Notes
Note N1
Index
Birth Registration Manchester North Volume 8d page 962 March quarter 1927
Original Birth and death certificates on file
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Index
Bernard was in the police force during and after World War II. He took over the Bull's Head on High Street, Reigate, Surrey, England in the early 1960's and ran the pub with his wife Kay until his death in 1980.
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Notes
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Index
1901 Census shows as a boarder, living with William Grover. Also shows birth location to be Middlesex, Enfield.
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Birth Registration Ashton Volume 8d page 733 September quarter 1922 Original certifcate of birth on file
Naval History:
Volunteered for a 12 year period in the Royal Navy as a boy on June 14th 1938.
Served on a number of ships:
HMS Caledonia - June 14 1938 to September 5 1939:
Bought by the Royal Navy on 23rd April 1937 and renamed to "HMS Caledonia" .
The plan was that she be converted into a "boys training ship" and moved to permanent moorings in Port Edgar Rosyth in Scotland. It was an unfortunate necessity that the ship had to be adapted in order for it to fit under the Forth Bridge. Her funnels and the two masts at fore and aft were shortened to facilitate this movement the conversion work was carried out in the Southampton dockyard. Her engines were also removed as unnecessary.
It was expected that she would accommodate some 15,00 Cadets and another 500 apprentices.
During World War 2 she was moved to another mooring in the Firth of Forth after the Cadets were transferred to other accommodation on land. This was to allow the old moorings to be re-assigned to Naval vessels. An unfortunate move
During the evening of 29th September 1939 (during an air raid) she caught fire and due to lack of facilities to fight the blaze she was gutted and subsequently sank.
HMS St. George - boys training ship - September 5 1939 to January 31 1940.
HMS Victory - main Royal Naval barracks at Portsmouth - On 8 different occasions February 1 1940 to August 14 1950
The Barracks opened in 1903, when the Flag CinC Portsmouth moved from HMS Excellent to HMS Victory(ship) then to shore. The Barracks were then called HMS Victory but was renamed HMS Nelson(1 August 1974).
HMS Nelson - February 14 1940 - November 9 1941
HMS Nelson was a Royal Navy battleship, built by Vickers-Armstrong at the Walkers Yard, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. she was launched in 1925 and played an active part in several battles of the Second World War, including, the Malta convoys 1941-2, North Africa 1942-3, Sicily 1943, Salerno 1943, Mediterranean 1943, Normandy 1944 as well as undertaking convoy duty.
[George Taylor May 2004] "On Atlantic and Mediterranean , torpedoed on convoy to Malta"
On 17 Sepember 1941, HNMS Isaac Sweers left Greenock together with British destroyers HMS Laforey, HMS Lively and HMS Oribi to take part in Operation Halbert, a supply convoy to Malta. During the voyage, the destroyer was ordered to escort the British battleship HMS Rodney to Gibraltar, together with the Polish destroyers ORP Garland and ORP Piorun, arriving at Gibraltar on 24 September. The destroyers left the harbour in the evening westward as escort for the British battleship HMS Nelson. After a few hours, the Task Force changed course to the Strait of Gibraltar, which they passed at night. The Admiralty hoped that the Germans will believe that HMS Rodney had just relieved HMS Nelson at Gibraltar. On 25 September, they met the rest of the convoy, which was attacked two days later by torpedo aircraft. Isaac Sweers was missed by torpedo which passed 30 meters off the bow, but the HMS Nelson was hit by a second wave, developed a list to the bow and returned to Gibraltar.
[George Taylor May 2004] - Picked up in Gibraltar after discharged from hospital based at Freetown West Africa on south Atlantic convoys. Then convoy to Gibraltar lost 19 ships on one night to U-boats - 50 approximate survivors. Found out we were decoys for invasion of North Africa - returned to England and paid off."
HMS Cormorant - November 10 1941 - April 30 1942
HMS Philoctetes - May 1 1942 to September 30 1942
HMS Beaver - Grimsby Depot - October 1942 to January 22 1943
HMS Marshal Soult - January 26 1943 to February 13 1943
[George Taylor May 2004] Worked on depot boat from 1914 war.
HMS Marlborough - Torpedo training at Eastbourne Ladies College
May 7 1943 to July 13 1943
HMS Vernon - depot at Portsmouth - July 14 1943 to July 27 1943
HMS Saker - July 30 1943 to September 1943
HMS Caroline - Belfast to USA - October 1 1943 to December 31 1943
[George Taylor May 2004] Boston Navy yard USA to pick up a frigate HMS Dacres to Belfast. Changed to HMS Baynton frigate. On Atlantic convoys to North Africa and Gibraltar (troop ship to Ceylon).
HMS Ferret - Torpedo boat Destroyer - January 1 1944 to June 9 1944
HMS Vernon - July 12 1944 to December 7 1944
HMS Lanka - Naval base in Sri Lanka - December 13 1944 to December 31 1944
HMS Mayina - Naval base in Columbo, Ceylon - January 1 1945 to February 9 1945
HMS Anderson - Shore based wireless station near Columbo - February 10 1945 to July 31 1945
HMS London - August 1 1945 to October 12 1945
HMS LONDON - On 11th April 1945, she took part in a bombardment of Sabang in company with the British battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH and French battleship RICHELIEU. She afterwards proceeded to Simonstown for refit, and was there until July.
She rejoined the East Indies Fleet at Trincomalee on 25th July 1945, just too late to take part in the concluding war operations against the Japanese in South-East Asia, but in time to be present with the Allied forces of occupation.
On 28th August, flying the broad pendant of Commodore A.L. Poland, she arrived at Sabang, and it was on board her that Japanese officers accepted the arrangements for occupation to become effective as soon as the instrument of surrender had been signed at Tokyo. This took place on 2nd September.
On 3rd September, Commodore Poland formally accepted the surrender of Sabang, and on the 8th the LONDON returned to Trincomalee. She left Colombo on 15th October 1945, for England, and arrived at Sheerness on 6th November.
For nearly a year afterwards the LONDON was employed on trooping duties to and from the Far East and Australia.
[George Taylor May 2004] HMS London took surrender of Japanese at Sabang on the coast of Malaysia. Transfer to HMS Royalist war ended came home in 1946.
HMS Royalist - October 22 1945 to January 3 1947
[George Taylor May 2004] 1947 HMS Alacrity based in Hong Kong on Malay campaign and patrols to Shanghai and Nanking also off the coast of Korea - came home. HMS Theseus Aircraft carrier then discharged to RN reserves - AMEN