Today I met a Corvette Captain...

AdrianM

AdrianM

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I am in the middle of reading "Ship of Ghosts" about the cruiser 'Houston' and the plight of the American Asiatic Fleet at the outbreak of the War for the US. Great read about a forgotten front.

I work at a LTC facility in my home town and there is a Gentlemen that lives with us who is a Veteran. He was Captain of a Corvette that operated on the Atlantic Coast around Nfld. Reading the book inspired me to go chat with him this afternoon. I know it made my day and I hope it brightened his. He enjoys a life of solitude but I notice his book shelf was full of WWII books I'd love to get my hands on. He tells me he only started reading about the war late in life and that he likes to read about the Eastern Front because he knew very little about those battles at the time they were taking place. He also likes to read and try to remember what he was doing and where while he reads about the events in books.

We talked about his ship, the seas he patroled, how he was once the captain of a German U-boat if only briefly and also what great young men the German sailors that surrendered to him were. We even talked milsurps since he at one time had a military arm collection. He asked me if I had an enfield... : )

A very interesting gentleman and his wits are very keen, even if his body is starting to let him down. I'll make sure that I go and see him again soon for another chat.

I know this thread doesn't have any pictures, but its far from worthless. Thanks to this forum for getting me interested in Military History.
 
Just a thought. If the gentleman wouldn't mind you should take a tape recorder. It might sound weird but the guys who were "there" are fast disappearing and as a group they didn't seem inclined to write about their experiences. So a lot of great Canadian history has died with the men themselves.
 
My old pal Al died a couple years ago. I sure regret not taping his recollections of sailing as a stoker on HMCS Hespeler (K 489) Corvette of the Castle class in the Atlantic. Did he have tales to tell!
 
Neat story, thanks for sharing.

I say try the tape recorder idea. There was an old fella around about 20 years ago that was well known for his harmonica playing. He made a tape and gave it to my family before he passed. I thought it was silly back when I was a teenager, but now I wish I could give it a listen.
 
My Uncle served on a Corvette also, just worked in the engine room. These guys had big balls, all of them. Hats off and cheers to every last one of them that served, and who do serve in the forces, hip, hip........!
 
MD said:
My old pal Al died a couple years ago. I sure regret not taping his recollections of sailing as a stoker on HMCS Hespeler (K 489) Corvette of the Castle class in the Atlantic. Did he have tales to tell!
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I can relate to that.I apprenticed in 1975 as an electric motor winder under the guidance of one of the best winders in the business and by good fortune he spent a lot of time on a corvette,K225 Kitchener,and boy the tales were something else.I swear some days I spent more time listening to him recount his days on that little ship than I did working.I wasn't quite sure if a lot of it was madeup or not,I'm sure maybe a bit was,but I had some chances to double check some of it and sure enough most was on the mark.He had smuggled a Brownie camera onboard that he took lots of pictures with and the ones I remember vividly were the ones that showed mountainous waves in rough weather.I was nearly sea-sick just looking at those photos,how it was in real life especially in a shooting war situation must have been absolutely terrifying to say the least.I loved hearing about it though and I must say I miss those days at that little shop,brings back a lot of memories.
 
As he captain he would have received this signal tht the war was over

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If you haven't already read Nicholas Monserrat's "Three Corvettes", you should- it's about his first three ships when he served in the RN. I thought it was even better than his novel about the war, "The Cruel Sea."
 
I'm going to make a daily ritual of chatting with this Gentleman. I'll get the K # of his ship from the picture in his room.

I can only talk to him for a short time each day cause he tires and I don't want to play him out. I will ask about the tape recorder.

Today I'll ask him about the U-boat that surrendered to him.
 
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