- Contributed byÌý
- ´óÏó´«Ã½ Cumbria Volunteer Story Gatherers
- People in story:Ìý
- Andy Hamnett
- Location of story:Ìý
- Normandy, France, River Clyde
- Background to story:Ìý
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:Ìý
- A4476981
- Contributed on:Ìý
- 18 July 2005
Andy Hamnett from Carlisle, Cumbria. During World War Two Andy was a midshipman and was on HMS Warspite during the Normandy Landings in June 1944. On 26 June 2005 Andy took part in the official county of Cumbria ‘Victory Parade’ commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two. [Photograph by Joseph Ritson]
This story has been added to the site by Jemma Bellingham on behalf of Andy Hamnett. The author understands the sites terms and conditions.
I joined the Warspite in April 1944 and left her at the end of June, but during this time at the age of 17, I took part in the great invasion of France.
I had been for three years at Dartmouth Naval College and my father was in the Navy too. But I really knew nothing about life on board a huge warship, or about life at sea. A midshipman ran messages and had an action station in which he had little responsibility. However, I was in command of motorboats carrying messages and people between ships in action. Although I cannot rememeber it in detail, I must have been quite frightened. I recall the tremendous noise made by our fifteen inch guns as they bombarded the shore, and sleeping very near the guns with the immunity of youth.
We had sailed down the Clyde with a vast armada of ships, but had to turn back for 12 hours and then continue on journey due to bad weather off the Normandy Coast. I can remember the increase in peoples' anxiety during this time because, of course, nobody at all knew what to exoect. Maybe the invasion would be driven off, or maybe the landings would be unopposed. As it turned out, the truth was halfway between the two.
In my motorboat we ferried war correspondents ashore and took provisions, principally bread, to smaller ships in the fleet.
There was so much to experience - a constant stream of aircraft attacking the German defences along the French coast, the vast noise, the number of paratroopers and gliders landing on the shore. One of the most dreadful sights was some of the gliders, still full of troopsm not being able to reach the French coast and diving into the water. One wonders what happened to those on board and whether any survived.
At the end of June, we headed north through the Straits of Dover to replace our guns at Rosyth in Scotland, since they were worn out. We were mined off Lowestoft, where my father was stationed and he of course knew about in but did not know if the ship had sunk, or what had happened to the crew.
I spent a further ten years at sea.
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