242856 Ldg.Sea Francis James "Joe" Coyne Royal Navy HMS Flamingo from:Hackney, London Joe Coyne was with the Black Swan class sloop HMS Flamingo from her commissioning in 1939 to her bombing in the Mediterranean in November 1941.
The ship was first deployed protecting the North Sea convoys and then took part in the Norway campaign where, as with all the RN units taking part, she was under constant dive bomb attack.
Joe, at this time, was an AB and his station was on one of the ship's pom pom anti aircraft guns. He claimed never to have hit anything in spite of his best efforts.
At the close of the Norway campaign, the ship was sent immediately to the Mediterranean in support of the North African and Malta convoys where she was again under constant attack from the air.
By this time, because of the ship's constant movement, Joe had received no news from home for two years, so when he finally received the letter telling him that he was a father for the first time, his joy at having a baby daughter was tempered with anger at being kept so long in ignorance. As an expression of this he removed his cap and kicked it over the side. The captain on the bridge had witnessed this performance and for some extraordinary reason had the cap retrieved from the sea. His recent promotion to Leading Seaman was as a consequence reversed.
In November 1941 Flamingo's luck finally ran out when she was bombed and disabled having received a direct hit in the engine room.
Joe by this time had his rank restored and was now the ship's coxswain and as such was at the wheel when Flamingo was hit. The ship had rapidly taken on water and was half submerged when she was taken in tow by the Australian light cruiser HMAS Hobart, who successfully towed her into Alexandria.
Here the ship's company were redeployed, Joe returning to the UK on HMS Renown. On reaching his home port of Chatham, he was assigned to HMS Keren.
The Keren had been requisitioned out of the merchant fleet where her name had been Kenya (A name she was restored to at the close of hostilities). As a liner, she was suitable for the Navy to use as a troop transport and landing ship. The Keren was deployed to the Mediterranean where she took part in the Sicily and Italy landings and later towards the end of the war, she was in support of the campaign in Burma.
Joe by this time was a Petty Officer. In the interval between the end of the war in Europe and the surrender of Japan, he was employed at Chatham Barracks training Officer cadets.
Joe was awarded the Atlantic, Burma, Italy and Africa stars, the latter twice. After serving eighteen years in the navy, he left the service in November 1945 having received promotion to Chief Petty Officer should he sign on for a further twelve years.
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