大象传媒

The Free French landing at Vichy French occupied Dakar. An invasion by the Free French with British support. The Free French landed and instead of attacking they ran towards each other and hugged one another. Meanwhile an 11 inch young battery opened fire on my cruiser. I was below and we were hit mid-ships by a shell on the waterline. The watertight doors were all closed and I was in the next compartment. The damaged compartment began to flood with 10 men in it but the watertight doors could not be opened. One of them was on the telephone speaking to me as the compartment flooded. He asked me to remember him and give his love to his wife. The next evening in free time I took out the ship's boat as midshipman in charge, with the ship's padre on board and the bodies of the dead sewn up in weighted hammocks. As we got out of the harbour the bodies were tipped overboard as the padre read the funeral service. He said 'From earth to earth, ashes to ashes' as each body was tipped into the sea. It did not seem that the service fitted the event of a burial at sea.

'This story was submitted to the 'People's War' site by Linda Firth of the County Heritage Team on behalf of Nicholas Twigge and has been added to the site with his pernmission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'

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