CASEMORE, Jack (#226)

Alan Pollock’s Rough Notes:

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Chief Petty Officer Jack CASEMORE RNVR: named by his P.O. father (2lyrs (98-19) service inc. BATTLE of JUTLAND as a TORPEDOMAN GUNNER on DESTROYER TERMAGANT) after the RN moderniser Admiral Jacky FISHER; his sister, Betty, was a WAAF PARACHUTE PACKER in East Anglia, brother-in-law. Arthur EAMES, ROYAL WEST KENT REGT taken POW for 5yrs at St VALERY, returned weighing five and half stone from POW Camp in POLAND.

Jack trained on CUMBERLAND, began war service on FORFAR, ARMED MERCHANT CRUISER on CONTRABAND CONTROL; remembering well the RAWALPINDI Incident to the north of them & going to “Action Stations”, getting good advice from a Gunlayer next to him (when all closed up in the dark on the “A” gun, with the engines racing) who had been at JUTLAND …”Do not worry at all now… you will be quite OK once the action proper starts”; initially trained as a TORPEDO ELECTRICIAN and later up to COXSWAIN., he recalls the rapidity into diving & the service of our “U” CLASS SUMARINES, in MEDITERRANEAN out of MALTA where, in smoother clearer waters, vulnerability and losses were higher; Jack served in HM SUBMARINES UNBEATEN (had three GUN ACTIONS with their 12 pdr, when they had to rapidly surface), SEALION (bombed Apr42 when several U-Boats were in the vicinity, SURF (Feb 43 to end 1943 mainly in NORTH SEA but 9Jul43 to ALGIERS), training as P.O. Coxswain in N 556, an American submarine, & in H34, coxswain in UNRULY out of Sheerness (had 24hr leave to marry 28Nov44) & V@IGOROUS out of TRINCOMALEE in Spring 1945 as CPO Coxswain,, remembering long surface patrols, entering RANGOON as it fell & time in the STRAITS of MOLUCCA – compared the long range ocean going American submarines, by then very reliable & with better torpedoes; in early 10th SUBMARINE FLOTILLA, his Captain was the AUSTRALIANO Lt Cdr Teddy WOODWARD with Lt later Rear Adm Godfrey PLACE VC CB DSC as his No.2, later to attack the TIRPITZ in 1944