The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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218378 Able Sea. William Henry Lewis Royal Navy HMS Aurora from:Acton, London My father, William Lewis served aboard HMS Aurora and was stationed mainly in Malta, Convoy to Archangel [Russia] and D-day. He didn't speak much about the war but I have found his service record and torpedo launch records (St Vincent, where he had an average score 72.5%, which based on the technology of the day made this a pretty good rating. I also have a book the Silver Phantom, which is written by the crew about the exploits of HMS Aurora. Apparently the nickname was given to the ship by the Chinese, but there is no record of Aurora being stationed in the Pacific basin during WW2. He did tell me a little of his time in Malta and how they used to look at dolphins for spotting U-Boats in the Med, apparently, dolphins dive under water when subs purge tanks. I went to Malta and was lucky to be invited into a naval facility and when I mentioned that my father was stationed in Malta, they took me to a room and showed me a large amount of records and photos. He also once made a comment when we watched the film "Saving Private Ryan", that D-day was not like that. Apparently, my father was on bridge, responsible for gunnery onto the beaches and inland, when an American broke radio contact with "take us off the beach". The captain (Agnew) pulled the headset off my father and shouted in no uncertain terms that they were to stay on the beach and get off the f****ing radio. My father never swore, so hearing that always made me think it was true. He once told me that they transported the king to Gibraltar and that the king had gone out to smoke and left a door open, someone shouted to close the effing door and got a very polite apology from him. I think he enjoyed his time in the med most and the trips to Archangel the least. However, he met my mum, when stationed in Glasgow. I have a varied family, as an aunt (Scottish) married a Dane who fought for the Ling and my dad's brothers all went to Canada to train RAF bomber crew and married Canadian women. Add to this record.  Additional Information: The nickname Silver Phantom was given to Aurora by the Italians(not the Chinese) as she had attacked and sunk several ships in three convoys headed for Libya in November 1941. She was described as being like a Silver Phantom emerging from the mists and smoke of battle. Her connection with the Chinese was after the war when she was sold to the Chinese nationalists and re-named Chung King. She was further re-named after the ship defected to the Communist side and was subsequently damaged in an attack by nationalist Chinese aircraft. John McMillan Reply Related Content: HMS Aurora Siege of Malta D Day and the Battle of Normandy Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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