Post by Admin on Sept 21, 2013 10:04:19 GMT -5
Merchant Navy stamp launch on the Cutty Sark:
It was an incredibly moving occasion. There must've been approx. 20 veterans and family there. I spoke to several, and they all had stories to tell.
-One spoke of picking up Prisoners of War from a Pacific island (WWII), who were completely emaciated, and yet the monks were able to say 'Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do'.
-Another spoke of being 'on charter' to the US in the Vietnam war and running goods and fuel oil into Saigon harbour, which was essentially surrounded by the front line.
-One in the Falklands worked on the Canberra, a P&O ship. One night, they were doing skits and singing 'O I don't want to go to war', and the following morning they were requisitioned... He saw the HMS Ardent go down and described it as 'crazy and frightening, seeing the ship fold in half'.
-Don Staddon, our contributor, was one of only 10 survivors when the MV Athelsultan was torpedoed in 1942. He was 16. Don was at the launch, wearing his Athel line tie and Battle of the Atlantic 70 years badge.
LINK
It was an incredibly moving occasion. There must've been approx. 20 veterans and family there. I spoke to several, and they all had stories to tell.
-One spoke of picking up Prisoners of War from a Pacific island (WWII), who were completely emaciated, and yet the monks were able to say 'Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do'.
-Another spoke of being 'on charter' to the US in the Vietnam war and running goods and fuel oil into Saigon harbour, which was essentially surrounded by the front line.
-One in the Falklands worked on the Canberra, a P&O ship. One night, they were doing skits and singing 'O I don't want to go to war', and the following morning they were requisitioned... He saw the HMS Ardent go down and described it as 'crazy and frightening, seeing the ship fold in half'.
-Don Staddon, our contributor, was one of only 10 survivors when the MV Athelsultan was torpedoed in 1942. He was 16. Don was at the launch, wearing his Athel line tie and Battle of the Atlantic 70 years badge.
LINK