On 17th July 1943 we were anchored in Augusta Harbour Sicily with the Royal Marine Commandos on board, waiting at night to sail to land them behind the German lines. The Germans were heavily bombing in the harbour using flares to identify the ships.
'HMS Queen Emma? suffered two very near misses by fragmentation or anti personnel bombs. These caused considerable damage on board as the grenades carried by the Commandos were detonated by shrapnel. We suffered 102 casualties including 15 killed in the stern of the ship. We had three RN doctors aboard, two were killed outright.
I was on the bridge at the time, which was undamaged, but I still have vivid memories of this terrible night in Augusta. The following morning we sailed for Malta. As an able seaman I helped to clear up the debris which in practical terms meant using a bucket and cloth to clean up blood, human brains and flesh from the deck and bulkheads. The dead were sewn into hammocks by the Boson and buried at sea on the way back to Malta.