HMS SGB4 Grey Fox.

How did I get the photos and info, Lt Ashby was C/O of MTB 07 of which my father was the Stoker PO and I am in contact with Ron Ashby's son.

For more info on MTB 07 and Ron Ashby click the following link: http://www.mwadui.com/HongKong/index_hk.htm

 

Richard

 

"So far as I remember the almost simultaneous result was a sharp heel to starboard as the ship turned, and a burst of gunfire from our own gunners. This was followed by what my mind registered as an explosion on the port side forward. I was thrown violently out of my seat and against the ship's side. As I picked myself up the ship slowly righted itself and I have an indelible picture on my mind of seeing sea water pouring through the open watertight door in the bulkhead between the galley flat and the wardroom passage through which spare ammunition had been passed. At that precise moment there was no one forward of that bulkhead and by good fortune, or perhaps design, the watertight door closed from forward and as I pulled it together the inrush and water pressure behind it helped to shut it making it easy to knock the clips on. We were well down by the bows and I think fear of sinking was uppermost, but our forward gunner was still firing. Some minutes later the First Lieutenant came down and between us we completed shoring up the bulkhead with timbers kept at the far end of the galley flat for that purpose. I then learned from Lieutenant Erskine-Hill that what I had thought was an explosion was the sound of the German R-Boat as it rammed itself through the ship's side into the wardroom and forward messdeck. It shortly afterwards fell away and sank, leaving a large gash in our bows ... The next couple of hours or so were considerably nerve-wracking, sitting on watch with the ship very much down by the bow and wondering, apprehensively, whether the bulkhead against which I sat would hold. The level of water on the other side could clearly be seen by the condensation line which was somewhere near shoulder high, with the deck of the wireless office awash ... We were apparently wavering sluggishly all over the place but heading slowly in the correct general direction and managed to get within sight of Newhaven under our own steam. However, we could not be trusted to keep a straight course to enter harbour unaided and "Grey Wolf" took us in tied alongside. I do not remember ever being so relieved to get off watch! Daylight revealed what a remarkable escape we had had. Lieutenant Erskine-Hill solved the problem of inspecting the damage by the simple expedient of rowing the dinghy through the hole in the ship's side!".

Hope this and the other photograph of "Grey Fox's" crew of interest - actually a little later in the War when commanded by Tom Boyd (who won the DSO for his part in the St. Nazaire raid), but the line-up includes Denis White (second row, first from left) and my father, Lieutenant John Erskine-Hill (front row, fourth from left), who together had shored-up "Grey Fox's" bulkhead that memorable night. I still have a couple of bits from the R-Boat (metal and wood) saved by my father as souvenirs of the occasion!

Kind regards

David

Are you sure that it was the owner of Grey Fox (and not Mr Swann who owns the ex Grey Goose) John?