257992 Stok1. Stanley Hardy Royal Navy Minesweepers Royal Navy Patrol Service from:Doncaster My late father, Stanley Hardy, was the youngest of 11 children. Born in Doncaster in a mining community in 1923. His mother died when he was just 7 years old, and his father died when he was 11. His sister cared for him for a while until the welfare got involved and sent him and his brother to work in a shoe factory in Leicester to earn their keep. He was under 14 years of age at this time.
Several of dad's brothers had enlisted in the Army and, not wishing to miss out on the action, he volunteered for the Royal Navy, just to be different from his brothers. He had never been to sea before and couldn't even swim. He was called up in March 1942 aged just 18years. He was always a very humble and stoical man, never ambitious but always ready to do his bit. He never spoke much about his service but he did reveal a few funny stories about his time in the Mediterranean where his major roll was minesweeping.
He was based in Alexandria for some time and during that period, whilst returning from a short recreational break, he was stopped by an American seaman who asked him the time. Always obliging, dad glanced at his watch, and before he could utter another word, the American struck him over the head. When he regained consciousness, dad realised that his watch had disappeared and so had the American. When dad's commanding officer was informed of the mugging he marched dad to a nearby US vessel where they were greeted by the ships commander. The offender was identified, an apology given, along with a crate of bananas as compensation. The bananas were gratefully received by dad and his crew. However, their gratitude was short lived after they all got belly ache and spent hours digging holes in the desert.
I am the middle child of dads five children and have been researching his service record for 9 months. I am proud and very humbled to find how he risked his life every day to keep harbours clear of deadly mines, and supply chains going.
Sadly, dad passed away many years ago. He was always my hero before I learned of his bravery and will remain so forever. I salute ALL our brave service personnel.
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