POW Liverpool yesterday

[James Curry]

Went down to have a look at HMS Prince of Wales as she was alongside Liverpool, certainly not a lot to look at. She is here for 8 days. If the mood takes me I might go over the water to get a better view.

POW1.jpg

It would have been more interesting had she any Aircraft on view. Understand why they do not as the F35 is an expensive bit of kit just to have sitting on an exposed deck and all weather.
I viewed her from Wirral side of the Mersey from the Woodside Business park.
There is a memorial placed there for the HMS Thetis and also to the Cockleshell heros. I will add these to another post.

[James Curry]

Hopefully the infromation on the photo's can be read clearly.
When she was salvaged she was recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt.
As Thunderbolt she served until March 1943 and sank with all hands.

She was under the command of Lt Commander Richard Crouch.
I sailed with his son Captain Peter Crouch on a Petromin product tanker.
He was a certainly a larger than life character. He was ex Blue funnel 2nd mate and had been jailed in China for a couple of years accused of spying
for the Admirality. Must have been some truth in it as Blue funnel kept paying his salary while he was banged up.

Hopefully the link will open.
I am assuming that on the video is LT Commander Crouch, bit creepy really seeing as I sailed with his son.
Peter told me he never knew his father as he was only a baby when his father was lost.

https://youtu.be/Mn-o11SNJvE



HMS Thetis.jpg

Thetis1.jpg

Thetis 2.jpg

Thetis 3.jpg

[James Curry]

I amsure there are several on here will know the story of the Cockle Shell heros.
As mentioned in #1 here are photo's of the memorial to the Cockle Shell Heros. Operation Frankton

https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/o...eshell-heroes/

What a group of brave men who must surely have known that many would never return.

Cockle shell Heros.jpg

CSH1.jpg

CSH2.jpg

CSH3.jpg

CSH4.jpg

[happy daze john in oz]

In the first photo she almost disappears into the background.
Not a very good photo who ever produced it.

[James Curry]

In the first photo she almost disappears into the background.
Not a very good photo who ever produced it.

John, perhaps she is in stealth mode, click on the photo and expand it view improves , a grey ship and a grey day on the Mersey, also a very old mobile phone camera. Maybe she should have a paint job like a Mersey ferry had last year
ferry across the Mersey.jpg