大象传媒

I never met my Uncle Herbie but his was a familiar face to me as his photograph was displayed prominently in our home and in those of my aunts and uncles, his brothers and sisters. Herbie had gone missing from a troopship in the Mediterranean. I have covered the story of the sinking of the SS Yoma in another contribution to the People鈥檚 War website but this is to give a little more background about the people mentioned in that account.

Because of my parent鈥檚 marriage, mentioned in Herbie鈥檚 letters, it is possible to see the family as they were around the time that these events were happening. They were married on Saturday June 5th 1943 at Ferryhill, a mining village in County Durham and their wedding photograph shows Alice Gill, Herbie鈥檚 mother, Charlie, Herbie鈥檚 stepfather and their six children. From the left in the back row are brothers Charlie, Les and Ernie, the groom and Peggy, the bride. Between Charlie and Les stands their sister Joan.

Another sister, Rosemary, is seated beside her mother Alice with their father, Charlie standing behind. The little boy standing at his mother鈥檚 knee is Jack, the little brother mentioned in Herbie鈥檚 letters . Jack had been very ill with tubercular bone disease in his leg and was newly out of plaster. After Herbie went missing, Rosemary tried to find out what had happened to him and corresponded with his friend George Monk and Viviane Andreone, a young French girl whose family had welcomed George and Herbie into their home in Bougie in Algeria. Viviane wrote about 鈥楤ert鈥� as Herbie was known in the Army:

鈥淏ert 鈥as our big English brother whom we loved very much. He often stayed with us. We always waited impatiently for his days leave, and when he arrived with his great friend George the house then was full of life and happiness as we liked our Bert very much. Alas one day he told us of his pending departure. All of us, the little ones too, cried, we were so attached to him鈥︹��

As Alice sat serenely with six of her seven children around her, Herbie was on a cattle truck crossing the desert to embark on the troop ship which would cross the path of a German U boat, the U-81 with such disastrous consequences. In his last letter home Herbie asked about my parents wedding which he had missed. Herbie was engaged to be married too and he wrote on the 8th June:

鈥淲ell Mum, how did the wedding go? I was thinking of you all on Saturday travelling in a cattle truck and I was wishing I was with you. I hope that you and Ernie got my airgraph all right. I only wish I had the same chance to get married but I guess my poor Margaret will have to wait many long months yet鈥︹��

Unfortunately, just over a week later Herbie was reported missing after the troopship the SS Yoma was sunk on 17th June 1943. In February 1944 the Army Council informed Alice that as no further news of Herbie had been received he was presumed killed in action at sea. It was only after some recent family history research that we found out some of what happened on the Yoma. I was sent Herbie鈥檚 last letter and the letters of condolence from friends by my Aunt Rosemary, his sister mentioned above. Herbie鈥檚 letter is full of hope and love for his friends and family and the letters of condolence mourn an obviously charming young man. How sad it is that he didn鈥檛 make it home to all those who loved him.

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