David, The Footprints On The Sands Of Time has your fathers POW number as 605 (which the author notes is curious without giving a reason why).
My understanding is that the author of Footprints (Oliver Clutton-Brock) was under the impression that that number was also assigned to another. The German method of assigning numbers to P.O.W.'s has always baffled me, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.
Hi Digger thanks for the photo. Can you give us an outline of his service and the ships he served on?
G'day Kyt the pic was taken at Chatham July 1941 when he was 17yrs 7 months old. He served on HMS Campbell Aug 1941-Sept 1944 escorting coastal and Russian convoys then part of the escort for the 2nd wave on D Day. He then came to Australia on the Dominion Monarch as part of the BPF and posted to MONAB1 HMS Nabbington (now Naval Air Station HMAS Albatross) Nowra NSW taking his discharge at HMS Drake in Sydney NSW 1946. Precise dates I'll have to look up as he's with his rellies in Scotland at the moment Rod
Quite a history for HMS Campbell according to a quick google. Channel Dash, Russian convoys and returning to port with stern mostly submerged from torpedo hit.
Some good photos here of HMS Campbell: HMS CAMPBELL Photos here of SS Dominion Monarch. Dominion Monarch 1938 Monab1 HMS Nabbington MONAB I page 1
Thanks Spidge I was going to put that pic in along with a story dad told me when they were in Grimsby having a boiler clean. He never said much and still doesn't about his service but now and then something will jog his memory and a story will emerge. He told me this one when I was about 8-9y.o one Anzac Day. An Admiralty type came for a ship's inspection and dad being an Oerlikon gunner had loaded his gun with all tracer so he could see where his shots were going. When the inspecting officer saw this he tore strips off dad because the official load was 1 tracer per 5 rounds as tracer wore the barrels out quicker, so dad and his loader had to unload all the mags from his ready use locker and reload as prescribed by officialdom. His Lt gave him a wink as they departed and once the inspector had left dad's Lt came back and told him to carry on as he had been before being told off, so dad and his loader then went back to full tracer loads, which made more sense especially when under air attack during the day. Rod
Great Photo .Commissioned Airgunner pathfinder Badge and DFC and Air crew Europe star by look of it I would be proud Cheers AJ :clap2:
