My dad, Henry Foulser was at HMS Collingwood from 16th December 1940, training as a Signalman. He had excellent eyesight and a quick mind so this was obviously a good choice for him.
In the most he served on Minesweepers attached to the coast at Lowestoft. They would sweep up and down the coast and he was often at Grimsby.
Dads first ship was the Overfall and I can not find much about this tiny ship. They called it “Tiddly” as it was so small.
He was also on the fishing trawler Akranes, originally registered at Grimsby, and owned by Consolidated Fisheries Ltd, it was hired by the admiralty as a mine sweeper from August 1939, which foundered following attack by German aircraft. After being taken into Royal Navy service, she was made command vessel of a group of three mine sweeping trawlers, employed in sweeping the channel between Flamborough Head and Sheringham.
This trawler was at anchor off Danes Dyke, south of Flamborough Head at night on the 4th of July 1941, with the trawlers Sandringham and Almandine, following the days mine sweeping work. The Almandine was guard ship for the night. Shortly after midnight a German aircraft approached very low, the gunners assuming it to be an allied plane returning from a raid, they soon discovered otherwise. The plane dropped two bombs, neither of which exploded, but cannon fire ripped through Akranes deck and caused her to sink, leaving her wheelhouse and forecastle awash. The crew escaped in their own lifeboat. My dad was one of the crew. Dad told me that he had called up the stoker, Ginge, telling him the ship was sinking. I'm not sure whether this was the same event as he was sunk a couple of times.
Years later a British Diver found the wreck, and described it as well broken. Divers found an unexploded 500lb bomb inside the wreck. The wreck lies in 11 meters of water in position 54.05.46N, 00.07.40W.
Dad was also on HMS Corfield for a few weeks in May 1941. On Sept 8th 1941 that the ship was sunk off Humber. He had a lucky escape there as it blew up.
He was eventually demobbed in February 1946.
