little, if anything, of the circumstances leading to his death until I joined the forum and lately I have been able to fill most of the gaps which somehow helps. Good luck in your search. Dave H

[QUOTE=Dave Hutson;150577]A warm welcome Ray's daughter. I am sure you will find the answers to all your questions from our knowledgeable gathering. I did,my dad died in Japanese hands when I was 7 and I knew very little, if anything, of the circumstances leading to his death until I joined the forum and lately I have been able to fill most of the gaps which somehow helps. Good luck in your search. Dave H[/QUOTE] Thank-you! I'm sorry to hear that your father died when you were so young. It leaves a lot of gaps and unanswered questions when you have lost a parent in your childhood. I'm so glad that alot of your quiries have been answered. Rx

[QUOTE=Ray's daughter;150543]My father, William Raymond Hopkins, served on HMS Furious during WW2. We have a few photos, but Dad never spoke about the war and as he died when I was 16, I never got to ask him about it. He was always called Ray, or, as i believe, with any sailor with the surname Hopkins, Polly. If anyone can pass on any information on Dad's time in the Navy, especially the time spent in America when The Furious was under refit in Philadelphia, I would be very appreciative. :) Rx[/QUOTE] Hello Ray's daughter and welcome to the site. There is an interesting thread on HMS Furious at this quoted location [url]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1259&highlight=HMS+Furious[/url] THere is some dialogue between Richard Morley, whose dad was on the ship, and myself regarding the crew photo. This photo, taken in Philadelphia, may well have your father in it. Have you thought of obtaining your father's Royal Naval Service Record? His record would tell you much about where and when he served and other details. There is good advice on the Service Records Thread which you can access on the Main Front Page of this Forum. Look first at the advice given by [I]Dreadnought[/I], a Forum Moderator. I have used both these sources (which actually contact each other) and find them most helpful. Telephone nos. are given. [I]Ratings who joined between 1924 and 1939 (Pre War) and for Officers aged currently between about 60 and 100 years. This includes continuous service during WWII and beyond.[/I]Director Naval Personnel Navy Search TNT Archive Services Tetron Point William Nadin Way Swadlingcote Derbyshire DE11 0BB [B]Tel: 0128 322 7913[/B] [I]For those joining and serving the Senior Service during and after World War Two.[/I] Director Naval Personnel Disclosure Cell Mail Point G2 Room 48 West Battery Whale Island Portsmouth Hampshire PO2 8DX [B]Tel: 02392 628671[/B] David

[QUOTE=David Verghese;150673]Hello Ray's daughter and welcome to the site. There is an interesting thread on HMS Furious at this quoted location [url]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1259&highlight=HMS+Furious[/url] THere is some dialogue between Richard Morley, whose dad was on the ship, and myself regarding the crew photo. This photo, taken in Philadelphia, may well have your father in it. Have you thought of obtaining your father's Royal Naval Service Record? His record would tell you much about where and when he served and other details. There is good advice on the Service Records Thread which you can access on the Main Front Page of this Forum. Look first at the advice given by [I]Dreadnought[/I], a Forum Moderator. I have used both these sources (which actually contact each other) and find them most helpful. Telephone nos. are given. [I]Ratings who joined between 1924 and 1939 (Pre War) and for Officers aged currently between about 60 and 100 years. This includes continuous service during WWII and beyond.[/I]Director Naval Personnel Navy Search TNT Archive Services Tetron Point William Nadin Way Swadlingcote Derbyshire DE11 0BB [B]Tel: 0128 322 7913[/B] [I]For those joining and serving the Senior Service during and after World War Two.[/I] Director Naval Personnel Disclosure Cell Mail Point G2 Room 48 West Battery Whale Island Portsmouth Hampshire PO2 8DX [B]Tel: 02392 628671[/B] David[/QUOTE] Thanks for that, very helpful advice, I will obtain his records. I have also looked at the photo and, as far as I can tell, Dad's not on there. But it's hard to tell! I will borrow some of Dad's navy photos from Mother and upload them. Thanks again for your help. Rx

hi! I am not related to Bill Dixey but my mother's aunt ( member of the Salvation Army) was a friend and correspondant. He also corresponded with my mother although she was just a child at the time. I have several photos of him and a couple with him and my great-aunts. I also am looking to find relatives of the following sailors: O. H "Pat" White (& Ellen) ... HMS Royal Sovereign 1943 Pat Blankenship..... not sure of ship Jack Lovell ... HMS Nelson Tom Carter..... HMS Wildfire

Hello Diane and I hope you make contact with Groveman regarding Bill Dixie. However, I should point out that Groveman only made three posts on the site, back in October 2007, but I hope he keeps looking in and sees your post. Jim

My Father also served on Furious durin the WW11 he was a chief petty officer i believe, he had somthing to do with the wireless'es on the Swordfish, He recited a story to me about when durin a bombing raid he was guarding a hanger with another when a bomb came through the hanger ceiling and exploded the other chap was killed he was injured also but managed to climb the ladder out as the hanger filled with water. his name was Joe ( Joseph ) Strand

[QUOTE=Becky2171;6688]Hello Everyone I am researching my grandfathers naval history. My Grandfather John Henry William Hosking (known as Jack) served on HMS Furious from 9/4/1940 to 16/3/1943 & HMS Black Prince from 22/7/1944 to 29/9/1945. I am led to believe that he was in charge of the groups of four on the pom pom guns. If anybody has any memories of being on either of these ships at the time of my grandfather or any photos, I would be truly grateful. Thank you Becky[/QUOTE] this is a memory recall of my fathers time on furious, it is a copy and paste to another thread. My Father also served on Furious durin the WW11 he was a chief petty officer i believe, he had somthing to do with the wireless'es on the Swordfish, He recited a story to me about when durin a bombing raid he was guarding a hanger with another when a bomb came through the hanger ceiling and exploded the other chap was killed he was injured also but managed to climb the ladder out as the hanger filled with water. his name was Joe ( Joseph ) Strand

Hi All. I am trying to find out my fathers service history . As he died when I was four years old I know very little as my mothers said he did not talk about it very much. He was a stoker on furious as a 19 year old from 1940 right the way through the war. His name was Fredrick preece. It would be great if someone knew him and had any pictures. Many Thanks. Kevin preece

Kevin, There are quite a few threads/posts regarding HMS Furious if you utilise the fairly self-evident 'Search' facility. It means a fair bit of browsing but you might come up trumps with some information relevant to your quest to find more out about your father. There is a photograph here on post#6 of this thread that could be a start. [url]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1259&highlight=HMS+Furious[/url] Good luck David

[QUOTE=Ray's daughter;150543]My father, William Raymond Hopkins, served on HMS Furious during WW2. We have a few photos, but Dad never spoke about the war and as he died when I was 16, I never got to ask him about it. He was always called Ray, or, as i believe, with any sailor with the surname Hopkins, Polly. If anyone can pass on any information on Dad's time in the Navy, especially the time spent in America when The Furious was under refit in Philadelphia, I would be very appreciative. :) Rx[/QUOTE] Hi . My father also served on hms furious as a 19 year old from 1940 right through the war. As my father died when I was four year old I know very little about his time on his ship I also think he spent some time on hms ark royal. His name was fredrick preece and I was wondering if anybody knew him or had some pictures of the crew. I am trying to find out how to get his service record. And what places he went as he did not speak very much about it except to say he hoped we never have to see such things. I now he went to norway. And to malta. Many thanks. Kevin

hi my friend jim warrillow was on the furious [1937 to 1942] when it sailed to phillidelphia he then got a train to virginia where he borded the illustrious . until late 1943 when he was on the malaya in a loch in scotland where it was been used for target practice for the high ball bouncing bomb....does any one remember him ...hes 93 now....

hi was he welsh,,,,,only asking as a friend of mine stoker james warrillow was on board the furious from 1938 t0 late 41 when he left the ship in philli to go to join the illustrious in virginia and he can remember a hopkins staying behind with some others to help with new crew

Hi, my Father Donald King also served on the Furious, he was a stoker. He passed away a few years ago now. He had hundreds of photographs of his shipmates and the Furious, unfortunately all the photographs seem to have been lost although I am contacting family members to see what has survived. He would have loved to have seen this site. His elder brother Thomas King served on the Courageous and was lost with the ship in 1939. My father tried so hard to locate Thomas's wife and son who had returned to the USA after his death but pre computer age it was hard to find information. I would love to hear from anyone who knew either of these men.
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Hi there, My father, Michael Mc Hale, served as a AB seaman aboard HMS Furious during WW2 . I don't see him on the photo of the crew displayed in this thread but I'm pretty sure this is him in the second row back from the front, second left, in this photo I found in an article from the Falkirk Herald about the Arctic Convoy Medal. I thought it might be of interest to others on this thread. My father died in 2005, aged 81. Pauline Campbell
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Hello Pauline and a very warm welcome to the Forums. I have taken the liberty of increasing the size of your photo, in the hope that someone can help to confirm his identification, or identify others in the photo. Jim
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[QUOTE=jbryce1437;10102289]Hello Pauline and a very warm welcome to the Forums. I have taken the liberty of increasing the size of your photo, in the hope that someone can help to confirm his identification, or identify others in the photo. Jim[/QUOTE] Thanks for that Jim...and for the welcome.

Further to my previous post I have found one photograph of the Furious and another two of Donald King.
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hi everyone, would like to find out if anybody here knew my father Thomas john ryan also known as buck who served on hms furious during the second world war

im very proud that my late father served on hms furious right trough the second world war and would love to find out if any knew of my father,his name was Thomas.john .ryan and so im told had the nick name buck as in the comic strip buck ryan, would love to hear if any one on here remembers him

Hello one and all: My name is Barry Marshall and I am the son of an RAF fighter pilot, Flt. Lt A.E.Marshall DFC DFM. My Dad fought in Battle of France and the Battle of Britain flying Hurricanes with the 73rd Squadron, they were then transferred to Middle East Command. They left Liverpool on HMS Furious Nov. 15th.1940 at 1030hrs, and arrived off the coast of The Gold Coast on December 27th 1940. He took off from the deck of HMS Furious and landed at Takoradi, flying Hurricane S/N P7485. This was the first leg for trip across Africa to Cairo. The was the first ever for a single engine fighter plane. I am seeking as much information as possible about that trip. I have his diary which details the voyage, however any other snippets or details of the Furious would be greatly appreciated. I am compiling a "life-story" of Dad both for my family as well as other record keeping sources. Any help will be greatly appreciated: Barry Marshall [EMAIL="marshall850@hotmail.com"]marshall850@hotmail.com[/EMAIL]

Hello Barry and a warm welcome. I have moved your post to the existing thread on Furious. However, if you enter Furious into the Search engine, you will find she is mentioned on several other threads. Jim

[QUOTE=Barmar;10151462]Hello one and all: My name is Barry Marshall and I am the son of an RAF fighter pilot, Flt. Lt A.E.Marshall DFC DFM. My Dad fought in Battle of France and the Battle of Britain flying Hurricanes with the 73rd Squadron, they were then transferred to Middle East Command. They left Liverpool on HMS Furious Nov. 15th.1940 at 1030hrs, and arrived off the coast of The Gold Coast on December 27th 1940. He took off from the deck of HMS Furious and landed at Takoradi, flying Hurricane S/N P7485. This was the first leg for trip across Africa to Cairo. The was the first ever for a single engine fighter plane. Barry Marshall [EMAIL="marshall850@hotmail.com"]marshall850@hotmail.com[/EMAIL][/QUOTE] This would have been Convoy WS5A which was attacked by the German heavy cruiser HIPPER on Christmas Day. What did your father have to say about this episode?

Geoff Wellum's classic book "First Light" is used by the RAF College Cranwell as a text book. One chapter is devoted to "Operation Bellows" where in August 1942 HMS Furious was used to get a flight of eight Spitfires close enough to fly into Malta to reinforce the air defences of the island. The flight deck on Furious was a bit short for a Spitfire with an external fuel tank and the means of succeeding in the task makes a very interesting read.

Hello, I am researching the Irish side of my family history. My great-uncle David Collins was a stoker on HMS Furious during WWII. David (1917?-1944) was working in England when WWII broke out. Family lore says he was conscripted, but , since he was an Irish citizen, officially that's impossible, he must either have volunteered or been already in the Royal Navy at the outbreak of war. He died as a result of his service in the Navy, but here, again, I'm finding it difficult to reconcile family lore with the history books. A beautiful headstone, apparently renewed each decade by the Navy, shows his service number and rank 'D Collins David HMS Furious, 1st Class Stoker D/KX (or poss KN?) 91432 died 29th April 1944 aged 27 Pray for the soul of David of Rennies Co Cork R.I.P.' Family members agree that David died of kidney failure. His ship was torpedoed, he and a few others survived but spent 15 days drifting at sea in a small boat with no provisions. They drank seawater to stay alive. After their rescue and discharge he returned home but sickened and died within 3 months. Only, if you look up the history of the service of HMS Furious you don't get anything about it being torpedoed. I have his service number and, I believe that next year once he would have been aged over 100, a FoI request will release it to me (am I right?) and I'm eagerly searching for a family resemblance in the beautiful ship's crew photos on this forum. Well, if anyone knows of an incident that fits the description, I would love to know more. Many Thanks, Caroline.

Hello Caroline and a very warm welcome to the Forums. I found the entry for him on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site [URL="http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2701370/COLLINS,%20DAVID"]here[/URL], which records him as HMS Furious. However, that is where he was serving when he died, but it does not say how long he had been on Furious, which could be a matter of days, weeks, or months. His service record will be the best way to ascertain his service history, and it will be made easier by the fact that you have his Service Number (D/KX91432). You will find information about where to apply for a copy on [URL="http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7485"]this thread[/URL], although I suspect you will need to enquire to these sources: [B]1 - [COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]For [FONT=Verdana]service between[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]1920 and 1955[/FONT], you should contact: [/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]The Directorate of Personnel Support (Navy), Navy Search, TNT Archive Services, Tetron Point, [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]William Nadin Way[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana], Swadlincote, [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Derbyshire[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana], [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]DE11 0BB[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]. Tel: 01283 227913 Fax: 01283 227942 email: [EMAIL="navysearchpgrc@tnt.co.uk"]navysearchpgrc@tnt.co.uk[/EMAIL] or [/FONT][/COLOR][/B][I][B][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] 2 - For [FONT=Verdana]service records for persons serving [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]after 1938[/FONT], you should contact the following, using application forms obtainable from [URL="https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records#how-to-apply-for-service-personnel-records"]GOV.UK[/URL] website: [/FONT][/COLOR] RN Disclosure Cell, Room 48, West Battery, Whale Island, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO2 8DX [/B][/I]As option 1 has an email address, it may be worthwhile emailing them to ask if they have his record and the cost. Good luck with your research. Jim

Thank you so much. I will wait until 2018,19 to apply by when I am sure it will be over 100 years since his birth. His exact do birth is not known to us. In the meantime, I'd still be curious to hear about any such incident. Is it even plausible that they could remain adrift in such a way for such a long time in the middle of WWII? Caroline

[url]http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/arctic-medal-for-falkirk-s-modest-convoy-hero-1-3135285[/url] This article in the Falkirk Herald (by coincidence, my hometown) is great. Tells how the stokers were lucky to have the heat of the 16 boilers on "the worst journey in the world"

[quote=Caroline Collins;10164547]Thank you so much. I will wait until 2018,19 to apply by when I am sure it will be over 100 years since his birth. His exact do birth is not known to us. In the meantime, I'd still be curious to hear about any such incident. Is it even plausible that they could remain adrift in such a way for such a long time in the middle of WWII? Caroline[/quote] His service record will have his exact date and place of birth. You will find lots of examples of Service Record contents in [URL="http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=88"]this [/URL]section, usually preceeded by Service Record and the name of the person. Jim

Further search of Step-dad's photos.HMS Active H14. Written back "Provisions from Furious FAA attack on Petsamo 1941". Quality not great but may be of interest.
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