JOINING FORCES

Man enlists in the Navy, like both his WWII grandads.. one from either side

They got on well, their experience meant more than what side they served on BEN HOFFMEISTER ON HIS TWO GRANDADS

A ROYAL Navy recruit wanted a life at sea like his grandfathers who fought in the Second World War – one for the British and the other for the Germans.

Sub Lieutenant Ben Hoffmeister, 23, this week sets sail aboard new patrol ship HMS Trent – 70 years after his grandfathers both fought in the bitter Battle of the Atlantic.

Ernest Hoffmeister served in the Royal Navy in the Atlantic and Arctic, determined to keep the UK’S sea lanes open.

Meanwhile Ben’s maternal grandfather Erwin Menzel crewed a Nazi German U-boat determined to starve Britain.

Erwin was assigned to U-963 and sailed on 10 war patrols out of bases in Norway and France in the final two years of the war.

Although a stoker, Erwin manned one of the submarine’s anti-aircraft guns and was awarded the coveted Iron Cross for his part in an action against an RAF Liberator bomber – the scourge of U-boats.

The submarine was eventually scuttled off the village of Nazare in Portugal 12 days after VE Day and Erwin was taken prisoner. He then settled in Britain.

After completing his training as a coder, Ernest was assigned to the Royal Naval Patrol Service serving on the converted trawler, HMT King Sol.

He died when Ben was 10 – too young to ask the questions he wished he could.

Ben, from Oxford, said: “They got on incredibly well when they eventually met.

“It seemed the shared experience of the Battle of the Atlantic was more important to them than which side they fought it on.

“That legacy is perhaps the most important aspect to take away from their story.”

SERVING Ben Hoffmeister is at sea aboard HMS Trent GRANDAD 1 German Erwin Menzel won Iron Cross on U-963 GRANDAD 2 Ernest Hoffmeister served on HMT King Sol