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Marine John Robert Porter . Royal Marines HMS Aurora from 25 Crowland Street, Southport, Lancashire The following is an extract from my uncle’s memoirs of his time serving on the light cruiser HMS Aurora.
Bob Porter served on the ship from 1941 to 1943 and was subsequently transferred to the battleship HMS King George V on board which he serves the remainder of the war.
He had hoped to complete the remainder of his wartime memoirs, including tales of his time on the latter ship, but unfortunately he died in March 2013 at the age of 92, before he could accomplish this.
“I joined the Royal Marines in September 1940 having first volunteered 6 months earlier. After undergoing by basic training at Eastney Barracks in Portsmouth, I was drafted to HMS Aurora in August 1941 My drafting orders required me to report to the ship at Scapa Flow which entailed a 900 mile train journey from Portsmouth Harbour station up to Thurso, and then a ferry crossing to Orkney.
I was accompanied on this journey by Bert Worrall who was more experienced than me and suggested that we could break the journey and wangle a day’s home leave.
We had 48 hours to get to Thurso and he suggested that he would get off at Rugby and visit his family in the Midlands, and I should get off at Crewe and go home to Southport, on the proviso that we both catch the same train the following day.
As agreed I got off at Crewe but without a travel warrant had to rely on a railway porter to get me off the station via the luggage lift.
Having got home and surprised the family with my brief appearance, I managed to get back to Crewe the following day and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Scotland train to see if my companion was aboard as we would both have been in trouble if we did not meet up.
Fortunately, as the train pulled in I could see him hanging out of the window to see if I was there.
He was clearly as worried as me that we would not meet up. We were both relieved to see each other and we continued on our way to Thurso without further mishap.
When we eventually arrived at Scapa I was notified that the Aurora was at sea and was not due back for a week or so and I was billeted in HMS Iron Duke to await her arrival.
When she did arrive and I was able to join her, as a member the Marines six inch guns crew. “B” turret, which was the Marines turret on Aurora, which therefore became my “action station” with my “defence station” being on the Bridge as a lookout.
When Aurora left Scapa again, she headed for the Denmark Straits, and after a short period spent patrolling there, then sailed for the Mediterranean, arriving in Malta at the end of October.
There were just two cruisers, us and the Penelope, and we were the senior of the two.
We along with two destroyers Lance and Lively, were the only striking force operating from Malta during the blitz which started in earnest at the end of November 1941.
We would get a message that a convoy had left Italy for North Africa and our job was to intercept.
We always seemed to be called on a Saturday night, and we called it “the club run”.
Our most successful foray in this role occurred on the night of 8th/9th November 1941 when we have left Malta at high speed to intercept an enemy convoy of transports, going from Sicily to Benghazi. At five minutes to one, we sighted the enemy convoy, consisting of 14 ships. There were 10 merchant ships and 4 destroyers. We attacked right away, and we succeeded in sinking 2 of the destroyers in five minutes. We continued firing all of our guns and we fired 2 torpedoes—each of which sunk an enemy ship. We fired 300 rounds of 6inch and numerous rounds of 4inch etc. The battle was very fierce all of the time, and after it had lasted exactly an hour, we had sunk 12 ships in all. I understand that this action is now known as the “battle of the Duisburg convoy”.
Another run I recall was after we were joined by the heavy cruiser HMS Neptune and her more senior captain took charge of the force. We were again told of another German or Italian convoy coming from Italy and we were to leave Malta with Neptune in charge, to intercept it. Unfortunately we missed the convoy and ended up only eight or nine miles off the port of Tripoli. We only then realised that we had strayed into a mine field when we heard over the Tannoy at about two in the morning, that we were in a “tense position”, and ten minutes later we heard a tremendous explosion. Once we realised that it wasn’t us, we heard someone shout that the Neptune had struck a mine and sunk, of a ship’s company of over a thousand men, I later found out that only one man survived.
After that our captain, Captain Agnew, took command of the force again. He addressed us very calmly and told us we were still in the mine field. He sent the destroyer Kandahar which was with us, to pick up any survivors, but five minutes later she too struck a mine. Then there was a further explosion and this time it was our turn. The bows were blown off the ship, but fortunately no one was killed.
We could now only do about nine knots, and we had to get out of the mine field and try and get back to Malta before dawn, as we would have been a sitting duck for the Luftwaffe in daylight. Fortunately we did get back before daybreak but the ship was so badly damaged that it would not put to sea again until the end of March 1942, and she spent the rest of her time Malta in the dry dock.
The six inch guns were generally only used against surface ships, so while Aurora was in dry dock, the six inch ammunition was taken off the ship, leaving only the four inch guns to be manned for use against attacking aircraft. In the event of an air raid therefore, we six inch gun crews were of no use to the ship, and the ruling was that anyone not on duty as a watch keeper, should leave her and go into the underground shelters in the rocks around the harbour. These shelters were only yards from the ship, but my mate Johnny Gay, (a fellow breach worker and “captain of the gun” in “B” turret) and I, wouldn’t go in them. I think that we thought that it was too sissy to do so, so instead, when off duty, we stayed on deck while the blitzes were on and had a grandstand view. You’d see 30 or 40 aircraft at a time coming over diving like birds.
I do remember one particular occasion however, when having heard the call “all men to blitz stations”, and seen everyone, either manning the guns or leaving the ship, I decided to have a little sleep by the turret as it was a nice warm day. Unfortunately our sergeant major was on top of the turret firing at the Stukas with an oerlikon gun. When he noticed me he shouted out “Marine Porter, you get in that shelter, that’s your duty!”, while all the time firing at the enemy planes. I’ve never seen such coolness and went into the shelter feeling very sheepish.
During the time that the ship was laid up I used to go ashore as much as possible. You could get a little bed and breakfast hotel for sixpence a night. One particular night I stayed at a hotel on the seafront at Valetta called “The First and Last”. Up to then the seafront hadn’t been bombed. As far as I can recall I was the only marine ashore from the Aurora that night, and I fell soundly asleep. When I woke up the following morning I found that my hotel and two other buildings were the only ones still standing on the seafront, all the others had been blitzed and were just rubble.
By the end of March 1942 the ship was ready for sea again. We took on heaps of stores, mail, and survivors on board, about 150 of them, so it was apparent that we were going to make a run for it, but where to? At 7pm on the evening of 29th March we left Malta and the Commander then told us we are going to Gib , which meant going at high speed towards Pantellaria, we called it, “Bomb Alley” and we expected trouble there. We eventually reached Gib without too much trouble and on the first of April, Captain Agnew told us that were sailing for Liverpool that night.
What a sight on Easter Sunday 1942 when we sailed up the Mersey and entered Brocklebank Dock for further repairs. The ship was laid up there for three months which was my happiest time of the war. During that time the ship had only a skeleton crew and we had plenty of opportunity for leave. It generally worked out that half the crew would get six weeks leave at time while the other half manned the ship and vice versa. As I only lived up the road in Southport I arranged for two of my shipmates, boy seaman Alex “Ginger” McLeod from Edinburgh, and Marine Jim “Jasper” Willis from Newbury, to stay over at our house at various times and we had some good nights out in Southport. I was also able to arrange for my family and friends to have a tour of the ship while she was in dock.
Aurora finally left Liverpool on 4th July 1942. After short visits to Greenock and Freetown, our next “action” was to take part in Operation Torch, the North African invasion in November 1942.”
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Sgt. John Porter . Royal Air Force (d.14th Feb 1942) Amateur historian wins right: The Northern Echo: Friday 15 September 2000 Nearly 60 years after a shocked schoolboy witnessed one of the saddest accidents of Britain's war in the air, he has won the right for two brave pilots to be commemorated. Harry Spence was just 13 when he looked on in grim fascination as two RAF Hurricanes collided in mid-air on Valentine's Day, 1942, hurtling to the ground near his home in Tudhoe Colliery, near Spennymoor, County Durham.
Like others who watched the tragic spectacle, Harry believes that the pilots saved their community from disaster by sacrificing their lives to fly their planes clear of Tudhoe's pit cottages and shops. At 22, one of the pilots, John Porter, was already a sergeant at RAF Usworth, near Sunderland, and taking part in a mock dog fight in the skies near his home village of Brandon, County Durham. As he flew into one of the most complex manoeuvres of the exercise, coming towards him was a second Hurricane from Usworth, in the hands of 26-year-old Sergeant Clifford Scott, married with a young daughter, and a member of the Canadian RAF. Now the courage of both men will be recorded on a plaque to be placed by Spennymoor Town Council in Tudhoe Cemetery. Harry, 72, a keen amateur historian, came up with the idea as a tribute to the heroes of the skies. He still remembers vividly the Saturday morning of the crash. Despite their sense 0of horror, he and his friend Harold Kirkup ran to where one of the aircraft fell and burst into flames, yards away from their homes. Harry said: "We ran towards the pilot, but, of course, we could do nothing. We heard him say his prayers and then he died. I found one of his flying boots in a nearby gully, full of water." Villagers found an old door and used it as a makeshift stretcher to carry the pilot's body away. Harry added: "The pilot stayed in his plane until the last possible moment after avoiding the houses. They were both flying away from the village." Three years ago, one of Harry's colleagues in the Spennymoor and District Local History Society, former fighter pilot Bill Fleming, laid a wreath at Tudhoe's war memorial in memory of the lost fliers
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L Porter . British Army 9th Lancers L Porter served with the 9th Lancers British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Tech Sgt. Leroy J. Porter . United States Army Air Forces 3rd Pursuit Squadron 24th Pursuit Group from Lincoln County, Wyoming (d.15th April 1942) Japanese records noted that Leroy Porter became a POW on 7th of March 1942 and that he was either executed or shot while trying to escape. Husband of Florence E Porter who is interred with him at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California.
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Cpl. Mervyn Arthur Porter . British Army from Bath Mervyn Porter served with the British Army during WW2
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Flying Officer Owen Wells Porter . Royal Air Force 21 Squadron from Canada (d.31st July 1944)
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Sgt. R. E. Porter . Royal Canadian Air Force 419 Sqd.
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Sid Porter . Sid Porter is commemorated on the WW2 Roll of Honour Plaque in the entrance of Jarrow Town Hall. Was he in the army?
Update: A possibility could be Sidney Porter, 10561847, Craftsman, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He was born in County Durham and died 24 Jun 1944 and is buried in Lenham Cemetery.
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SN Porter MiD. British Army Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry SN Porter served with the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Pte. William Porter . British Army 7th Btn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders from Glasgow (d.30th October 1944) William Porter died in Holland (probably during Operation Vitality II, part of the Battle of the Scheldt) and is buried in the Bergen-Op-Zoom War Cemetery, Holland.
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WJ Porter . British Army WJ Porter served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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L/Bmbdr. Frances Henry "Dasher " Portman . British Army Royal Artillery
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Cpl. Lowell Marion Posegate . United States Army from Story City, Iowa Lowell M. Posegate landed at Normandy, France on D-Day+2, June 7,1942. The German forces had been driven back about ten miles. Lowell and his company fought without opportunity for rest and relaxation until July 23,1942.
Somebody tricked us into taking a break. We sat in a circle[150 men]and the Germans were only 1/2 mile from us. Some of the men were running back to ordinance [it was quiet there]. A big mouth officer said anyone caught running back would be shot. My foxhole buddy asked, "what about some of the officers who ran back?" The commander[a lieutenant or a captain] said "I don't know about that, and I don't want to hear anymore about it."
Showers and new clothes were brought up to us. The Germans could have blown us away as we say in that circle. A truck with hot meals was sent up to us. The steak was so old and tough you couldn't cut it with a chain saw. Also a little salad. Before that, we were eating out of our pockets (K rations). Just beyond laid a dead cow, legs sticking up and bloated. What an appetizing sight.
July 23,about the time Hitler's life was threatened. I hadn't changed clothes or washed my hands from June 7 to July 23. The main idea was to keep blood in the veins. New clothes, shoes, and shower was the first since June 4, in England.
We started fighting again. "Spread out!", the officer yelled, and so tipped off the enemy. Machine gun fire began to pour in on us. I got behind a hedge row with an apple tree protecting my head. We moved ahead a bit farther to an "L" shaped building. A German tank came around the hedge tow and blasted one end of the building. Some of our guys came out of the building, their faces blackened from the smoke and fire. One of my buddies was hit and paralyzed by mortar fire and my sergeant was killed. We told my buddy we would send the medics for him, but the medics had also taken a beating.
My foxhole buddy and I dug in for the night. The next morning, we could see the Germans moving toward us. I looked to my right and saw white flags appearing from our positions. When we surrendered, the Germans took our belts and shoe laces, to keep us from running. One of the soldiers took my watch.
The British air force flew night sorties and attaked the trucks transporting us through France into Germany. The Germans stopped the trucks and took cover away from the road, leaving us to our fate. One of the men was about to jump from the truck when I said to him, "Bass [Robert Bass of South Carolina], you better sit down, you're going to get it one way or another. He sat down and the British pilot stopped straffing when he came to our truck. Our truck was in darkness just at the end of the area illuminated by British flares.
One night, our captors had packed us into a tin shed aout 150'x 60' During the night, an Englishman sang,"When they Begin the Beguine".
They moved us out during the night and we stopped in an apple orchard. The French lady who owned the orchard asked us not to eat the apples. She must have felt bad about this, as she later came back with crackers and milk for us.
We were in Paris, 40 of us, locked in a boxcar. We were given 3/4 of a loaf of German bread and 1/2 pint horse meat, and water when available from a tin can. When air raid signals went off, the guards would slam the door of the boxcar closed. This would continue for about four days. Before we moved out of the railroad boxcar. Bathroom priveleges happened whenever.
At the next stop the Germans decided to give us showers while it was raining and delouse us at the same time. We took showers in the rain, no towels or anything to dry off with. I caught water off the roof so I could have something to drink.
Another three day ride. Forty of us in a locked boxcar. We could hear planes outside. With just a small hole for air, we were running out of oxygen. I was breathing as deep as I could breathe. My buddy was lying on the floor next to me. He had his testament out and I was fanning him. He was a heavy smoker. We kept pounding on the boxcar door until they finally opened it. Just in time!
Our next ride was the last ride until we got to the concentration camp. I had picked uo a sinus infection from taking a shower in the rain. To get sinus relief, I had to tip my ear between my knees, and for three days just sipped water. When I got off the boxcar, I was so weak, I could hardly walk. They took us to a camp, I have no idea the name of it. The first encounter at the camp was with Russians. They had arms and legs missing, and were down to skin and bones. One Russian had a straight razor and I hadn't shaved since July 20th. He shaved me dry, no shaving cream. The Russians were sleeping in bare buildings. I gave the Russian that shaved me some cigarettes from my Red Cross parcel. The Russians didn't get those. There were Italians, Americans and English in the camp. They had a little hospital set up and gave me medicine for sinus. We stayed in that camp until October. Then they took us out to the little town of Frietal, where factories had been bombed. We helped clean that up and we stayed in an old school house. We were just a short way from Dresden. We worked out of there until Valentine's Day and then Dresden was bombed. It blew out lights and windows. We were just a few miles from Dresden. We went in and picked up the dead. Then one night we got word that the Russians were moving in. I was sometime around April.
Just before dark we loaded a wagon and put ropes on the wagon so we could pull it up the mountain. We walked all night and took turns on the ropes. We stayed up on this mountain in the first part of May. My sinus infection came back. I had a sore throat and chills. I contacted my English friends and they gave me some medicine. We were living on a liquid diet as the Red Cross parcels were gone. We stayed there a few days until I got over my chills and fever. The Russians were now coming. We started down the mountain toward evening. Women were pushing baby carriages to get out of the way of the Russians. We would soon be freed.
The above is an interview with my Dad. My Mom took the notes. I can also remember Dad telling me that when the Russians were coming to liberate the camp, the Englishman friend of his sang "Begin the Beguine" at the top of his voice until he was hoarse.
Dad lived to be 84. He had his gall bladder removed in the mid 1990's and the surgeon ask him if he was a carpenter or worked around sawdust a lot. Dad said no, but told of the Germans bread that was filled with sawdust. No wonder he had chronic gastrointestinal pain his whole life!
He earned the Bronze Star with valor, Euorpean, African and Middle East medals.
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Mabel Posliff . Women's Auxiliary Air Force from I am trying to find any information about where my nana was stationed during her service. I've not much to go on at the moment. Her name was Mabel Posliff and she joined (I think) when she was 16 years of age, 1933. In 1943 she was pregnant with my mum and left the WRAF to live in Bentley near Doncaster with her best friend. All I know is that my mum's father was an RAF serviceman from the south. I do know that my grandfather survived the war as he came looking for my nana sometime after my mum was born in 1944. In 1948 my nana married a man who I always thought was my granddad (who I absolutely adored) until now, and she became Mabel Woodall. Can anyone help me further or at least give me some guidance on how to trace where she was stationed?
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Ambrose Poss . United States Army 102nd Infantry Div. from USA I was drafted in December 1942 and joined the 102nd Infantry Division. I later served with 912th HAM Ord. for the duration.
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P/O. Arthur Francis Posselt . Royal Air Force No. 150 Squadron from Mbabane, Swaziland (d.14th May 1940) Arthur Posselt served with No. 150 Squadron
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Cook. Roy Postlethwaite . Royal Navy HMS Fly from Leicester Roy Postlethwaite is my father, sadly now passed away. He was a cook on several ships, including HMS Fly, Royal Navy in WW2.
We heard a story that he was badly burned on his legs after his ship was hit by a U-boat. We sons and daughters never saw his legs, they were always covered, I am not sure what ship he was on at the time. We were also given to understand that he was commissioned to work on the Queen Mary as cook, but because his wife died of leukaemia, he didn't make the posting.
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Corporal Sidney H Potesta . British Army Royal Signals from Kingston, Surrey
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R Pott . British Army R Pott served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Sea. George Edward Potten . Royal Navy HMS Berkeley Castle from 44 Dryden Close, London George Potten trained at H.M.S Really in Chatham. His main ship was Berkeley Castle and he finished the war as Cox First Class. I would like to know why my father was at Pembroke and Copra.
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Sgt. Alexander Richard Potter . Royal Canadian Airforce from Keswick, Ontario, Canada Alexander Potter was a photographer who enlisted at the outbreak of the war. He was called to duty first at Rockcliffe, Ontario. Later moved to Regina, Saskatchewan then finally to Paulson, Manitoba to the No7 Bomber & Gunnery training base.
In February 1943 he was posted to RAF Tholthorpe Bomber Command as a photographer. His duties included photographing downed planes, events and dignitaries, also with placing the automated cameras into the bellies of the bombers before missions. Then removing and developing film after the missions returned.
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Flt.Sgt. Dennis Hilton Potter . Royal Australian Air Force 624 Squadron from Muntadgin, Western Australia (d.1st Feb 1944) Dennis Potter was the son of Thomas Harry and Ellen Potter, of Muntadgin, Western Australia.
He was aged 21 when he died and is buried in the Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery in Albania. His grave has been lost and he is mentioned on the Special Memorial E.
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Pte. Edward John Potter . British Army 2nd Btn. Coldstream Guards from Vange, Essex My Father, Ted Potter, transfered from the RAF Regiment to the Coldstream Guards and afterwards was transported (by towed barge) to Italy for the Italian campagne. He, like many, never told us much about his time there but I understand that he was a front line soldier and was amongst the first to cross the river Po. He finished his war in Trieste. I recall one of his stories was about his mate given the task of emptying the latrine/cess pit and throwing a hand granade into it. I don`t know if this actually happened or if it was a tale, although his mates always said it had happened. Another story was about a time when he and a small group were in a forward position (I think in hours of darkness) and found a group of German soldiers playing cards, they took them by supprise and `confiscated/liberated` their gambling money before taking them back for questioning etc. Part of my father's duty was driving a `Bedford` truck (which his mates said was held together with bits of string) and he said that they had orders that if they came across a body lieing in the road (mountainous region) they were supposed to run over it as it was a tactic to stop trucks by doing this, he never said if he ever had cause to follow this command.
As I said my father never really said much about his time in Italy and I would love to find out more about that part of his service history. I understand that he was in the 2nd Battalion of the 56th Regiment, Coldstream Guards until 1946 returning to civilian life in Essex after that.
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F/Sgt,. Edward Vivian Potter . Royal New Zealand Air Force 12 Sqdn. from Auckland (d.1st September 1943) Lancaster DV185 PH-D took off from Wickenby at 20.15 on 31st August 1943 for Berlin. The aircraft crashed near Zerbst on 1st September 1943. None of the crew survived and are buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery. They were:
Sgt H. Machin (pilot)
Sgt E.F. Harris (airgunner)
Sgt P. Holloway (flight engineer)
Sgt J.G. Jones (airgunner)
Sgt F. Lennard (navigator)
F/Sgt E.V. Potter (airbomber)
Sgt G.A. Purcell (wop/airgunner)
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J Potter . British Army Royal Armoured Corps J Potter served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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J Potter . British Army Royal Armoured Corps J Potter served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Sgt. Jack Harold Potter . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 115 Squadron from 33 Woodmill Lane, Southampton (d.16th Nov 1940)
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Flt.Lt. James Walter Potter DFM.. Royal Air Force 233 Squadron (d.17th February 1942) James Potter was awarded the DFM, his citation reads,
Sergeant Potter has completed 110 operational flights including attacks on enemy destroyers, successful reconnaissances off the Dutch coast and an attack with 250lb bombs on Stavanger aerodrome. On 16th of February 1940, he took part in a special search for the Altmark, the next day, he escorted five destroyers bringing rescued prisoners from Norway to Scotland. On 23rd of July 1940, during a North Sea patrol, he sighted an enemy force of eight destroyers and six motor vessels. He reported and shadowed them for two and a half hours to the full endurance of his aircraft despite the presence of enemy aircraft. He has displayed great courage and determination.
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JB Potter . British Army JB Potter served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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F/Sgt. John Leonard Potter . Royal Air Force 114 Squadron from Barking (d.25th Aug 1944)  This is the story of my late mum's "baby" brother John Potter that I never remember meeting. I am now doing my Family History and found details and photos of him which my mum had kept. I have the last letter which he wrote to her on 22nd July 1944, just one month before his plane crashed in the sea on the 25th August 1944 and he was drowned. He was only 21 years old and such a handsome young man with his life ahead of him. I also have the letter from F/L D. G. Smith, Adjutant, informing my grand parents that his body had been recovered from the sea on the 3rd September and buried that day in the Allied Cemetery,nearby at Florence. I have a picture of the grave showing his number and name. Also the letter from the Air Ministry dated 10th January 1945 detailing the balance of monies due to my grandmother who was to inherit under his will. The amount was £80, 17 shilling and 10pence, not much for a life was it? He was just one of many who gave their lives, long may they be remembered.
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