Lest we forget.
Remembering those who served their time and crossed the bar
Reginald Amos
Reginald Amos, husband of Betty, and ex-Leading Steward aboard HMS Naiad during WWII, passed away in 2006 aged 85-years.
Affectionately known as Reg, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and survived the sinking of the Naiad in March 1942. During the sinking Reg was in the wardroom serving drinks at the bar and recalled the “dead quiet” just after the ship had been hit. He scrambled to the upper deck and threw himself into the water below, eventually being rescued from the cold sea over 2-hours later.
Born in Lincolnshire, Reg joined-up when he was only 19, and went on to serve aboard HMS Valiant before leaving the Navy in 1952 after 13 years of service. He returned home to Norfolk and, in later years, wrote down his memories of the War and his time aboard Naiad.
Reg is remembered fondly and proudly by his family; friends and loved ones. All shipmates salute him.
Bertie Brown
Bertie Brown, born in Norwich on 2nd July 1920, was a Royal Marine who served as a Fuse Setter in the X turret of HMS Naiad.
He was onboard when she was struck by a torpedo in 1942 in the Mediterranean and spent more than two hours in the sea clinging to a cargo net, and holding up, and onto, a man for most of that time. Sadly he was unable to save him due to sheer exhaustion as they both waited to be rescued.
Bertie passed away on the 4th March 2018, aged 97, and will be missed by family and friends, and all who knew him.
Ronald Eastwood
Ronald Eastwood, former CPO Electrical Articifer, passed away on June 23rd 2013 aged 94.
Ronald served aboard HMS Naiad during the WWII campaigns in the Arctic, the Battle of Crete and The Malta Convoys. He was onboard when the ship was attacked and sunk in the Mediterranean in 1942 and spent valuable time before the ship went down, ensuring the backup electrical dynamos provided enough power for emergency lighting to enable his shipmates to escape the vessel. He was rescued from the sea by HMS Jervis and can be seen in the photograph above, front-row far-right wearing nothing but a long grey coat and a cigarette in his hand.
His family and friends are extremely proud of him and are saddened to have lost such a lovely man. All ex-crew members of all Naiads join them in mourning his passing.
Ronald is survived by his wife, two children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Fred Fox
Former Chief Communications Yeoman, Fred Fox (above, left) crossed the bar on 25th June 2009, shortly before he was due to attend a naval reunion in Gibraltar.
Originally from Grimsby, he was widely known as “Freddie” and not only served aboard HMS Naiad during late 70’s and early 80’s, but was also based in Singapore, Gibraltar and aboard HMS Penelope. He is remembered as an avid fan of his home town football team Grimsby Town, and recalled fondly by ex-shipmates for his integrity, sense of humour and motivational powers.
Fred will be sadly missed by his family and friends, and is remembered by all who served alongside him.
Dan Garthwaite
Former Flight Chief Petty Officer, Don Garthwaite crossed the bar on 1st April 2011.
Don served aboard HMS Naiad during the mid-sixties. He was also drafted to HMS Phoebe during the Six-Day-War, but retained a fondness for the Naiad and her crew. He held great respect for Sir Peter Anson, who was the skipper during his time aboard, and commented that he was "the best skipper he ever served under".
On leaving the Royal Navy Don relocated to Wales and eventually became an active member of the RNA Cardigan and District branch.
Don is sorely missed by his family and friends, and remembered by all who served with him.
Jim Longcake
Jim Longcake crossed the bar on 4th August 2012 after a 3-year battle with cancer.
His funeral was held the same month in Plymouth. Along with many of the current association membership, Jim served aboard Naiad between 1979-1981 and was a crew member for the Far East trip in 1980.
Jim is mourned by all ex-crew members and will be sadly missed by his family and friends.
[July 2012]
Ron Pay
Ron Pay (above left) was a Royal Marine drafted aboard the third Naiad, the Dido class cruiser, during WWII and was rescued after the ship was sunk by U-Boat 565 in 1939 in the Mediterranean. He was put ashore in Alexandria, travelled by train to Mombasa and went on to serve his full term in the Royal Marines becoming Corporal of Horse at Deal barracks.
He raised four sons, two of which attended school in Malta after the war. The services connection continued with two of his sons serving in the Royal Air Force and one in the Royal Marines. His best friend during his time in the Royal Marines, Bert, remained close to Ron throughout his life and became like an uncle to his sons.
Ron celebrated his 90th birthday in 2011.
Stanley Pennington
Brian Pennington’s father, Stanley, a former stoker who served aboard HMS Naiad during WWII passed away on February 29th April 2012, aged 89.
Stanley survived Naiad’s sinking in 1942, when he was just 19 years-old. He remained very fit throughout his life and only suffered and fought serious illness in recent years.
Stanley will be greatly missed by his family and friends and mourned by all former Naiad crew members.
Allan Walker
Former MEM, Allan Walker crossed the bar on 12th February 2012.
Affectionately known as "Whisky" Walker, Allan served aboard Naiad from 1979 to 1981 and is remembered by many crew members of the 1980 Far East deployment. Former shipmates remember him fondly and recall him famously cutting the ship's officer's hats in half during his time aboard.
Allan was originally from Middlesborough and often spoke about the Far East trip and how his time in the Navy was one of the happiest periods of his life.
Allan is sorely missed by his family and friends, and remembered by all who served alongside him.
Percy Woodgate
Percy Woodgate was a stoker on board HMS Naiad when it was sunk in 1942.
Percy would have been born about 1909 so would have been about 33 when Naiad was sunk.
Percy's brother-in-law, Alfred (Alf) Martin, recalls the family all exclaiming, “oh God”, when the sinking was announced on the radio. Nothing was known about Percy’s fate until he appeared at the family front door one day, a few weeks after the sinking!
Percy sadly passed away in the 1970’s or 80s leaving two sons, Frank and John Woodgate.
At time of writing Alf was 98-years old living in Lee, London SE12; and Graham in Orpington, Kent just 8 miles away.
[September 2024]
John Heddon
As a civilian, John Heddon was a press photographer for Pathe News and The Mirror but during WWII he was drafted as an official photographer for the Navy and served as a Lieutenant onboard HMS Jervis.
On 9 Mar, 1942, Naiad sailed from Alexandria as flagship of a cruiser force and only two days later was hit by a torpedo just north of Sidi Barrani, Egypt. HMS Jervis was nearby and as Naiad sank John dived into the sea 9 times and rescued 11 men. Once all survivors were on board Jervis, John was then tasked to take their photographs. These are survivor photographs displayed on the website.
Once HMS Jervis came alongside in Alexandra with the survivors, he and many others were hospitalised after coming into contact with the fuel oil that had leaked into the sea from Naiad’s tanks and engine room.
He received no recognition other than an article in the London Standard newspaper.
John’s parents were Russian Jews who came to the UK, indeed one of his brothers followed a stage career which meant changing their surname to Heddon, from Heddon Street in London where his father had a tobacconist shop.
He met his wife, Kathleen in Blackpool and had three children, Don, twins Terry and Sonja, and 7 grandchildren.
John died on 10th May 1967, aged 62.
Thanks to Fleur, John’s granddaughter, for getting in touch with the association and her Mum, Sonja who, at the time of writing, is 89-years old and living in North Wales.
We will remember him.
[April 2024]
Horace Polhill
Horace Walter Polhill, his middle name given to him in memory of his father who was also an engineer, was known by his naval nickname of “Polly”. He joined the 1937 class of engine room artificer apprentices at HMS Caledonia as a 15-year-old.
A personal feature of Polly’s survival of the sinking of HMS Naiad in March 1942 was that he had recently sat promotional examinations on board. His exam papers were sealed and locked away by the captain, but of course went down with the ship. Subsequently the captain had to vouch for his results.
Although Polly and his wife, Anne, knew each other and were close in wartime, they did not marry until 2000, after they were both widowed, having kept in distant contact over years. The nearly ten years they were married were known to be the happiest of Anne’s life.
Polly is survived by his only daughter Ghyslaine (Gish) Hobbs who is married to Peter, and his two grandchildren Elizabeth and David, who all live in the Bristol area. Polly was regarded with great affection by his four children as 'the only grandfather they ever really knew.'
He is remembered as a most generous spirited and honourable man.
[October 2004]
©Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.