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OTD in 1942, HMS Kipling, a Royal Navy destroyer, was attacked by German Stukas in the eastern Mediterranean and sunk. 29 of her crew were killed. 221 men survived, among them my maternal Grandfather, A/S RM Hughes. This extraordinary picture shows the moment the bombs hit.
Here's my Granda at HMS Collingwood, the Navy's training ship in Hampshire, prior to going to war. He's fourth from the right in the front row, next to the lifebuoy. Unusually for a miner, he left the pit to join the Navy.
Kipling saw fierce action in the Med. This picture is of an earlier attack in 1941 on HMS Kelly, Kashmir and Kipling by German bombers, taken by the Luftwaffe pilot Heinz Migoed.
The Kipling kill was claimed by Hauptmann Joachim Helbig, a famous Luftwaffe ace. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords later in 1942. He died in 1985.
The battle was reported in a matter of fact way by The Times and the Northern Echo, but it was some time before it was confirmed to his family that Granda had survived.
After the war, Granda returned to County Durham and went back to work at Harraton Colliery. He never really talked to his grandchildren about his experiences. Here is with his marras, standing on the right, with pint in hand. He died in 1999. RIP.
