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Frederick Arthur Tomlins (Tomo) (1912-1980)

Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer 1927-1957

These are memories of my father who sadly passed away 20th February 1980, aged 67.

Dad left home and joined the Royal Navy training ship Arathuesa when he was 14 years old. He stayed with the navy for 32 years and enjoyed the Navy life very much.

He spoke very little to me, one of three daughters, about the war, and like most people, I wish I had asked more questions. I know that my parent’s marriage was initially delayed as a result of his involvement in the Spanish Civil War, where he was blockade running. When Mum also passed away, we learnt many interesting things about my Dad’s life in the Navy, particularly as we discovered the variety of medals he was awarded. I now have all records of the ships he served on from a youth until he retired.

Dad was awarded the D.S.M for his part in tracking down and destroying a U-boat within the first three months of war. The King awarded him this medal in 1940. I now have the medal and the supplement of the London Gazette that featured his award. It would be interesting to know the name of the U-boat he helped to destroy.

One of the ships he served on after being awarded the medal was the H.M.S. Intrepid. This ship was at Dunkirk and was dive-bombed on the 29th May 1940, when my father sustained a serious wound. When we managed to persuade him to talk to us about this event, he said that at first he was not aware he had been hit. At the same time that Dad was hit, a young seaman of only 16 or 17 years old died in his arms on deck. We were never told his name as Dad found it very hard to talk about any of it. The wound Dad sustained put him in hospital for three months or so, we were told that he had to lie on his stomach for most of his time in hospital at Gosport.

Dad was also with the Russian Conveys on the Atlantic, on the ship Blue Ranger. He told us that this time was very hard, and very cold!

Dad ended his Navy career as an Instructor in submarine detectors or ‘ASDIC’ as it was called in those days. At this point he really would have liked to become a lighthouse keeper, but he never managed to fulfil this ambition.

We would love to hear from anyone who thinks they might have known Tomo or who could enlighten us in our limited memories. Any correspondence should be sent to Tomo’s daughter.

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