20 years ago
to and from the Mediterranean and beyond.
‘In my 12 years at sea I had possibly passed over or very near where Egret lay. It is with regret that had I known I could have marked the occasion.’
Martin adds: ‘My dad's name, along with his shipmates, are engraved on our well-kept cenotaph on Southsea common and my wife Linda and I visit each remembrance Sunday. I'm pleased to say each of our sons and six grandchildren has also visited.’
And the Royal Navy theme continues in the family. Martin continues: ‘My granddaughter Amber has recently joined the Royal Navy and passed out at HMS Raleigh.
‘She always showed an interest in her great grandad Herbie, as she calls him.
‘On completion of basic training, she awaits her first seagoing deployment and has promised me that should she find herself anywhere near the position of Egret's resting place she would, in her words, “blow Herbie a kiss and throw her smartest salute”.
‘I find that very humbling and it makes me very proud.’ Nearly 60 passengers were evacuated from a catamaran after it was forced to turn back towards Portsmouth in mid-Solent with smoke billowing from the vessel. Fire crews from across the city were sent to The Hard after reports that Our Lady Patricia had run into difficulties. 1815: The Battle of Waterloo was fought, where combined forces led by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Field Marshal Blucher defeated Napoleon. 1940: With France collapsing before German forces, the Battle of Britain was about to begin, with Winston Churchill saying: ‘Let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour”.’ 1963: Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay (later Muhammed Ali) in Round Four at Wembley Stadium. But by the fifth, with Cooper badly cut, the fight was stopped. 2010: John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for Beatles hit A Day In The Life sold for £810,000 at auction. BIRTHDAYS: Delia Smith, TV cook, 78; Sir Paul McCartney, musician, 77; Fabio Capello, former England football manager, 73; Alison Moyet, singer, 58.