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Eighty Years Since the Tragic Sinking of HMS Glorious

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Eighty Years Since the Tragic Sinking of HMS Glorious 52 I MARCH 8, 2020 THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA MARCH 8, 2020 I 53 LIFEANDWELLBEING HISTORY Eighty years since the tragic sinking of HMS Glorious She told me her grandmother Carmela Bartolo was very young, and to help her family she THE "GLORIOUS" AND worked in a lace shop in Valletta, TWO DESTROYERS LOST I near Castille. A young Fridolin :4.f.. i.:11 TRfJOP.-.HTP .4,Vl> · SAVIOUR saw her there and became a reg­ nn~r ..t.VKElt , ( .......... ~) : AZZOPARDI ular visitor to the shop. He J. .o~DON . fone 10. I would explain his frequent visits I~ 11' offkia\l~· unnounU<i i.l1•& t;.., ! by saying he was buying presents Hriti~h 11irc·1·ar1 c:t1rrtn H.~.8 . <11n1tll)"C~ i,. 11t'Hntn~ !Mt. AIJG the lnm~tt 1 for his mother in the UK whom !t•.a~r "Or11mo:" llnd tbe t11nker stHmer l During World War ll many Mal­ be1oved.somucb. "Oil Piontl'r... Th~ t'lro cll'S<troyert l tese lives were affected by When Carmela accepted his H.'.\f.f.1. At-.tlll'A 11ri.i H.\l.!I. Ant1r.n ~H events that were to unfold as the invitation to meet after work 1.tl>'O flfP~tlntt<d !<)tit. war progressed. A huge shock­ Fridolin never looked back, and ADltt•ALTY COMM\llltQUE wave hit Malta on June 8, 1940 the two were soon meeting on a ,..... ,..,... ......... ; with the news that the aircraft regular basis. They married in LONDOM. Jnue 10. 1 TIHf Actml1111lty ,..,nm1unlq11.; ~t•tft carrier HMS Glorious had been 1922 and had nine children, tllU Ne 110 further information i~ re- sunk with a huge loss of lire. seven boys and two girls. 11 ~ived reaa1dioJ' naval operatiou:!c iu t'IXI• Many Maltese ratings were ne11:ion with tile withdrawal nf our fo1'<'ftl., among the dead, and in fact, no referred . to In ;ve!lter<tay'a Actmir11li1 co11un1mtq11#>. Alllll n1< 1111 to. tht! prevent. Maltese survived the tragedy. "Seeing her so it hiui not 1-n Jlll~f.>.ihle to e;.tahli<Jh Alfred Gory Jones and his wife These are the stories of two Ic:mmn•mlcation with C:l!J'tain ~bipP . the Elizabeth Dear families whose lives we1:e af­ distraught the .Nhniralty r8fl'efs it mn~t nnw 1.., pre· fected by this loss. l•11u1r.I that. the followloir t·e..,.,.lf" have architect told her r llePII !Ollt : - I first met Tessie Rizzo five 1 H.?tl.!:i. c+r.n11rouw. ('11plai11 Doyt years ago during our 75th an­ he would take care !Hu11he~. the tr.&11•J10rt Mi>amer ''.0•-..m•" niversary remembrance service. of the bill himself. 1and the tanku ~t<!amAhlp ''Oil Pioneer". She said her grandfathe1~ IIt It known thu the •·oran•ft.. had no Fridolin Ernest Schraner, had , trooJ)I aboard. Two dP~tmy•rs: H.lf.S. The young man At'AAT• (Cnn11n1hdP1 <'. r-:. <Hn•11furd), died on HMS Glorious. Quickly Mid H.M.~ , A1ltw.XT '(L\~ul·('omu1•n1for checking the list of casualties, I was Dom Mintoff" J. •'· Buk~r). found no Schraner. She replied T1Je1111 AhlPJ we<tt in ooni1111ny wlth that her grandfather had A curious fact is that while his tl1t1 11i"·1·an-cilrrie11 GL01.1<>n1 an.d &r• pro\>Kl.Jy tile v~k referrerl to in the changed his name to Frederick naval records show him as Fred­ Uttman C01JJ111uniq~ na a d«'~troyet and Ernest Harwood. I found this sur­ erick Harwood, he is listed a.s Ia ~ubmarine chuer. _ nan1e and the story becan1e even Fridolin Schraner on his mar­ The Times reporting the sinking of more interesting when Tessie· riage certificate. Tessie's mot;he1~ HMS Glorious, Ardent and Acasta confessed that she has no knowl­ also named Carmela, recalls how Alfred Gory Jones with four other unknown Maltese ratings on shore leave somewhere in North Africa. Alfred Gory Jones in navy summer uniform. in June 1940. edge as to how or why her grand­ when he used to come home father had changed his name. from a trip abroad, he would Fridolin Schraner was born in take his children to the shops, ment informed them that mostly as servants. She lost one counts how on learning that his aboard the Glorious were pris­ Connie also told me of the 50 Maltese ratings on board. Its dependently to the UK. On November 1901 in the county of buy· them clothes and shoes and Fridolin was presumed to be a of the boys during an air raid. brother-in-law, a trumpet player, oners-of-war and no pensions times when War Damage depart­ destination was Norway where board were the Norwegian Dorset, the eldest child to SWiss­ make them wear them there and prisoner of war and as such the She had previously already lost could not afford to buy a trunlpet, were given to the surviving fam­ ment staff came to assess dam­ the British Forces were trying to royal family, Norwegian parlia­ German parents, Fridolin and then. Carmela recalls those were Schraner family received no another boy and this was quite a Alfred went and bought him one. ilies. More hardship was to fall ages to their house. The young establish a foothold. By the end mentarians as well as the Nor­ Dorcas Schraner. He joined the days of plenty when they lacked pension from the navy. This shock to her. I asked Tessie if He would also ask his wife to give on these and other families be­ architect told her she still would of May, the British government wegian gold bullion. The navy in 1918 at the youngage of17. nothing as her father Frjdolin carried on fo1· more than a yea1~ she could show me a photo of n1oney from bis pay to his rela­ cause, soon afterwards, the Blitz have to pay about £40. She realised thatit was futile to con­ Devonshirewas the only ship to Fridolin gave his date of birth as would shower them with what­ and at that time Malta was being her grandfather but unfortu­ tives whenever they needed it. of Malta was to begin. started to cry and told the young tinue with this campaign and or­ receive the distress message June 30, 1900, instead of Novem­ ever they needed. ravaged in the Blitz. nately her grandmother The navy was good for Alfred To make ends meet, Elisabeth man she couldn't.afford it. Seeing dered a withdrawal. HMS sent from the Glorious. Vice ber 4, 1901, making him a year This was to change drastically Carmela had to find a way of Carmela had lost everything, in­ and his family. He liked to listen started to sell most of her pos­ her so distraught, the architect Glorious was part of one of the Admiral John Cunningham older, something that was very with the news of the sinking of feeding her young family. The cluding photos, in a fire that de­ to the radio and bought a radio sessions. Connie told me that told her he would take care of the convoys leaving Narvik. decided it was too garbled and commonly done in those days. HMS Glorious. The UK govern- children who could work did so stroyed her home in Cospicua. for each floor of their home. Peo­ the times became so hard that, bill himself. The young man was On June 8, 1940, captain D'Oyly ignored it. Carmela never married again ple would gather to listen to the at one point, Elisabeth was Dom Mintoff, who later in life Hughes on board the Glorious When news of the tragedy re­ after the death of her husband radio and sometime~ ask Elisa­ asked for a gold ring in ex­ would become Malta's prime asked for permission to leave the garding the three ships broke, Fridolin. After the war years, beth to raise the volume so they change for a bottle teat. minister. The house where they convoy and sail independently to the UK public and parliament work was hard to find and could hear better. On June 10, Friends suggested to Elisa­ lived was named Glorious and Scapa Flow in Scotland. That day were furious and asked many Carmela's boys left Malta look­ 1940, people where outside her beth that since she had a big l~ter Elisabeth would turn the at about 4pm, two German battle­ questions that the British gov­ Connie Cauchi, daughter of ing for better opportunities front window listening to the house and a young family to front room into a grocer shop. ships, Schamhorst and Gneise­ ernment was having trouble Alfred Gory Jones abroad. Meanwhile the two girls news when it was announced that feed, she might as well take in Connie became a nurse, work­ nau, spotted the smoke from the answering. Many people were of stayed close to their mother, HMS Glorious had been sunk. some lodgers. At that time the ing mostly with young children. chimney of HMS Glorious. They the opinion that the Glorious looking after her needs. Elisabeth was in hysterics. She Malta Drydocks was employing There she met and married a engaged the Glorious and its de­ was perhaps sent as a decoy to service. This year it will be held Another person who I have got started to throw things about, many skilled English workers, young electrician named Fran­ stroyer escorts HMS Ardentand distract the Germans from the on March 22: For more details e­ to know well over the years is yelling and screaming that her such as charge men, draughts­ cis.
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