William Albert Dennis's Story.
William was assigned as a Writer ( clerk or administrator on HMS Saumarez an S class destroyer in the Royal Navy. HMS Saumarez saw a lot of action in the war including the following.
HMS Saumarez
1943- 1944 Artic Convoy Escort
Including on 26 November the attack on the Sharnhorst in the Battle of the North Cape which resulted in the sinking of the Sharnhorst. HMS Saumarez was damaged by a shell from the Sharnhorst which passed through part of its structure without exploding. Following this battle Saumarez limped to Murmansk on one engine for repairs.
June 6 1944
HMS Saumarez provided gunfire support for the landings at Sword Beach
January 1945 until March 1946 Far East
April 1945 Bombarded Sumatra in support of Allied landings
May 1945 together with other destroyers sank the Japanese Cruiser Haguro near to Penang Malaya. This was the last sinking of a major warship in the war.
Japanese Cruiser Haguro
In March 1946 the Saumarez was assigned to the Mediterranean fleet.
The mining of the Saumarez
On 26 September 1946, she sailed on a Mediterranean cruise with twenty-four other ships. Orders were given for a part of the 1st Cruiser Squadron to pass through the Corfu Strait, from south to north. On 22 October the Saumarez, preceded by the cruisers Mauritius and the New Zealand Leander, followed by the destroyer Volage, proceeded through the swept Medri channel. Saumarez struck a mine at 14:53, which caused severe damage and 30 deaths among her crew ( including William). Damage control parties led by the ship's second-in-command, Teddy Gueritz, helped to minimise the casualty numbers.[1][2] Volage closed her to take her in tow and after some difficulty, passed the tow and began to tow Saumarez stern first. Although his jaw had been broken by the explosion, Saumarez's signal officer, John Edmondson assisted in securing the tow.[3] At 16:06 however, a mine exploded near Volage, wrecking the ship forward. She was able to re-connect the tow to Saumarez, and the two destroyers, both stern-first, reached the Corfu Roads at 03:10 on 23 October.
Saumarez after hitting the mine