Lest We Forget - Volume 17 www.legionnl.ca 123 continued .... A Shattered Soul – War takes its toll Then over the airways, for all allies to hear, was a great speech, by Britain’s Prime Minister. Everything went silent and everything went still, as everyone listened to our noble leader, Sir Winston Churchill: “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory, victory at all costsVictory in spite of terror-victory, however long and hard the road may be, For without victory there is no survival. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be; We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” In September/43 we joined “Force Q” as part of Operation Avalanche. We augmented the bombardment of Salerno, Italy to aid in the allied advance. On October 7/43 we transferred off Stampalia to patrol her war torn shores. We aligned with several allied ships and a major victory we scored. We sank an ammunition ship, armed trawler and six enemy landing craft. The morale on board was flying high, it was a relief to joke and laugh. Eventually, we left the Mediterranean convoy, for Gibraltar in December/43, to hunt the blockade runners, in the Bay of Biscay, south of the Celtic Sea. We returned to support, Operation Shingle, the Anzio Landings, in January ‘44. While enroute to Naples, we tried to dodge the enemy’s submarine corridor. But at 0700, Friday, February 18, 1944, two German torpedoes, split the ship, and us, in two. Tragically, Davy Jones’ Locker, claimed 416 of our young and gallant crew. The Captain, George Belben, went down with the ship and probably better off to die. 206 stricken souls survived, lucky to be alive; Were we? Was I? I tried to swim from the severed vessel but my sea boots were dragging me down. I eventually kicked them off with my coveralls to save me from being drowned.
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