[Fwd: Royal Navy will consider reviving the name of Colin grazier's warship]

I am forwarding this extract from the "Tamworth Herald", recently
posted to the MARHST-L marine history discussion group by Dave
Shirlaw.  "Navy News", the monthly magazine about the British Navy,
recently had a photo of the very attractive three-anchors memorial
sculpture, erected in Tamworth.

Martin.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Royal Navy will consider reviving the name of Colin grazier's
warship
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:25:29 -0700
From: Dave Shirlaw <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

Royal Navy will consider reviving the name of Colin grazier's warship
911 words
26 June 2008
Tamworth Herald
default
9
English
Copyright (c) 2008 Tamworth Herald. All rights reserved.
Surviving shipmates of Tamworth war hero, Colin Grazier, are backing
high level calls to have a new Royal Navy escort vessel named after the
destroyer he served on.
Hms Petard was involved in a top secret mission against a German U-boat
in October 1942, which is now recognised as a major turning point of the
Second World War.
Two of its crew, Lieutenant Tony Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier
from Tamworth, drowned retrieving vital Enigma codebooks from the
sinking U-559. They were both awarded the George Cross posthumously for
their bravery, but for decades not even their families could be told
that their sacrifice had paved the way for peace.
The material the men seized provided the final clues to crack the
Germans' Enigma code, a breakthrough which experts say shortened the war
by at least a year.
Codebreakers at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire used the captured
codebooks to decipher the Nazis' encrypted submarine messages.
Armed with this new information, the British were able to track U-boat
movements in the Atlantic and steer Allied supply convoys to safety.
The U-boat wolf packs, which were threatening to cut off Britain's
supply routes and starve her into submission, were then destroyed. This
was crucial to the Allies winning the Battle of the Atlantic, and
ultimately the war itself.
HMS Petard was also the only ship to capture submarines from all three
enemy states - Germany, Italy and Japan. She has been compared with
Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, in terms of her historical impact.
However, the Petard was scrapped in Bo'ness in 1967 before the true
significance of her glorious past was made public.
The move to revive the Petard's proud name was mooted at Bletchley Park
during the launch of a book which has helped bring this story to wider
public attention. The launch of The Real Enigma Heroes by Herald deputy
editor Phil Shanahan, was attended by a dozen members of the crew, in
the presence of Shadow Defence Minister Dr Julian Lewis.
Dr Lewis was approached by one of the men's relatives and has now
written to the First Sea Lord, Sir Jonathon Band, suggesting one of the
Navy's new Future Surface Combatant vessels be named the Petard.
In his reply, Sir Jonathon said:
'Your argument is strong and Petard would indeed be a worthy name.'
He added that the naming of vessels is a deeply emotive subject and that
while many other suggestions have already been put forward, the Petard's
claims would be afforded 'due consideration for recognition and
remembrance in the next generation of Royal Navy warships'.
Dr Lewis has also raised the matter in the House of Commons and was
encouraged by the Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth's assurance that
ships with distinguished wartime service records would be considered.
Mr Ainsworth said: "The naming of Royal Navy warships associated with an
illustrious heritage instils a sense of pride, tradition and esteem in
today's Royal Navy personnel."
According to tradition, a new ship named after the Petard would carry
its predecessor's battle honours on a display board.
"I would love to see one of these new ships bear the Petard's name,"
said Dr Lewis.
"Of course, it's the prerogative of the Royal Navy to decide, but I
would have thought it would be a strong contender, given its historic
achievements.'
Dr Lewis would like the next generation of escort vessels now being
designed to include the names of other ships that distinguished
themselves in the two world wars - such as HMS Bulldog, which captured
the first Enigma machine from a U-boat.
The Petard's shipmates gathered at a reunion in Bournemouth this week,
where they were told of the proposal to resurrect their ship's name.
Ted Saunders, who manned the Petard Oerlikon gun, said it would be a
wonderful tribute to Tony Fasson and Colin Grazier - and to their
shipmate Tommy Brown who helped them grab the codebooks. He was awarded
the George Medal for his gallantry, only to die in a house fire two
years later whilst still a teenager.
"I'm all for this idea," he said. "I just wonder if we'll all still be
around to see it happen."
Ginger Richards, who was on the Petard when it sank the U-559 after a
ten-hour hunt, also welcomed the move: "It would be such a fitting
tribute. This story was kept secret for so long - none of us realised
how important the Petard had been. Now the facts are out, this would
ensure it's never forgotten."
Phil Shanahan led the Herald's 10-year campaign to honour the Petard's
heroes, which culminated in many tributes to them - the highlight of
which is a spectacular monument in St Editha's Square. Phil is now an
associate member of the Petard Association and attended the weekend
reunion in Bournemouth.
His new book tells the men's amazing story and the long-running fight to
bring them public recognition.
He said: "I really hope the Navy agrees to this. It's time the Petard
claimed its rightful place in history. This is the ship that helped win
the war and its name should live on."
The Petard's case will go before the The Ships Names and Badges
Committee. Final approval rests with the Queen.


-- 

Martin H Evans        mhe1000-v9/[email protected]
       Maritime Museums in Britain and Ireland:
http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/mhe1000/marmus.htm

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