大象传媒

This is a transcript of part of a two letters sent home by P Stanley Richardson, who served in the Royal Navy.

(March 1941)

鈥︹� expect you heard over the wireless about the Battle of Matapan which is just off Greece. The action was against the Italian fleet. I will start right at the beginning and tell you every bit of the action from start to finish because we were in it. We left harbour in a terrible hurry on the night of 27th March at full speed. All through the night we were steaming with the rest of the fleet.

On the 28th day of March the vital day for the Italian fleet, we were raising more steam. All through the daylight hours we were chasing them and Vice Admiral of the light forces was only 28 miles from them. In the afternoon we sent torpedoing aircraft of the aircraft carrier to torpedo the battleship of the Littorio class. They succeeded and battleship and cruisers reduce their speed to 12 knots.

Then night fell and we were all at action stations waiting to come into action with them. At 10.27 pm on the 28th of March we fired at the Italian fleet. HMS Valiant fired a broadside at the cruisers. There the victorious HMS Barham opened fire with a 5鈥� full broadside on the Zara and she was ablaze from her bows to her stern and that was the end of her. We then shifted target to another, the Pola, and a broadside finished her. HMS Warspite was also firing and getting home some of her broadsides.

The rest of the night we were looking for the remainder of their fleet. In the morning of the 29th we steamed back to the place where the action took place picking up survivors. In the afternoon we had a dive bombing attack and three planes were brought down.

On the 30th we steamed back into Alexandria with the band on the quarter deck and all the ships in the harbour were blasting their sirens. So ended another great victory for the Navy.

(Letter written February 1942)

鈥︹��..I suppose you have been worried about me when you heard that the 鈥淏arham鈥� had gone down but you have no need because I am sage and sound and go away with only a few scratches.

It was on the afternoon of November 25th at about 4.30 in the blue sea of the Mediterranean. I had just taken over for my watch from 5 to 6 o鈥檆lock. I was stood up talking to the remainder of the directors crew when all of a sudden the director shook like a leaf and threw me from one side to the other leaving several bruises.

The next few seconds things began to happen. The ship lurched then she began to list to port. All of a sudden two more torpedoes struck us nearly in the same place then she went right over. During that time I had come down from the director with the remainder. It was pretty hard coming down because our feet would not keep on the steps so we had to come down with our hands.

We got down as far as the danger deck and could not set to the upper deck to go over the side. The launch and picket goats all of a sudden slipped out of their crutches and went over the side. Then we all stood and hoped for the best she went right over and a gush of water came and washed us all away. The four of us were then separated and I am the only one that survived out of the crew.

I banged my head on the deck of the danger deck and cut it a bit but not anything to worry. At the time all I was thinking was my life. Then she blew up and the next thing I was going down with the suction of the ship. I started to go round and round in circles. I went so far down and stopped and started to swim to the surface for all I was worth when I started to go down again in circles but I still never gave up.

Eventually I reached the surface fagged out but all that was left was wreckage, oil fuel and smoke reaching right up to the clouds. I started to swim but luckily I did not go far because I saw a big piece of wood floating so I hung on to it. Soon some more the fellows came swimming up and hung on with me. We could not recognise each other owing to the oil fuel on our faces. It was pretty thick and kept getting into our eyes. We sighted a destroyer after being in the water for about three quarters of an hour.

We made our way towards it and got so far when one of the destroyer鈥檚 boats came and picked us up. When we got aboard we were stripped of everything, given a bit of waste to wipe the oil fuel off. I could not wipe it all off because of it being too thick. When this was over I went down the mess deck and one of the fellows gave me a blanket to keep myself warm. Another fellow gave me two tots of rum to buck me up a bit because I was shaking a lot. I have lost everything, all my kit, photographs and presents I had bought to bring home to you all. I happened at 4.27 and 4.30 am the fine ship 鈥淏arham鈥� was gone taking with her about 900 of my shipmates.

Stanley Richardson went missing in HMS Purpoise (submarine) on 19th January 1945 off the west coast of Penang.

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