UNCLE BILL AND HMS BARHAM

William organ- HMS Barham survivor, my dads uncle bill ( My Grandmothers young brother ).
Bill was a stoker and at his station in the boiler room when the attack happened 25th November 1941 in the Mediterranean, he was finally rescued after 14 hours in the sea. He and 400 or so men survived the explosion which all happened so quickly and can be seen on the pathe newsreel film, (link below)

My Dads comment:
Bill was tragically killed after the war in 1953 whilst cycling home from work at the GPO with his daughter Christine on the crossbar, they were hit by a truck. Christine miraculously survived virtually unscathed.

Sad loss of a great man and a family hero.

Patrick W. O'Leary

One of the most dramatic pieces of Film footage from WW2 showing the torpedoing of HMS Barham and the subsequent sinking.
Click on link below.

Click here to see the pathe news film of sinking of HMS Barham.

Click here to go to HMS Barham Association website