- Contributed by听
- Market Harborough Royal British Legion
- People in story:听
- Bill Cotton
- Location of story:听
- Freetown, West Africa
- Background to story:听
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:听
- A4177974
- Contributed on:听
- 10 June 2005
This story is submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a member of Market Harborough Branch, Royal British Legion on behalf of Bill Cotton and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Cotton fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.
On my visit to Freetown in 1941, I was serving on H.M.S. Hawkins and we had a few days to wait for a troop convoy to be escorted round the Cape. As it was so hot the Captain decided to go on a 900 mile sweep. We were fed up showering out "Liverpool Pennies" and watching the locals baling out of their dugouts to get them and glad to be on the move to get a bit of breeze.
After a few fruitless days patrolling and we were about to return to port, a lookout sighted a small boat. In it were several men who told us they had been torpedoed 42 days before. They were on their last legs and one or two of them died before we reached Freetown.
A photograph of the boat coming alongside was published in the Daily Mirror. I do hope to get a copy one day.
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