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HARRY LIDSTONE LUGG

Harry Lidstone Lugg was born on 1st October 1915 in South Peckham, Camberwell, London. Harry was one of four children born to ‘journeyman’ carpenter William and his wife Elizabeth. During Harry’s early years the family moved down to Cornwall and settled in the Mousehole area. The family were regular church goers, a trait that Harry continued throughout his own life.
Harry was my Uncle and it was he who taught me to play cricket, and, he showed me how to use rope and a stone to lasso dead branches of trees, bring them crashing to the ground, to keep the home fires burning — exciting stuff for a small boy!
Uncle Harry had a wicked sense of humour and a love of the sea. He had joined the Royal Navy in 1933 and trained as a Storehouse Assistant at HMS Victory in Portsmouth. He served on/at a number of ships/establishments — HMS Drake in Plymouth, HMS Furious and HMS Stork.
By 1939, when war was declared, Harry was promoted to Petty Officer and assigned to the cruiser, HMS Caradoc, as part of the America and West Indies fleet. In June 1942, Harry was posted back to Britannia II, in Dartmouth, where he served for eighteen months and was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. It was during this period that he met Aunt Clare and they married in May 1943.
In retrospect, they were lucky enough to have their first six months together before Harry was posted to the air craft carrier, HMS Illustrious in November 1943.
The ship sailed through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, down the Red Sea, across the Indian Ocean and arrived at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) by Jan 28th 1944. Weeks of ‘trials and training’ followed, interspersed with occasional aircraft sweeps of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean to look for Japanese ships and planes.
In April 1944, HMS Illustrious teamed up with the American air craft carrier Saratoga, and, together with other units of the East Indies fleet, took part in numerous operations against the Japanese. The bombing targets were Japanese ports, air craft bases and oil refineries. Needless to say, the Japanese aircraft fighters retaliated and made assaults on Illustrious and Saratoga. Thankfully, the damage, injuries and fatalities were few as the two ships had extensive fire power and were able to defend them selves.
Harry never talked to me about the fighting — the fear, the devastation and the inevitable sadness of war — he was far more likely to tell me a funny story about a shipmate, or an amusing aspect of life on board ship. Despite Harry’s love of the sea and the Navy, once the war was over he resigned his post on Illustrious in Jan 1946. With Aunt Clare, he settled down in ‘civvy’ street and worked, until his retirement, in the Ministry of Labour (today’s Job Centres). Sadly Uncle Harry died in 1992 at the age of 77.
As the executer of his will, I still have his Royal Navy Service Record, form S1246F, and his annual reports from every ship and establishment where he had served. Every comment about his career and conduct is signed and dated by the relevant Commanding Officers. The paper of the S1246F is yellowed and mildewed with age, and some of the Commanding Officers phraseology and ‘political correctness’ may not stand up to today’s exacting standards — but — the record reminds me how a diligent store houseman could humorously contribute some order support, in what for many of his generation.
Story recalled by W.J Phillips
Story written by Paula Phillips

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