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William "Wullie" Laird
Royal Navy HMS Penelope
My friend Wullie Laird was on HMS Penelope when she was torpedoed and sunk at Anzio on the 18th of Feb 1944 he was still at the the pom pom gun when she was going down. He only realised what had happened when the ship was hit by the second torpedo and it started to fall over on its side. He jumped and slid down the side of the ship and into the water and found himself swimming for his life. There were hundreds of men clinging to anything that was floating and he managed to cling to a pole with other men. Lots of men were grabbing on to any space that was available and a young sailor who couldn't swim threw himself on top of it.
Wullie was only 21yrs old himself and managed to persuade the young sailor to cling on to the side of the pole so that others could grab a space on it and stay afloat. There was a lot of shouting and swearing and screaming all around and he said at one point he felt himself drowning and managed by some miracle to stay afloat. We were in the water for three hours he said and the oil was killing lots of men.
Wullie joined the navy at the young age of 17yrs and 6 months and his first ship was HMS Penelope, and it was always in the thick of it. He survived the war and is still living in Airdrie in Scotland. He is a friend to be proud of and has a great sense of humour. He is a gentle man from the old school. We all love Wullie he has a heart of gold. We can never repay the people who who gave everything for our future and we should never forget.
