In 1994 Frank Anstis discovered there was a Dorsetshire Association and this organisation held an annual re-union in Plymouth. Through contacts with the Association he managed to trace his old friend and saviour Tom Shirley who was still living in Staffordshire. A telephone call to Tom in early 1995 resulted in a very emotional re-union after more than fifty years, although they were never to see one another in the flesh again. Tom Shirley “passed over the bar” in 2006.
During the conversation Tom reminded Frank that he still intended to pay back the ten shillings he borrowed on the Maldive Islands all those years ago and both of them were very amused by the joke. Following this telephone conversation Tom wrote to Frank and his wife Irene.
This is Tom’s letter ……….
Hello Frank & Irene,
I never thought when I got up on Sunday morning that I was to be taken back fifty three years, and I had to laugh to myself afterwards, you asked me whether I could tell who was calling, I hadn’t a clue but as soon as you said where were you when “D” was being bombed, I straight away guessed it was you, probably because at that particular time I was in the company of nine blokes, and as seven of them did not make it, that only left you. To say that I am pleased to have caught up with you again is putting it mildly, although to be quite honest I can only remember what you looked like rather vaguely, it must have been that last blast that hit us when we had reached the fan flat that scrambled my memory; when we were being asked afterwards to find out who had survived, I could not remember who my messmates were.
From what you told me it seems that your memory of what happened is fading
so if I try to fill in some gaps it might jog yours; the fact that you and me
are here at all, I am convinced, is because we had the afternoon watch. Where
was your damage control station in the forenoon? Mine was aft in the officers’
flat over the aft engine room. From all the evidence that we have been able
to gather over the years, some from Japanese naval records, the ship received
many direct hits from the after boiler room to the stern, the engine room must
have been decimated, which would account for the fact that all the engineer
officers including the Warrant “E” ‘s were killed.
(To digress a moment, should you go to the reunion this year Warrant Officer
Ferris’s widow is most likely to be there, although at the moment I cannot
remember what her name is now).
When we went down on the afternoon watch I had the two boilers on the starboard
side, and I do remember that one of the stokers was Ginger Mills. Was the other
one you?
Anyway as we had been at action stations since nine in the morning, being shadowed by Jap planes we did not know what to expect, but as we were at full speed with all the sprayers on I was fully occupied watching water levels. When we felt the first explosion and the ship lifted, my first thought was it was the result of a broadside from our main armament of eight inch. Did we ever have a shoot while you were on board? If so you probably thought the same, I knew what it was like and we had done plenty, especially at the Bismark; it was when the second one happened that I realised that we were being lifted, not moved to one side, that we were being hit and I said so to Chief George Whooley.
Things happened fast after that, first the lights went out (this was bound to happen as both generators were in the after engine room) and at the same time water gauge glasses were broken, without lights, and with no idea where the water was in the boiler, we had no option but to close the oil down. With the sprayers off it was virtually dark except for a glow from the hot bricks.
In my memory, my one thought was to leave the room, and even now I cannot remember
being conscious of any one else around, that is until I had got to the top of
the ladder in front of the air lock and found someone that turned out to be
you.
Before I could open the air lock door it opened and two young tiffies came out
having decided to leave the fan flat above.
How am I doing so far Frank, are you with me?
We pushed those lads back into the lock and made our way along past the fans until we came to a short ladder that took us to the armoured deck (main deck level) my mess was just outside. The next memory is very clear, the other two lads had gone up the ladder, you were standing at the bottom of the ladder and I was almost at the top when there was an almighty bang, it must have been the only bomb that had hit us forward of the boiler rooms. It had gone through the sick bay that was on the starboard side through to the port side into the Marine’s mess, turned and finished up in our boiler and I think that is why we were the only ones out.
The blast fatally burned the two tiffies (although they didn’t die until some time during the night) there is something that has puzzled me over the years, I was half way up that ladder and you were standing at the bottom, quite close. I had all my clothes blown off me and as I found later gashed about the head and burned on the behind and legs. Hazily, in my memory you seemed to be untouched. We then tried to get on the main deck (where my mess was) but when we opened the door we found a raging inferno, it was when we found our way up the next ladder on to the upper deck that I thought that I had lost the sight of one eye but it was filled with the blood from my head.
Once we had found our way out on to the upper deck I found myself quite alone;
where you had disappeared to I did not know. The upper deck was a shambles.
I found a rope hanging down from the starboard cutter and dropped down into
the water. I don’t remember seeing you on board the destroyer Paladin
that picked us up, I was down in the SPO mess flaked out, but I do remember
the depth charges. We were taken to a small island in the Maldives where the
fleet was anchored. All the people that were wounded etc. were put aboard a
merchant ship and I am certain that you were one of them; otherwise you would
not have been on the hospital ship with me. The hospital ship was called the
Vita and we had to wait for her, as she had to go and pick up the survivors
of the Hermes. I cannot remember how long it took us to reach Durban; we went
down there via Madagascar.
It was when we went into hospital I seemed to lose sight of you, and that Frank
is about all I can do to help you fill in the gaps in your memory. Sorry I have
been so long in writing, but this arthritis really is a big handicap when trying
to do anything.
I am enclosing a few items that might interest you. Can you recognise me?
If you do go to the Reunion I do assure you that you will be made most welcome. Survivors are getting very thin on the ground. As you know it is held in the Fleet Club in Devonport, over the years it has had a lot of money spent on it and now it is like a good very good hotel - I do recommend it.
Just a quickie on the routine, on the Friday night we have very informal get together, food is laid on and this gives everybody the chance to have a good natter. Saturday night is the main night, the Club put on a very good dinner. There are a couple of blokes you may remember, they probably joined up with you, Bill Foster and Stan Higgins; they are almost certain to be there.
Well Frank I could go on but at this rate you will never get this, so I’ll say cheerio, hope you don’t find it too long and full of mistakes.
All the best
Tom Shirley
Author: D J Woolfenden