Veteran Charles heads for Normandy

Jul 16 2010 by Lisa Boyle, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

CHARLES Forrest was one of the first to serve with the Royal Marine Commandos and was at sea for most of the war.

He was aboard HMS Birmingham – a light cruiser built in Plymouth and commissioned in November 1937.

She was a 9000 tonne cruiser with a maximum speed of 32 knots and a range of 9000 nautical miles.

Charles explained: “When I set off from Scapa Flow on the HMS Birmingham, I had hoped to have been on the HMS Hood, which was the pride of the Royal Navy at the time.

“Three days later though, as we hunted for the Bismarck we learned that the Hood has been sunk – quite unbelievable.

“I lost two good friends that day and looking back I am glad we didn’t find the Bismarck as we would have been outgunned. Her range was 15 metres while ours was only five.”

Charles and his shipmates slept on the deck at night for fear of getting stuck below if they were torpedoed by the ever present threat from U-boats.

He continued: “Everytime you went ashore you thought it would be the last time but in the end I was lucky.

“Although I was involved in helping protect the convoys I managed to escape injury although not everyone was so fortunate.

“In September, I will travel to Normandy to pay my respects to friends and colleagues from the Commandos who fell there during the fighting and to a close friend who died recently.

“A long time has passed since those days but the memories are still strong.”