www.tinyurl.com/hmsfiji www.tinyurl.com/hmsfijiassociation _____________________________________________________________________________ \\\\\___H.M.S. FIJI ASSOCIATION___\"-._ /////~~~ we will remember them ~~~/.-' _____________________________________________________________________________ JOHN W. LOARING, RADAR OFFICER, H.M.S. FIJI 06 January 2001 _____________________________________________________________________________ My Dad, John W. Loaring was a radar officer on Fiji, was picked up after a long swim and then had a nice sail around the cape to England, (retired Lieut Cmdr RCNVR Hunter Base after the War); unfortunately died of cancer 1971. He told my brother and I fond tales of Fiji and heroic friends. What an effect the War had on so many! My Dad built a fifty foot high replica of the Fiji's main mast on our front lawn (I'm pretty certain it's still there: there's seven tons of concrete holding it straight) in the mid-fifties (I think) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I was a Fiji OS in the crowsnest as a lad growing up. We flew Nelson's Signals every Trafalgar Day. I would truly love any information about Fiji that folks are putting together. Best wishes to all survivors and relatives of the brave sailors lost and surviving. David Loaring, Burlington, Ontario, Canada Canadian Secretary, H.M.S. Fiji Association _____________________________________________________________________________ Copies of correspondence from my Dad, John W. Loaring etc. _____________________________________________________________________________ Note: Ernie was my Dad's brother (the first note below). Lunny is my mother Ellen who lived in a cottage in Hampshire during the war, but she had relatives all over England, especially near Birmingham.) "As mentioned a few times by Uncle Ernie over the years, Dad was put ashore in Freetown, Africa to recover from oil poisoning. Later, Dad was Senior Technical Instructor for Radar Officers in Portsmouth. *(This information is in a 1994-Jul-08 note to me from Ernie. His note goes on to say: "The ship that picked him them up, I believe a R.N. Destroyer, escaped thru the east end of the Med. Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea, etc. & had almost circumnavigated the whole continent of Africa. .... Freeport is the capital of Sierra Leone on the upper west coast of Africa.") PHOTOCOPY OF 1941-MAY-28 DAD LETTER to "My Own Darling Sweetheart": ".... The sad thing is that I may be a long time on the way. I'm going a very safe way but it will take many weeks. I have already gone over 1000 miles of it. I may not get there till mid-August.... I am pretty sure to come directly to you when I reach England but I may telegraph or phone you to meet me in Dompey. .... We were not allowed to send telegrams until the announcement was made of the sinking.... .... I was only in the water 2 hours myself and I kept 7 chaps together with me on a bit of a machine gun platform. When my torch gave out I robbed a dead man's body of a torch that was alight in his pocket. All the officers you knew are safe except Balean and the Gunnery Officer - oh and the Padre - poor old Padre, he died of exposure after boarding a destroyer. "We fought an admirable battle - la[???] off flights & flights of Stuka divebombers off ourselves and 3 other ships for 13 hours. It took 4 1000 lb bombs to sink us and half a dozen very near misses - and they never would have hit us if our ammunition had held out but when we ran out they came right in and plastered them all round us so that the near misses raised the ship out of the water. Then we were hit well and truly the first time and immediately developed a heavy port list. After that with hardly any motion we were a sitting bull[?] and we were hit three times close together. We began to abandon ship and I stepped off the quarter deck when the angle was about 50 [degrees] from upright [simple sketch of angled ship]. Other chaps from destroyers had been machinegunned in the water but we were not as far as I know. When we were waiting for 2 close by destroyers to pick us up they suddenly beat it and were out of sight for 1 1/2 hours - we began to think they weren't coming back when it became dark and they showed up again. "When I got back to the base I immediately bought a complete new set of baggage.... .... I may possibly get home 3 or 4 weeks before the date I mention - at any rate I hope to be home for my birthday [Aug-03]. I will be a Lieut then.... I think we should begin to think about Little Johnny [Dad] & Little Lunny [Mom] having a cosy get together and then perhaps John Charles or Ellen Mary (or both) will come. Then though I hope it will not be so if I do have to leave Lunny again she will have company - the very best kind too!" PHOTOCOPY OF 1941-JUN-19 DAD LETTER to "Dear Mom & Dad" (with "Somewhere on this Globe at sea." written above the date): ".... Way back in March I said to Lunny in a letter - see you in about two weeks - and I've been sending letters by air & sea and telegrams weekly since saying the same thing each time.... For the first time in another week or so I'll be able to say the same to you - maybe and if and all that - it is just a possibility so don't count in the least on it. It could be a long distance call and a fast automobile trip for you - perhaps not worth while for it might be a few hours of visiting and then push off into the great unknown again. But theres at least a 50 - 50 chance on the phone call. Since the ship has been announced as sunk I have travelled a good way on the trip home and hope to see Lunny in a few weeks perhaps by my birthday if I'm lucky but I may be weeks out either way. .... ...I have no lasting ill effects from 2 hours or so swimming around in the sea of Crete. I hope to take the job promised me at Portsmouth.... One thing is that I've had a lot of concentrated fighting in a very short while and my outfit was praised to the sky for success and my stock went up 200 % in a few days. I am a Lieut. now as soon as I can buy the uniform and the extra stripe. ...." PHOTOCOPY OF 1941-JUN-28 DAD LETTER to "My Own Darling Sweetheart" (with "somewhere in harbour" written above the date): "Another week has gone by in this interminable wait before we can be together again. .... I should definitely see you before... my birthday comes. I hope to be very close to you compared to the vast distances which have separated us in past months. Before I get to you I may have a chance of phoning Mom & Dad and even of having them come to see me before I continue on to you. It would be fun if I could phone Dad on my birthday wouldn't it. "People in places we visit are very hospitable and provide the lads with clothes which they have lost. .... ...I am continually being interrupted by people walking in and out of my cabin which I share with Lt. (E) Vandome who has had quite a lot of adventures since this war began. He was in the Merchant Service as an engineer when the war broke out - doing it for fun - being son of a fairly well to do family and a graduate of London University. He is exceptionally brilliant in academics and practical engineering.... .... He was in the Doric Star when it was sunk by the Graf Spee and was in the Graph Spee and then the Altmark for 11 weeks and heard the scuffle with the Cossack boarding party overheard and felt the Altmark being runaground. And then he joined the Navy as an engineer and was in Maurice's ship and got his 2nd stripe just after joining us in February. .... We go for a run around the deck every day we are not ashore and hope to be in fair condition on return. His home is not very far from Letchworth so when I'm on leave he might come to see us one day.... "...it all makes me believe firmly that you and I sweetheart were meant to carry on a beautiful home life and bring husky healthy & happy children into this world.... May they never have to fight in any war for democrasy." CANADIAN PACIFIC TELEGRAPH 1941-Aug-08, Letchworth (from Dad to his parents "Loaring [at] Ouellette [Ave.] / Windor Ont[ario]"): "Enjoying leave. Happily together. John Commissioned. John "Ruston Ellen. Johnnie Loaring" (John Ruston was my mother's younger brother, an RCAF pilot navigator who chummed around with my Mom whenever he was on leave. He was killed in action just two months later at the end of his 30th mission over Germany in a Wellington.) _____________________________________________________________________________ Added: Jan 8-09: This is John W. Loaring's own typed story, composed a bit less than three months after the sinking. I have a typed draft with a few of his hand-inked adjustments, and I have the resulting typed original (incorporating some additional slight adjustments), which I quote below. G R John Loaring August 19, 1941. Script by Lieutenant J. W. Loaring, R. C. N. V. R. I have rescued; I have been torpedoed and not sunk; and I have been dive-bombed and sunk--which qualifies me somewhat to describe the scene of a sinking at sea. High in the air dive-bombers circled, waiting to attack. Others were already beginning their swift steep dive at the foot of which they let go heavy bombs directed at us--scores and scores had already missed us for the attacks had begun just after dawn and it was then only two hours till dark. But some had found their mark and we were listing heavily to port. Above decks the anti-aircraft armament was fully manned and with the ship at an impossible angle the guns were all peppering away. Below decks, the engine-room crew were still steaming the ship, and continued to steam her until they were waist deep in water, and some of the valves had to be shut off under water. The list gradually increased and I began to wonder if we could hold out till dark and finally get back to our base. Then the familiar scream of bombs descending stood out above the thunder of the guns; the whole ship seemed to leap, and fall back stricken--and I gave up all ideas of getting back without a swim. I walked aft along the starboard side of the quarterdeck at a very steep angle, hanging on to the rails and then, jumping from foothold to foothold down the slope, reached the port rail, which was just awash. I sat and thought for a minute and figured that there was no getting out of it--I was in for a cold evening swim and so I woefully took off my shoes and chucked them into the drink. Then I saw a piece of a machine-gun platform and walked into the water, took the platform and made my way slowly clear of the ship. As I was sizing up the situation two destroyers closed up, and the whole thing seemed ridiculously easy--just a ten minute plunge and then I'd be on one of the destroyers. The same thought must have struck everyone for they were singing and waving and calling out: "Ahoy Jim--a couple of weeks' leave now, oh what!" But soon the destroyers made off and disappeared entirely. The singing abruptly stopped. I had six chaps on my platform now. It was only large enough to support one man. Someone yelled: "Help me--I can't go on!" We hauled him over to the supporting timber where we were all hanging on with one arm trying to conserve energy. No one knew when or if the destroyer would return--they might have had more important work to do. Darkness was falling by then, and I began to think rescue would have to be soon else we wouldn't be seen. I saw the light of a burning torch coming from below the surface of the water from the pocket of a poor chap who succumbed to the cold. I used that torch to keep in touch with other groups of men. After what seemed a very long time a cheer went up--someone claimed to have seen the destroyers approaching. We couldn't believe it at first but after a time they came close and drifted down wind toward us: I signalled our position with our torch. Other groups signalled too, and eventually we were all picked up. Believe me, the heat from the wardroom fire and the hot cocoa was given an enthusiastic welcome. _____________________________________________________________________________ In order to view the items below, simply copy and paste the URLs into your Browser's Location Box _____________________________________________________________________________ Newspaper Article, entitled: "Ontario Athlete Had to Swim for Three Hours in Crete Battle". http://www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/loaring2.jpg _____________________________________________________________________________ HMSFA Document containing information about John W. Loaring http://www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/loaring.jpg _____________________________________________________________________________