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Auction: 22003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 399

'There were 85 of them. Zero dive bombers each carrying a 250lb bomb that was delay fused. They went through our flight deck (we had no armour plating) exploding below decks.

The planes dived out of the sun and apart from a few near misses every bomb was on target. They went through our flight deck like sticking your finger through tissue paper, causing absolute destruction below decks. One of the first casualties was our forward lift. It received a direct hit, was blown 10ft in the air to land upside down on the flight deck, eventually sliding into the sea. All personnel in that area were instantly killed.

Wave after wave of these Zeros came at us. Our Captain was doing his best to dodge the bombs by using the speed of the ship. We were moving flat out at about 20-25 knots, shuddering from stem to stern, not only from the speed, but from the continual pounding we were getting from those little "Sons of Nippon" up in the air. Where, oh where was our fighter cover? We never did get any. Up until then we had a commentary of what was happening up top.

The A.A. guns crews did a magnificent job. To assist them, because the planes at the end of their dive flew along the flight deck to drop their bombs - and because the guns could not be fired at that low angle - all the 5.5 inch guns, mine included, had orders to elevate to the maximum so that as the ship slewed from side to side [we could] fire at will, hoping that the shrapnel from the shells would cause some damage to the never ending stream of bombers that were hurtling down out of the sun to tear the guts out of my ship that had been my home for the past 3 years.

Suddenly there was an almighty explosion that seemed to lift us out of the water. The after magazine had gone up. Then another, this time above us on the starboard side. From that moment onwards we had no further communication with the bridge, which had received a direct hit, as a result of which our Captain and all bridge personnel were killed.

At this stage Hermes had a very heavy list to port and it was obvious that she was about to sink. As the sea was now only feet below our gun deck I gave the order "over the side lads, every man for himself, good luck to you all." Abandon ship had previously been given by word of mouth, and the lads went over the side and I followed, hitting the water at 11.00 hours. This is the time my wristwatch stopped (I didn't have a waterproof one).

As she was sinking the Japs were still dropping bombs on her and machine gunning the lads in the water. I swam away from the ship as fast as I could, the ship still had way on and I wanted to get clear of the screws and also because bombs were still exploding close to the ship. The force of the explosions would rupture your stomach - quite a few of the lads were lost in this way after surviving Dante's Inferno aboard - so it was head down and away.'

Stan Curtis recalls the devastating Japanese attack on H.M.S. Hermes off Ceylon on 9 April 1942; see the BBC's website 'WW2 People's War'

A poignant Second World War casualty's group of four awarded to Engine Room Artificer 4th Class C. H. Wilkins, Royal Navy, who was among those lost when the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Hermes was sunk by Japanese aircraft in April 1942

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Burma Star; War Medal 1939-45, in their original O.H.M.S. card forwarding box addressed to his widow, Mrs. E. M. Wilkins, 47 Lower Bristol Road, Somerset', together with Admiralty condolence slip in the name of 'Charles Herbert Wilkins', extremely fine (4)

Charles Herbert Wilkins was born in Bath, Somerset in April 1917 and joined the Royal Navy at Devonport.

By early 1942, he was serving as an Engine Room Artificer 4th Class in the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Hermes, which ship formed part of the Eastern Fleet.

Loss of the "Hermes"

On 5 April 1942, Hermes and the destroyer H.M.A.S. Vampire were sent to Trincomalee in Ceylon to prepare for Operation "Ironclad", the British invasion of Madagascar. After advance warning of a Japanese air raid on 9 April 1942, the vessels left Trincomalee and sailed south down the coast to avoid the air raid.

However, both ships were spotted off Batticaloa by a Japanese reconnaissance plane and the Japanese launched a force of 85 Aichi D3A dive bombers, escorted by nine Zero fighters. The force was commanded by the same Japanese pilot who had led the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Hermes was first to be sunk, taking an unprecedented 40 direct hits, killing 307 men including Captain R. F. J. Onslow, R.N. The Vampire also met the same fate, with the captain and seven other crew members being killed in the raid. The Japanese only suffered minor losses.

25-year-old Wilkins left a widow, Mary Ellen Wilkins and, having no known grave, is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

Postscript

The wreck of Hermes was first located in 2006 and, as reported in Royal Navy News in August 2017, a Fleet Diving Unit visited the site in the latter year:

'Two hundred feet below the surface of the Bay of Bengal the Royal Navy's standard 'flies' on H.M.S. Hermes for the first time in 75 years. Not since April 9, 1942 have Royal Navy sailors seen the outline of Britain's first purpose-built carrier.

A joint training exercise with the Sri Lankan Navy gave divers from Fleet Diving Unit 2 a chance to pay their respects on Hermes' wreck rather than on the surface above. The Sri Lankans are keen to master mixed-gas diving, one of the many skills and abilities Royal Navy divers possess, so a team flew out to Trincomalee Naval Base to share their expertise and carry out joint dives …

Hermes' wreck lies over 180 feet down, which meant only one section - the bilge keel - was accessible for the diving teams. "This is the first time that Royal Navy personnel have been able to pay their respects in such a way in the 75 years since Hermes was tragically sunk," said Chief Petty Officer Ward Peers, second-in-command of Fleet Diving Unit 2. "Laying the ensign was a great honour for everyone involved."

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Starting price
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