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My name is Catherine Titheridge (nee Cramer). During March/April months of 1940 I was a Stewardess Wren based at H.M.S. Hornet. It was ‘Salvage Week’ and the government were asking everyone to donate metal, things like saucepans and cutlery, for the war effort.

On this particular day we were told that one of the boats in the Ward Room [where the officers dined] area was on fire. We all rushed to the windows of the Ward Room to see if we could see which boat it was. I was hanging out of the window when the depth charges and ammunition on this boat exploded. I was hit sideways into the metal frame of the window and then was thrown upwards into the air before landing on the floor. At the time it did not appear that I was badly injured although one week later whilst cleaning my teeth a blot clot was released into my mouth. Doctors told me at the time that I was lucky to be alive as if the blood clot had gone into my head instead of out of my mouth I would have died. Others were not so lucky, the Captain’s PR was killed instantly by flying ammunition.

During this time we had a visiting contingent of Polish Naval personnel on the base and it appears that two of them were Germans sent to sabotage the motor torpedo boats based at H.M.S. Hornet. It was they who had set fire to the boat. As the boats were packed with ammunition they continued to explode for quite a while afterwards, we were all temporarily sent off of the base and were moved to ground at the front of Haslar until everything was cleared. To this day I have never seen this story documented or corroborated in any way, probably because they did not want to admit to the German spies being successful.

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