Never forget: A young gunner's tale of survival in World War II
A Remembrance Day event in Cape Town on Sunday to pay tribute and honour those men, women and animals who have served in wars, and those who have died in the line of duty. The Mercury's columnist Rod Smith recounts the experiences of his father during World War II.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
The Mercury's columnist Rod Smith recounts the experiences of his father during World War II:
At the outbreak of World War II, fifteen-year-old Ernest William Greer Smith volunteered for the Royal Navy.
As a gunner, he saw action and participated in the sinking of the Bismarck. On April 5, 1942, the HMS Dorsetshire went down – in 8 minutes – after the attack of enemy bombers. This catastrophic event killed two of Gunner Smith’s best friends, after whom Ernest named his first son, Laurie Walter.
Ernest survived thirty hours in the Indian Ocean, 500 miles south of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), before the HMS Enterprise came to their rescue.
Ernest talked often of these hours in the water: the hymns the men sang, the cold in the night, the heat of the day, and the slick of oil floating on the water, which protected the men from sharks but left many with severe blood poisoning.
The impact of the war years on Dad and such men and women cannot be overstated.
I know my dad saw and tasted the good, the bad, and the very ugly, and it certainly accentuated his appreciation of the gift of life.
Ernest understood the potential of human cruelty and capacity for destruction.
He also appreciated the human capacity for goodness, kindness, compassion, and generosity. At 19, he had seen it all.