Hi My father died recently and I'm trying to research his service record. He was based in the following places listening out for German submarines on behalf of Bletchley Park. We only discovered this when he received a medal from Bletchley for his services. He talked about Algeria, Malta and Cyprus bit kept very quiet about his activities for most of his life. In later life he was very saddened by his part in sinking u boats and the subsequent death of submariners. He was very upset by the loss of a group of ladies who trained with him - they did not make it to their base and their ship was sunk leaving Britain. After VE he was being trained to listen out for Japanese communications - this stopped abruptly shortly before the nuclear bombs were dropped. ( Leading Telegraphist Special Operator) Can anyone help me with any information about these stations? HMS VIctory 111 - St Bedes Draria W/T Station HMS Hannibal Station Y Protville W/T station HMS Hasdrubal HMS St Angelo (Dingli) HMS Elissa Any information would be useful - thanks
Hi, You don't say what research you have done but Google searches show that the "HMS" references were shore establishments like Y and D/F radio stations, mostly in N Africa but also on Malta. That would fit in with what you know about your father's service career. Protville and Draria were certainly D/F and would have monitored U-Boats in The Med, taking bearings to locate the boats. "Y" stations monitored enemy radio traffic, often using operators who spoke German or Italian, etc. Other links I found are:- HMS Victory III See:- http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org/community/showthread.php?7184-Stone-Frigates HMS Hannibal Y Station See:- http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/32542-hms-hannibal-explosion-1943/ HMS Hasdrubal See:- http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/WORLDWAR2/2004-08/1092423043 HMS Elissa See:- http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-6409.html I hope the above help a little. '610E