209174 Albert Harry "Goldy" Goldsbrough DSM & BarRoyal Navy HMS Penelope from:Middlesbrough My father, Albert (Goldy) Goldsbrough, hated his given name & was always known, certainly in civilian life, by his Nick Name of Goldy. He joined the Navy during the mid 1930s and for a time was on HMS Suffolk in the Far East. Amongst other ships he served on was HMS Penelope, including her time in Malta and subsequent escape to Gibralter and the States. I believe that it was for actions during this time that he received his decoration. I believe he left the ship when she reached the States for her refit, if not before, following the damage she received in Malta. He may at this point have been suffering from health problems, but I believe went on to serve in other ships until the end of the war, when he was invalided out of the service. He spoke little of his service experiences, and as a young boy I took little interest in recent history. My sister was named after HMS Penelope, the sinking of which, I believe, deeply affected my father, as presumably even though he was not part of the ship's company at that time, would have known many of those killed. After the war he became a teacher, but was also involved in training at the Nigeria Marine establishment Quorra, near Lagos in the mid to late 1950s. He eventually died, following heart problems, in the early 1970s. Should anyone have further information on him I would be pleased to receive it.
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