Boy.Sea. Frederick Ernest Charles "Lofty" Bowditch DSM.
Royal Navy HMS Cairo
from:Paisley, Scotland
My father Frederick Bowditch served on HMS Cairo from 1939-1942. He went into action immediately war was declared, even though he was only 16 years old, and at Naval College at the time. He was assigned to HMS Cairo as a Boy Seaman, and was trained as an anti-aircraft gunner.
HMS Cairo provided air cover for the other Royal Navy ships during the Norwegian Campaign. My dad remembers shelling enemy forces in Narvik and other coastal locations with the AA guns pointing horizontally rather than vertically. The ship came under heavy bombardment all through the Campaign, so much so that the AA guns were overheating, and the rifling was worn away by non-stop use.
In May 1940 off Narvik, a bomb exploded between the two funnels. If it had gone down one of the funnels, that would have been the end, and I wouldn’t be writing this now. The gun stations were nearby, and several of the gunners were killed or injured. My dad was injured, but not badly, and he immediately tried to assist those who had fallen, but they were mostly beyond help. He and others then grabbed a fire hose and extinguished the fire that had started. It was very close to the magazine, and thankfully they extinguished the flames or the ship would have been finished.
When he returned to his home in London, he was so exhausted that he refused his father’s pleas to take shelter during an air raid, and just slept right through it. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his actions off Narvik, aged just 17, and he must be one of the youngest recipients of this award.
After Norway, he also participated in the Atlantic Convoys to Murmansk, once transporting a load of gold bullion (very heavy apparently) to Russia. (He was finally awarded the Arctic Star for this in 2013.) He went with the ship to the Mediterranean, and Operation Pedestal to defend Malta. He was rescued when the ship went down after being attacked and sunk by an Italian submarine in August 1942.
Dad remained close friends with two shipmates from HMS Cairo – Leonard "Happy" Day, and "Rattler" Morgan. He attended many reunions in Portsmouth over the years with his old shipmates. Unfortunately, Happy Day passed away in 2012, but Rattler is still around. Dad was 90 in June 2013, and is now living in a nursing home in Erskine, Scotland. I’m sure he would be happy to hear from any old shipmates or their relatives.
