Torpedoed at sea and survived! Fred took it all in his stride.
By Barbara Stoddart This is Fred’s amazing account of how he was torpedoed off the coast of France during the World War Two ‘D Day landings’.
Did fear or panic set in – or was it simply ‘the highlight’ of his week?
91 year old Fred is a veteran and survivor of World War 2. In July 1944 he was the navigating officer aboard HMS Pylades when a ‘human torpedo’ struck his ship off the coast of France during the ‘D-Day landings’.
Listening to Fred’s account it is clear that he was more than a bit of a hero – courageously looking after a fellow sailor whilst awaiting rescue in dangerous seas in the aftermath of the sinking.
Most of us would be in a state of panic and fear, facing the possibility of drowning or worse but Fred remained amazingly calm. His attitude towards the whole episode now all these years later remains resolutely philosophical ...
