Lieutenant Bill Wedge
Survivor of the disastrous ‘Channel Dash’ when German ships passed undetected into the North Sea
LIEUTENANT BILL WEDGE, who has died aged 98, was one of the last survivors of the infamous “Channel Dash” when a large German naval squadron successfully ran a British blockade.
On the night of February 11 and 12 1942 two German battleships passed undetected through the English Channel and entered the North Sea on their way to protect Norway in the event of an allied invasion.
After the threat was identified, and unsuccessful attacks by motor torpedo boats and Swordfish torpedo bombers, the 16th Destroyer Flotilla, which had sailed early that morning for gunnery practice against a tug-towed target,was sent as a last, forlorn hope to stop the Germans. Wedge, officer-of-quarters at the pom-pom gun, heard another officer call out: “Roll on my f-----g VC, we’re going to intercept two battleships!”
As Worcester crashed at full speed through a choppy sea under low cloud, Wedge consulted his Bible, which fell open at a reassuring passage. “Aircraft appeared through the clouds every now and again, mainly British and some apparently of the opinion that we were German,” he recalled. “With battle ensign hoisted, there was tense silence until our 4.7-inch guns began firing at dark shapes in the misty distance.
“Worcester was centre ship of five and the main target for the enemy. The others released their torpedoes, but Worcester’s captain, Lieutenantcommander EC ‘Dreamy’ Coats, pressed on for what seemed an eternity before firing our torpedoes. We continued to be straddled and hit and quite shortly were lying stopped. In the silence which followed, no one moved.”
To Wedge it seemed inconceivable that anyone on the bridge could have survived. Worcester seemed to be sinking and, briefly, Wedge thought he was the only officer alive and unwounded, until the first lieutenant, Anthony Taudevin, appeared and took charge.
As Worcester wallowed, an RAF plane aimed torpedoes at her, while Surgeon-lieutenant David Jackson worked heroically on the wounded in various parts of the ship. Gradually power was restored and, satisfied that she was underway, the British flotilla returned to harbour to replenish torpedoes.
On the way home Worcester lost power again and languished anxiously in the dark before slowly reaching Harwich: “It had been a long, cold and a very uncomfortable night, but as we approached land another destroyer offered assistance. This was proudly turned down by our wounded captain: we had managed so far on our own and would like to finish the job.” That evening Wedge, who had been deafened by the roar of his own guns, played word games in the Railway Hotel with the Canadian singer Bea Lillie, her agent and her sister, after they had performed at an Ensa concert.
Twenty-four members of the ship’s company had been killed in the Channel Dash, among them the telegraphist Dennis Gibson, who had trained with Wedge. The operation was a resounding success for the Germans, The Times declaring: “Nothing more mortifying to the pride of our sea power has happened since the 17th century.”
John Francis Newdigate Wedge was born on July 13 1921 at Forest Hill in south
London, where his father, who had been apprenticed under sail and nicknamed “Bosun Bill”, brought him up on tales of derring-do on the high seas. Wedge was nicknamed “Little Bill” or simply “Bill”, and won a free place at John Roan Boys’ Grammar School, Blackheath, which he found “a great joy, the teaching, the scout camps and the sports”.
Wedge joined Barclays Bank in August 1938, but knowing that war was coming he also joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and was called up on the day war was declared. Having been a teenage wireless enthusiast, he volunteered as a telegraphist.
From his first ship, the trawler Norse, he witnessed the evacuation from Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. After officer training he joined Worcester as a midshipman in May 1941.
After the Channel Dash, Wedge served in the destroyer Mistral in 1942 until he was sent to the US to join the frigate Garlies, which was being built in Boston. While there, he visited all the jazz clubs of New York, where he heard Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Powell, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller.
In 1944 Garlies, as part of First Escort Group, took part in a two-day hunt north of the Azores which led to the destruction of U-358 on March 1. Later she took part in Operation Neptune, the D-day landings.
Wedge said of his naval service: “I was seasick for the first six months and scared for the whole of it.”
After the war he rejoined Barclays. In 1970 he moved on to Barclays International and 10 years later opened its first branch in China. Travel enabled him to pursue his interest in birdwatching.
After retirement he became actively involved in many Asian societies in London. He was a member of the Oriental Club and a commissioner of income tax. For 47 years he worshipped at All Saints, Carshalton.
He also wrote poetry and a blog; one poem was dedicated to a schoolfriend, Flt Lt Frank Walker, who had been lost flying a photoreconnaissance Spitfire over Italy.
In 1946 Bill Wedge married Jackie Roberts, a Boats’ Crew Wren, who survives him with their three children.
Bill Wedge, born July 13 1921, died January 7 2020