This is a collection of stories written by George Rose about his time in the Royal Navy during World War II.
George enlisted in the Navy when he was just seventeen years old. The official enlistment age being eighteen, George, at seventeen, was accepted as a 'boy entrant' and went on to become a Petty Officer.
George initially served for a short period on a 'river gun boat' in which he took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in the early part of the War. From there, he entered the Royal Navy Submarine Service, and served most of the war aboard HMS Sickle, one of many submarines which patrolled the Mediterranean Sea. Submarines in this theatre of war had an allocated number of patrols to fulfil before returning to Britain.
HMS Sickle had an illustrious career, and her 'Jolly Roger' flag bore numerous indicators of her exploits. Sickle had one more patrol to complete before returning to Britain, when George was ordered to leave the submarine and wait in Gibraltar to be posted on a secret 'special duties' assignment. It was during this wait that news was received that Sickle had, on 6th June 1944, been mined with the loss of all 52 of her crew. Sickle was the last British submarine to be lost in the Mediterranean.
It transpired that the 'special duties' planned for Petty Officer Rose were that he be part of the D-Day landings, on 6th June 1944, the same day that HMS Sickle was lost. He languished in Gibraltar for several weeks awaiting instructions until the person who recalled him from his ship admitted that he had forgotten him.
It was left to George to ponder the extraordinary irony of these events…
Courageous (S 50) |
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| Class: | 1970 - 1990: Churchill Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | SSN 3 |
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Fate: Now in Plymouth Dockyard being fitted out for visitors as part of the naval heritage site |
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18 pages added or updated in the last 3 month
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Courageous (S 50) |
|
| Class: | 1970 - 1990: Churchill Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | SSN 3 |
|
Fate: Now in Plymouth Dockyard being fitted out for visitors as part of the naval heritage site |
|
18 pages added or updated in the last 3 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
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