‘I want them to know he died a hero’

A SECOND WORLD WAR sailor from Perivale who died helping to save the lives of 149 of his crewmates, has still not been recognised for his bravery 62 years on.

Petty Officer Cyril James Terry was on board anti-aircraft vessel HMS Dasher when it sank off the Clyde Estuary between Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran on March 27, 1943, killing 379 of the ship's 528 sailors.

PO Terry, a telegraphist, along with Petty Officer John Stamp, helped save 149 shipmates' lives, but died in the process.

The tragedy, caused by a massive accidental explosion, was one of the biggest-ever Royal Navy catastrophes in home waters, and has been the subject of intrigue and secrecy for decades.

Scottish author John Steele has written three books about the tragedy. He is convinced there has been supression of information about the sinking.

Now Mr Steele wants recognition from the authorities for PO Terry's heroic actions, and is hoping the sailor's family members will get in touch with him.

"I would like to be able to tell the family that PO Terry died a hero," he says. "Should they agree, I would also like to be able to assist in a letter of recognition being forwarded to them."

Mr Steele said it was not until the first Dasher book was published that information was confirmed to the majority of the relatives, many of whom had died without knowing what happened.

He said: "I received a phone call only last week from a lady who, on reading my book, has just found out, 62 years later, what happened to her late brother who was lost on Dasher.

"The lady told me that for all these years the family were never told any information but they believed he was lost during a trip to Russia. What a terrible state of affairs. This is just one of hundreds of similar stories."

Records from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show that PO Terry's wife was recorded as living in Perivale, Greenford.

But the Ealing sailor has, as yet, not been recognised by the Ministry of Defence for the sacrifice he made. It took a personal visit to see the then Prime Minister John Major by Mr Steele in 1996 to finally get a letter of recognition for the family of PO Stamp. The author and his wife Noreen were invited to No. 10 Downing Street on April 10, 1996, to meet the then PM, who, against the wishes of the MoD, issued a letter of recognition to PO Stamp's family.

Now Mr Steele is calling for some sort of recognition for PO Terry.

An MoD spokesman insists that there was no question of secrecy or suppression of information in relation to the disaster.

She explains: "A telegram was sent to family members who lost relatives within a matter of four or five days after the sinking, informing them that their relatives were lost due to an explosion on the ship."

But an insight into wartime protocol gives a glimmer of why a perception of secrecy may have existed.

She continues: "Because we were at war, and the sinking was not as a result of enemy fire, one would have to be careful what you reveal so as not to inform the enemy that you are weakened.

"The Board of Inquiry (BOI) into the incident went on for two years after which the matter was reported in The Times newspaper. The findings of the inquiry have been in The National Archives available to the public for many years."

But according to Mr Steele, the Board of Inquiry's findings were only made public in 1972.

And his research reveals that at the time of the hearing, the captain of the ship was prevented from attending the first time in naval history.

The original report from the Board of Inquiry, which was held two days after the sinking, stated: "The behaviour and bearing of the officers and ratings were exemplary throughout. PO Stamp assisted many young ratings to safety but in doing so he lost his life.

"Petty Officer Cyril James Terry displayed a similar spirit and example and also lost his life."

The BOI said the sinking was as a result of an explosion caused by someone smoking near to where petrol fumes were building up in a engine machinery area.

It was two years later that anything was published about the tragedy.

A policy by the Awards and Decorations Committee, headed by the Cabinet Office, stated there would be no specific awards or medals given out after the five year window post-1945 because of the historical difficulty in placing individual requests in context.

A spokesman for the MoD said: "The Ministry of Defence recognises and values the efforts and actions of all those who made sacrifices and contributions throughout the Second World War, and it is important we remember and commemorate their efforts, which is why we had our 60th anniversary commemorative event this summer. It is equally important we pass on to future generations the lessons learned at this time."

But Mr Steele will never tire of the fight to get these brave men the recognition they deserve.

He grew up and still lives near the estuary and with every glance out to sea his resolve to keep up the fight on behalf of the heroes' families strengthens.

Anyone interested in the HMS Dasher or with information about PO Cyril James Terry, should contact John Steele on 01294 464 917, or via email on J.Steele@ntlworld.com

Mystery surrounding the HMS Dasher

THE story of HMS Dasher has sparked a number of theories and possibilities about other mysterious war-time happenings.

The celebrated story of The Man Who Never Was, is one such piece of intrigue: It is widely known that during the Second World War a body was placed in a British submarine in the waters off the south of Spain in May 1943 in an operation to mislead the Germans into believing the Allied landings to clear the Axis forces out of Southern Europe would be focused on Greece and not Sicily.

The body had been given a name and an identity in order to persuade the Germans this had been someone qualified to carry the vital messages contained in the accompanying briefcase.

These decoy plans diverted the Nazi effort toward Greece and saved thousands of Allied lives.

For students of this classic tale, the true identity of The Man Who Never Was has long been a source of fascination.

This book opens up the strong possibility that one of the bodies from HMS Dasher occupied that crucial, if posthumous, role.

Officials at the Ministry of Defence have, however, completely discounted the theory raised in The Secrets of HMS Dasher.