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Copy of a letter home written by dad (Alan Thompson) on 29th July 1940, 3 days after my birth. He wrote to my grandmother Sarah Jane Taylor as my mother was otherwise engaged and he did not want to alarm her about his ordeal. It goes: -

Dear Mam, 29.7.40
Just a line to let you know we arrived safely but only just. We had the luck of the devil when we came down the Channel. We were stopped to get our right positions in the convoy and had just started away when Jerry paid us a social visit. Where we should have been got a salvo from the dive-bombers, which caught us napping even though we had been expecting them. They seem to come from nowhere and then were everywhere. I was at the wheel and it was awful there, as you can鈥檛 see where the planes were. I could only see ahead where the bombs dropped. There was a ship a few yards on either side of us and they were hit. I think we lost five or six vessels then but they were not content with that and came back about half an hour later and just about repeated the first attack. We were supposed to stop in the convoy but the skipper decided to go on his own. That was where our luck continued as we later learned that they were attacked just at dusk by M.T.B.鈥檚. Well we have to take bad with the good so I expect Jerry will get it in the neck for that. I was deaf for six hours after being at the gun for the second attack as the noise was terrific. Hope everything and everyone at home is as well as can be expected. I am glad Mollie has got it over at last I hope everything went off alright. By the way please don鈥檛 tell Mollie what as happened as I told her we just had a spot of bother with Jerry and everything went off alright. She has enough to worry about without worrying too much over me. I think that鈥檚 all the news for the present but will write again soon. Lots of love. Alan.

This engagement occurred aboard the S.S. Arthur Wright on the 17th May 1940. He received a cheque for 拢7.10s.0d in September 1941 for the part he played in defending the ship. It was issued by the grateful owners, Stephenson Clarke Ltd., from their War Risks Club in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport, who鈥� 鈥済raciously awarded a sum for distribution to the personnel of the S.S. Arthur Wright for the very gallant services rendered when attacked by enemy aircraft鈥︹��.

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