205571 Mid Shipmn. Allan Weir Kerr Royal Naval Reserve HMS Forfar from:Port Glasgow I've just been reading the crew list attached to the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS 'Forfar', and I note that AB Penney was outpointed in a boxing match by Midshipman Kerr. The said Mid. Kerr is my late father (sadly he died on 11 Apr 09, but he'd had a good innings, and his death was quick and clean), and I remember him telling me about that boxing match, when the MC announce that he "awarded the victory to Mr Kerr for the clever use of 'is left 'and!"
I don't suppose there will be too many Forfar survivors left now after almost 70 years (the only one who comes to mind is another Mid, John Ormerod), but I did meet one of her former crew in Bermuda nearly 40 years ago, one Alec Foster (regrettably now deceased), who had served on Forfar in the spring of 1940 before being transferred to MTBs that summer. It just so happened that my wife worked as nurse/receptionist in Bermuda for Dr Liz Galloway, who just happened to be Mrs Foster! How's that for coincidence? My father, and my wife's boss's husband, shipmates on HMS Forfar 50 years previously!
|