大象传媒

My father Norman Colgrave Huttley was posted to H M S Whitley after his initial training and joined the ships company a few weeks before the sinking of the ship.He was the youngest on board and was nicknamed the baby from Blackpool.At approx.0620 hrs on the 19th may 1940 the ship was attacked by Stuka dive bombers and suffered direct hits,at least one on the boilerroom which killed the on duty watch there.My father was off watch and asleep below when the bombs hit.amid the confusion of the evacuation he somehow made his way on deck in a dazed and disoriented condition he was also naked!Seeing his predicament a burly seaman picked him up and threw him into the sea close to HMS Vimeira which had come to pick up survivors.As he flew through the air he was heard to shout "I cant swim" to which the burly seaman replied "well nows your bloody chance to learn".He was quickly hauled out by the crew of the Vimeira.The Vimeira took my father and other survivors to Portsmouth where they were loaded into cattle trucks and taken to Victory barracks where he was fed and kitted out.The next day he was sent home to Blackpool on 14 days survivors leave.He continued his naval service at RNAS Tangmere and was part of the ground crew who serviced the aircraft which sank 6 german R boats in 1943.He survived the war and was a stalwart of the Dunkirk Veterans Association Blackpool branch. He died in 1999.
Pauline Riley nee Huttley.

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