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Commemorating HMS Dunedin's last departure from England In the early afternoon of 23rd July 2011 fifteen Dunedin Society members gathered in the stern of a small boat on Plymouth Sound to remember Bertie Jeffreys, as his ashes were committed to the deep, and to pay tribute to all the lost men of HMS Dunedin who sailed from Plymouth for the last time in April 1941. Chief among the members were two of our living survivors, Bill Gill and Jim Davis, who had sailed in Dunedin on that last voyage and who had endured the days adrift on rafts in the aftermath of the sinking in November that year. The service to remember Able Seaman Bertie Jeffreys, who had survived the sinking, was led by the Reverend Brian Gerry and culminated in the committal of his ashes over the side and into the Sound.
Bertie's ashes are committed to the deep Bill Gill, President of the Dunedin Society, and survivor of the sinking, led the tribute to the lost men of Dunedin. After a few words in remembrance of his and Jim Davis's lost comrades, he laid a wreath over the side and onto the surface of the water. The sea glistened in the summer sun and the wreath bobbed on the gentle swell as the tide delicately tugged the wreath out to sea. The group looked out solemnly from the stern and watched as the wreath made its way slowly in the direction that Dunedin had taken seventy years earlier on her fateful last voyage from England. In a few moments the wreath had disappeared from view and the members of the group turned their attention from the sea to each other. It had been a poignant and beautiful event for the Dunedin Society.
The wreath, ready to be laid overboard
Bill Gill lays the wreath overboard
The wreath moves slowly out to sea Special thanks go to Lt-Cmdr Broadway for the planning and execution of such a memorable day.
Pre-event: Message from Karen Kebby about the 2011 HMS Dunedin Summer Gathering In addition to the annual meeting to mark the sinking of HMS Dunedin (and the one this November is the 70th anniversary), we have occasionally held an event in the summer, largely for the benefit of our remaining survivors. This year we would like to invite you to an event centred on Plymouth Dockyard, from where Dunedin left England for the last time in 1941, and Torquay, the home of Chris and Sue Broadway. The gathering will take place on Friday 22nd July and Saturday 23rd July, with the main event occurring on the Saturday. We’ll be able to send you a more detailed programme nearer the time, but for now please let me know if you would like to come and how many people will be coming with you. Numbers are limited, so I am afraid it will be first come first served. Please come back to me quickly if you are interested (via email if you can as the phone number provided is my business line). Before Dunedin left Plymouth that last time, in April 1941, she had been repaired in No 9 Dock in Plymouth following the leak of seawater into twelve of her fuel tanks. We’ll be arranging a tour of the dockyard by both minibus and boat in the hands of an expert guide. The boat trip will be rather poignant, as we re-trace the last journey undertaken by Dunedin out of Devonport, and stop just outside the breakwater to scatter the ashes of one of the survivors, who died just before last year’s reunion. The precise arrangements will depend on how many takers we get for the trip, but the plan is to meet at Chris and Sue’s place in Torquay on the Saturday morning and drive by minibus or coach to Plymouth for the Dockyard visit and then go back to Chris and Sue’s for supper Saturday evening. For those of you who want to stay in Torquay on the Friday and/or the Saturday evening, Chris recommends The Royal at Babbacombe Downs (a Travel Inn) on 01803 312 600. The food is good and he suggests that we might all have supper there on the Friday night. The views are extraordinary and the prices reasonable. There are, of course, other hotels locally, but The Royal’s website is at http://www.travelinnsltd.com/contact.php Chris and Sue Broadway live at:
Ridge End Stantaway Hill Torquay TQ1 4ER Tel: 01803 329819
(Chris warns you not to use your Satnav, you will end up close, but in a small alley.....)
With kind regards
Karen
Karen Kebby
www.churchviewjoinery.com
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