Memories of Service 4 - Harold Beven

As I stood there a plane came in, blew the head off the gunner, I jumped over the parapet, he was only two metres away from me, I jumped over the lip of the gun pit, put my arms round the body and undid the strap that held him into the gun, and I lowered him to the deck.

– Harold Beven

At quarter to ten that night we got torpedoed by an Italian submarine. It blew the whole bow off including the number one four inch gun and all the anchors; the whole lot went. But they shored up the next bulkhead and we got back to Alexandria.

– Harold Beven

The skipper ordered hard-a-port; a seaman from number one gun was swept overboard and with the fact that we were going to port brought the stern around...and the same wave that swept the man overboard swept him inboard again amidships.

– Harold Beven