Able Seaman Frank Parry in Uniform"

1939

The Guardian on March 24th 2007 included an obituary on Phil John Turner (31.3.1915 - 7.3.2007). Turner, working for Gaumont British News, was a newsreel cameraman from 1930s to 1960s and he filmed many of the events which were shown in cinemas across the country. On November 25th 1941 he was on the HMS Valiant, which, together with its two sister ships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Barham, formed part of a Royal Navy squadron with twelve destroyers. The squadron was on its way back to Alexandria in Egypt. Just after 4pm it was attacked by four German torpedoes at a range of 750 yards. HMS Barham was hit, causing the ship's main magazine to be blown up followed by, as he wrote in his autobiography, Filming History (2001), "whole inside, turrets, machinery, pieces of ship flung high into the air. A huge pall of smoke, redglow in the centre, rose above the water, billowing out and mercifully covering the dreadful scene." Turner had two minutes of film in his camera. He started filming as the ship started to sink and the funnels hit the water. The resulting dramatic newsreel of the death of a warship became one of the most famous of WWII.

HMS Barham was sunk in two and a half minutes with the lost of more than 860 crew out of over 1,200. The film was not shown during the war as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, Sir Andrew Cunningham, did not deem "it in the interests of the war effort or of the Royal Navy to show our own warships sinking." In addition, the Germans were unaware until January 1942 that the ship had sunk. The film's footage was impounded until 1945 though the the authorities conceded it had sunk in January 1942.

Able Seaman Frank Parry was one of the survivors.

ABLE SEAMAN FRANK PARRY

The Guardian article was obtained by my cousin Ron Kelsall and loaned to me for the Buckley Society to publish in the Buckley Magazine.

The photograph (not shown on the archive - ed.) shows H.M.S. Barham in the last agonising moments after it had been torpedoed and the consequent explosion of the arsenal. Looking at the awesome sight it questions how could anyone survive? Of a crew of 1,200, there were 340 survivors and one of these was our cousin, Frank Parry.

The experience didn't deter Frank for further service; being undaunted and brave, he volunteered for submarines.

Thankfully during that period we had a generation of young men and women who took pride in their country. Today we are advised not to be British, not to call ourselves Christians and turn young people away from marriage with advantages given to one parent families, and asks the question - is this now the kind of country our servicemen and women fought for?

Frank was the eldest son of the late Mr and Mrs W. Parry (who suffered bomb damage in their home in Gerrard's Row, Ewloe Place). He also had a brother, Elvet.

Thankfully, Frank survived the was and on his return home he married Beryl and they were blessed with daughters and had a happy family life until he passed away in February 2003.

Frank was not only my cousin but also one of my best friends.

April 2007

Author: Kelsall, Charles

Able Seaman Frank Parry in Uniform"

Tags