250853 Joseph William Griffin Royal Marines Commandos 281st Kings Squadron from:Barton, Eccles My Grandad, Joseph Griffin served from 1937 to 1945. He
did his training at Deal in Kent, I think.
His first ship was the Royal Sovereign which he was not on for too long. Then he was assigned to HMS Southampton from which I have a very interesting journal he kept from the first day he arrived on her to her last day when she was badly damaged by four direct hits from Stuka dive bombers just off Malta. There were a lot of men killed into the eighty's and more than one hundred injured, the ship was that badly damaged she had to be abandoned. The men were saved by other boats in the convoy. He watched as two Navy destroyers torpedoed her to sink her so she could not be repaired by Axis forces.
The men were taken to Alexandria where they were looked after. Later my grandfather was assigned to HMS York which was guarding commercial ships in the Mediterranean and moving men and equipment from Greece to Egypt amongst other duties. On one such occasion collecting troops from Souda Bay she was surprised by, I think, four Italian motor torpedo launches of which two were successful in damaging the York who was beached in Souda Bay, Crete. I know he was hiding in caves on Crete and was there through the Battle of Crete and didn't leave until April 1941.
If anyone has any more information about the crews time in Crete I would be very grateful if they would post it.
Thanks in advance.
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