Source:
http://www.hmshood.com/crew/biography/wfstone_bio.htm
Chapter 11- H.M.S. Salamander
In September 1937, I was drafted to the Minesweeper H.M.S.
Salamander, stationed at Portland, Dorset. She was the ship in which
I would see my early wartime service.
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On 27th May 1938, I married Lily Hoskin at
Buckland-Tout-Saints, Goveton, near Kingsbridge.
By this time "Salamander" had sailed to Devonport for
refitting and I was stationed in the barracks. Following our
wedding, Lily and I lived in a flat at Plymouth, but when
"Salamander" returned to Portland we rented a flat there where
we lived for some months. I was often out minesweeping but was
able to return to our home when the ship docked.
Lily became pregnant, but a week before our baby was born the
ship left for Sheerness and never returned to Portland! I
remember that time well - the air was filled with barrage
balloons as defence against air attacks.
Our daughter Anne was born at Portland on the 28th
August 1939 - just a week before war was declared! Not until
the baby was three weeks old was I able to get special
permission for long-weekend leave. Eventually Lily and Anne
left Portland and returned to stay with Lily's parents, who
had now retired to Wrangaton, near Plymouth.
Early in the War I lost one of my nephews, Leslie Edgecombe.
Just a fortnight after the outbreak of war he had been lucky
to survive loss of the aircraft carrier "Courageous" which was
sunk in an attack by the German submarine U29 on 17th
September 1939.
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Chief Stoker Stone back at Goveton on leave 1937 |
He had told me that, on that occasion, as he was trying to get out,
he had heard one of the Petty Officers shouting, "Follow me!"
Although he could not see the Petty Officer, he had followed the
sound of his voice and managed to get out and had been rescued.
Although my nephew was saved many of my friends were lost with the
"Courageous." However, my nephew was not so lucky a few months later
when, on 8th June 1940, "Courageous's" sister ship
"Glorious" was lost off Norway in action with the German Battle
Cruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" following the evacuation of
Norway.
In those early months of the war "Salamander" was stationed at
Grimsby and we were responsible for coastal minesweeping operations
around the northeast. I managed to rent rooms at Cleethorpes and
Lily and Anne travelled all the way up from Devon, by train, so that
we could be together. On one occasion the ship had a close call. I
was one deck down at the time but I gather that a mine got caught
around one of the sweeps as it was being winched back in.
Fortunately, someone spotted it and gave the alarm. They managed to
free the mine from the sweep but in doing so, or shortly after, it
detonated and blasted the side of the ship. Although there was no
damage that threatened the ship itself, one of the plates, which
separated the oil tanks, was ruptured and we had to go into docks to
have that repaired.
In May 1940, when Germany advanced through Belgium and France, we
were ordered by the Admiralty to the south coast to help with the
Dunkirk evacuations. We did five trips to Dunkirk in all, rescuing
200 to 300 men each time. Things got worse each trip we made. Our
final trip was on 1st June by which stage there was the
wreckage of sunken ships all around and burning oil tanks by the
dockside. Lines of troops were all marching towards the sea. We were
anchored off the beach with one of our sister ships, the 'Skipjack',
only about fifty yards away. At about 8am the German dive bombers
came over and attacked 'Skipjack.' One of the attacking planes was
shot down but 'Skipjack' was badly hit and capsized. She must have
had about 200 men on board. I had to say "God, help us." I believe
to this day that He did.
During our trips to Dunkirk, I was often stationed on the
quarterdeck helping men get aboard "Salamander" as they swam out
from the beach. Other groups of men had managed to find boats and
row out to the ship. On one occasion I had a rope around a badly
injured soldier who had bones sticking out of his trousers. Just as
I tried to pull him in, the ship went ahead and I lost him. I don't
know what happened to him.
Unknown to me, on our way back on the final trip, we were attacked
by a submarine that fired a torpedo at us. When we got back to Dover
the Coxswain and the Able Seaman on the wheel said to me "Chief, we
held our ears today and waited for the explosion. Jerry fired this
torpedo that was coming straight for us amidships." "Salamander" had
been saved by her shallow draft - the torpedo had passed straight
underneath us. The only explanation that we could think of to
explain our lucky escape was that the German submarine had mistaken
us for a destroyer and had set the torpedo to run at a greater depth
than the "Salamander's" draft.
Those were awful days but one just carried on as if nothing had
happened - there was nothing else that you could do.
In all the years since Dunkirk I had never come across anyone whom
we had rescued in the "Salamander" until the summer of 1999. It was
then that, whilst at a reunion of the Henley Branch of the Dunkirk
Veterans Association, a chap came up to me and said, "What ship were
you in at Dunkirk, Chief?" "Salamander," I replied. "You saved my
life," he said. He told me that he had broken into a boat shed at De
Panne in Belgium with some other soldiers and pinched a rowing boat.
They had started to row home when we picked them up. It is pretty
unlikely that they would have made it all the way back across the
Channel in the rowing boat.
Following Dunkirk "Salamander" was put in to the Royal Albert docks
in London to undergo repair to the damage that had been sustained
during the evacuation.
Lily and baby Anne again came up from Devon to stay with friends at
Wyndham Street, near Marble Arch, and I was able to spend the nights
there.
After repairs we sailed to Invergordon in northeast Scotland, where
we were based whilst on duty escorting convoys.
Later the ship was transferred to Aberdeen for modifications to the
minesweeping gear. Lily and Anne were again able to join me and we
all stayed locally for a short while.
Soon afterwards came the devastating news of the loss of the "Hood."
I remember well the day I heard that she had been lost. I was on
leave with my family at Wrangaton at the time. I just couldn't
believe it, and was unable to eat my lunch.
Those were dark days and the only ones in the war that I really felt
down. A month or so later Hitler attacked Russia, which brought that
country into the war. I felt that Russia coming in on our side was
one of the best pieces of news I had heard in a long time. I had no
real doubt about the outcome after that.
Of course one of the results of Russia becoming our ally was the
start of the Russian convoys. H.M.S. Salamander was one of the ships
which formed the escort on the very first such convoy, code named
Operation "Dervish". The merchant ships left Liverpool on 12th
August 1941 and formed up at Iceland on 20th August where
they were joined by "Salamander" and the other escort ships. We
provided escort for the passage to Arkhangel, where we arrived on 31st
August. Unlike many of the later PQ convoys, "Dervish" proved to be
an uneventful trip for us. As a Chief Stoker I was in charge of all
the other junior Stokers on the ship.
Something that I do remember well from that trip is that
“Salamander” was refuelled at sea. As I recall we took on about 50
tons of fuel oil. Being in charge of everything to do with oil and
water in the ship, I was responsible for the "Salamander" end of the
refuelling operation. All went smoothly from above decks.
During our return from Russia the Engineer Officer told me that when
we arrived back I was due to leave the "Salamander". I asked to see
the Commander, as I didn't want to leave. The Commander would not
change his mind though and said that I had been on the ship for 4
years and was due for a move. As it transpired he did me a favour
as, later in the war, "Salamander" was nearly destroyed. She was
minesweeping off Le Havre on 27th August 1944, when she
was mistaken for an enemy vessel by some RAF Typhoons. During that
action our own aircraft sank two minesweepers, the "Britomart" and
the "Hussar" and badly damaged "Salamander" - blowing off most of
her stern.
So it was off to barracks for me to await a new draft. I had not
been there a fortnight when I received a chit to say that I was
going to be drafted. That day another Chief whom I knew greeted me
"Morning Chief," he said, "Morning be buggered," I replied. "What's
the matter with you old so and so?" he said. "I've got a draft
chit," I said. "I know you have," he said "I'm going with you! We're
going to Wallsend to stand by a new ship." "Oh, that's a lovely
job!" I said.
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Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stone_%28veteran%29
William "Bill" Stone
(born 23 September 1900) is one of the few surviving British
veterans of the First World War.
He is one of only 8 surviving
veterans from WW1 living in the UK.
He was born in Ledstone,
near Kingsbridge, in Devon.
Stone was one of 14
children & ran his own barbers shop after the war, where he
also sold tobacco and cigarettes.
William enlisted on his
18th birthday. He was a member of the Royal Navy and served
as Chief Stoker and Chief Petty Officer.
During the Second World
War, Stone was torpedoed twice. He also participated in the
evacuation of Dunkirk on board the minesweeper Salamander.
In 2005, William became
Fox FM's Local Hero and Central Television's Personality of
the Year.
Medals achieved:
- 1914-18 British War
Medal
- 1939-45 Star
- The Atlantic Star
- The African Star
- The Italy Star
- 1939-45 Defence Medal
- 1939-45 Victory Medal
(with oak leave on ribbon – to signify mention in
despatches for bravery at the Sicily landing)
- Long Service and Good
Conduct Medal
- Malta Memorial Medal
- Russian Convoy Medal
1945-85
- Dunkirk Medal
- Russian Convoy Medal
1945-95
Ships sailed in:
- HMS Tiger (1913) Battle
Cruiser – 1919-1922
- HMS Hood (51) Battle
Cruiser – 1922-1924
- HMS Chrysanthemum Sloop
– 1925-1927
- HMS P40 Submarine
Chaser – 1928-29
- HMS Eagle (1918)
Aircraft Carrier – 1929-1931
- HMS Harebell Sloop –
1931-1933
- HMS Thanet Destroyer –
1933-1934
- HMS Tenedos Destroyer –
1933-1934
- HMS Carlisle Light
Cruiser – 1934-1937
- HMS Salamander Mine
Sweeper – 1937-1941
- HMS Newfoundland Light
Cruiser – 1941-1944
William was demobbed in
1945.
