Just Re-issued Nov 2004 in HB Edition SEE Pen & Sword Books
In Honour of all who served on HMS Gloucester 1939-41 and to the memory of those who never came home
HMS Gloucester was a Southampton Class Cruiser (2nd Group) built by Devonport Dockyard, completed 31st January 1939 and lost 22nd May 1941. She was dive-bombed and hit 4 times, with 3 further near misses, she was abandoned and sunk shortly afterwards
BOOK INTRODUCTION by Ken Otter the Author
I was seven months old
when my father, Fred Otter, was killed during the battle of Crete. He had been
in the Royal Navy since he was fifteen and eventually became the Chief Yeoman
of Signals aboard the cruiser, HMS Gloucester.
I often used to wonder
what sort of life he had led aboard ship and what circumstances had led to HMS
Gloucester being sunk. Whenever I came
across a book about the Second World War, I would flip through the index to see
if the name Gloucester was mentioned. I was never able to find much detail and
when I did come across information it was often limited to a few lines.
After school I spent two
years in the Royal Navy and went on to join the Metropolitan Police Force in
1960. An absorbing career, marriage and three children, studying for promotion,
and playing too much football, cricket and golf, left mystery of my father's
fate, and the story of his ship, on the back burner.
In my early forties,
however, I made a more determined effort and managed to contact John Stevens,
one of the few men who had survived the sinking in 1941 a happy coincidence he
was in the process of organising the first ever reunion survivors and families
of men who had served on HMS Gloucester. The group took the ship's nickname:
The Fighting "G".
I went to the first
reunion, held in Plymouth, which is where HMS Gloucester was built. I didn't know what to expect but I soon met
Roy Tremaine and Les Thomas; who had served under my father onboard the ship.
They were able to tell me things about my father that I had never known; that
he had a wonderful sense of humour compassion for the welfare of men under his
command and his distinct weakness for cream cakes! It was clear to me that they had thought him a wonderful man. I
was not emotionally prepared for the things I was being told and found that I
could hardly speak to them and the other survivors, let alone ask the many
questions to which I longed to know the answers. Forty-two years of pent up
emotions had suddenly unexpectedly come to the surface.
The following year I was
able to return and be better prepared. I asked survivors about their life at
sea, what they remembered about the sinking of their ship and traumatic
experiences as prisoners of war. It soon became evident that story of HMS Gloucester
was both fascinating and devastating and should be written for future
generations to read and understand the tragedy of war. Not one of the men I
spoke to glorified war and their graphic testimonies are evidence that the
appalling conditions under which they lived have left everlasting impressions
on them.
Every year I returned to
their reunion and every year there were fewer survivors than the previous year.
It was obvious that the story of HMS Gloucester was soon be lost forever,
however at that point I could find no time to fully research write their story.
When I retired from the
Metropolitan Police Force I went to Durham University to read history and the
degree which I was awarded gave me the confidence to begin writing this book.
I set off, travelling
around Britain, to interview men who had served on the ship and survived the
sinking and searching out the families of men who had perished. The more
interviews I conducted the more I was amazed at the story which was unfolding.
The contrast of their lives on board ship before they became engaged in action
in the Mediterranean could not have been greater than that which they experienced
after the spring of 1940. These men, who by now were in their seventies and
eighties, had lived through times which will never be experienced by future
generations of sailors. There will never again be such a sustained war at sea
as the men of the Royal Navy faced in World War Two, particularly those who
served in the Mediterranean.
I travelled to the Greek
Island of Kythira, where the men were first taken when they were rescued. Here
I discovered more details of the story and was fortunate enough to meet some
wonderful Greek people who witnessed the sea battle in 1941 and one man in
particular who risked his own young life to feed our sailors.
In this book I have,
wherever possible, used the invaluable personal testimony of the people I
interviewed. Many of those who served on the ship have now passed away, but
some left written accounts of their service, and I was able to use these
sources. This book is the story of the men who lived and died on HMS
Gloucester. It is their story, not mine
Many people have given me
invaluable help, both in my research and in writing the book. The men and the
families who I interviewed were most kind, inviting me into their homes and
showering me with hospitality. To have the advice and encouragement of such an
accomplished author as Wendy Robertson has been invaluable. Gill Richardson
gave me the advantage of her constructive advice. The staff at Bishop Auckland
Library the Public Records Office at Kew, the Imperial War Museum and the
National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, have all shown remarkable patience with
me and their help was of considerable assistance. The 'Navy News' proved an
invaluable source in contacting men who had served in the Eastern Mediterranean
Fleet. Efthia and Andy, who are 'The Greek Experience', made my visit to
Kythira unforgettable. My friends Chip, Tanya and Chris 'Cats', from Colorado
Springs, were extremely helpful in explaining the mysteries of computer
technology and managed, most of the time, to keep straight faces whilst
watching over me.
Many members of 'The
Fighting G Club' have sent me photographs and documents or have written letters
of encouragement and I thank them all for their kindness. In particular Frank
Moulder, who gave me access to his remarkable collection of photographs,
documents and memorabilia. John Stevens, President of 'The Fighting G Club',
has been my guiding light in the accumulation of details of the ship's history:
without his help it is doubtful whether I could have produced this book.
Above all else I thank
Judy, my wife, without whose editing and typing skills, and constant
encouragement, this book would not have seen the light of day.
Ken Otter reveals the
amazing and tragic story of HMS Gloucester: His extensive research has
uncovered a fascinating human story as well as an horrendous blunder that led
to the sinking of the ship and her survivors being abandoned by the Roval Navy.
Beginning with high hopes
and an idyllic tour of the Indian Ocean, the ships's company of 807 men was
savagely decimated in the battle of Crete, May 1941. Only 85 of them survived
and went on to endure the devastation of POW camps.
This story has never
before been told and the book exposes private correspondence from senior naval
officers, in which they severely criticise events which led to the sinking.
BBC, TV has broadcast a documentary based on Ken Otter's research.
'By then I was too weak
to take off his lifebelt, so he drifted away the surface, his red hair resting
on the water'.
Tubby Revans, Electrical
Artificer.
'One chap in the raft had
nothing on and had a terrific gash in his flesh. He never made a single
utterance before he died in the night'.
Peter Everest, Boy Seaman, aged 16.
'Again and again we asked
ourselves what had happened to the destroyers. Why hadn't they returned to pick
us up after dark'?
Ken Macdonald, Royal
Marine.
Ken Otter grew up in Devon and was educated at Exmouth Grammar School. After service in the Rot Navy he joined the Metropolitan Police and retired in 1990. He has an honours degree in history. Ken's father Fred Otter was Chief Yeoman on HMS Gloucester and was killed when she sank May 1941. Ken was 7 months old. Now resident in County Durham with his wife Judy, he has a son, two daughters and five grandchildren.
Title: H.M.S. Gloucester
the Untold Story
Edition: Third 2004
Author: Ken Otter
ISBN: 1844151220
Publishers: Pen &
Sword Books Limited
Price £19.99 RRP UK
Publication Date: 2
December 2004
This is the full story of
HMS Gloucester, the Fighting ‘G’, a Southampton Class cruiser built by
Devonport Dockyard and completed on 31 January 1939. It is not, in a sense, a long story because she was sunk on 22
May 1941.
Ken Otter the author and
son of one of those lost with her sinking calls it, ‘the untold story’, which
is of course it now isn’t since this is the third edition of his book; the
intention was to tell the story and put right that omission – to tell the world
what happened and why those men were not rescued.
Only 83 of her crew of
808 survived at the end of the war, Ken’s father, the Chief Yeoman was killed.
Gloucester was engaged in
operations at Crete and in company with HMS Fiji, a Fiji class cruiser, also
lost the same day three and a half hours after Gloucester. Both ships were low on AA ammunition and at
one stage Fiji was ordered to sink Gloucester.
Gloucester, with other ships had been dispatched from the Fleet to
assist the stricken destroyer HMS Greyhound.
From this original force of four ships, Gloucester, Fiji, Greyhound and
Griffin, only the destroyer Griffin survived the day.
This book has been well
researched. It isn’t just the story of
a ship, it is the story of brave men told in their own words from letters and
memories. It is a story that had to be
told in memory of the 725 who did not return.
It wasn’t right that their story should remain ‘untold’ - they deserved
better than that.
Looking through the list
of survivors, I see that only one member of the Royal Marine band
survived. This was not unusual when
battleships and cruisers were lost in action.
The band members were very often deep in the ship at the TS
(Transmitting Station) and had little chance of survival. My own uncle, who was a member of the Royal
Marine band in HMS Barham, was killed when she was sunk. One of his fellow bandsmen who survived, had
just come off watch and went up on deck for a cigarette. Minutes later he had to walk along the
funnel to step into the sea.
Reading the list of those
who did not survive brings home to you how young they all were. So many boy ratings (aged 16) were amongst
them. It often begs the question
“Why”? Why has the Royal Navy always
subjected it’s young men to such horror at a young age. Like many RN practises it goes back a long
way, to days when they died in action even younger.
The surviving men of the
Gloucester and their families will be thankful their story is no longer
‘untold’.
Rob Jerrard