- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- Heroes Return
- Release date:
- 5 3 2013
He sailed on one of the fastest ships of her generation during WW2 which helped him and his fellow Royal Navy crew members survive the constant threat of being torpedoed by enemy submarines. In a war that took him from the North Sea to the Atlantic and the Pacific, he witnessed the sorry state of Allied Prisoners of War who had been captured by the Japanese in Singapore and celebrated the end of the War in style on the other side of the world during a big parade in Sydney, Australia.
Now, thanks to an award from the Big Lottery Fund’s Heroes Return 2 programme 87-year-old John Clifford Williams from Betws Gwerfil Goch near Corwen, North Wales, will visit the shores of the Pacific once more to recall the role he played during WW2.
And World War II veterans will now be able to apply for lottery funding for a second commemorative visit under the Heroes Return 2 programme, the Big Lottery Fund announces today.
Over £25 million has been awarded since 2004 to more than 52,000 Second World War veterans, widows, spouses and carers across the country for journeys in the UK, France, Germany, the Middle East, Far East and beyond. From today, veterans will be able to apply for funding to go a second time.
John Williams is among over 830 veterans from Wales who are making or have already made poignant trips to places where they served or saw action. Life was one big adventure for John when he was called up to the Royal Navy as a Telegraphist at the age of 17 in 1942. Using Morse code to communicate, Telegraphists were indispensable at sea and were used for relaying secret coded messages between the Allies.
First Taste of Adventure
“At just seventeen years of age this was the start of a big adventure for me,” he recalls.
“I was very excited when I joined up. Naturally I feared for my life knowing that we were sailing across these oceans with so many submarines around. Sailing out of Liverpool docks in a storm on a winter’s day was an experience in itself.”
John completed his training as a Telegraphist on the Isle of Man and was transferred to Plymouth. However, the raids on the harbour by German bombers became so intense that he had to return to the Isle of Man for safety.
“We had to take shelter twice during the bombing in Plymouth,” explains John.
“Things got so bad they eventually sent me back to the Isle of Man.”
Living with the Enemy
Many prisoners of war captured by the Allies were held on the Isle of Man.
“Incidentally a lot of the Fascist prisoners were kept in enclosures there on the Promenade in Douglas,” says John.
“We were based next to them and we would pass their enclosure everyday when we were going on training exercises. It was a very strange feeling when we were passing them and to think that we were training to fight against what they admired in a way.”
“Some of the storms we endured sailing back and forth to the Isle of Man were colossal and the waves were huge. Sometimes the ship was more or less on her side.”
Joining the Speedy Ship – Dominion Monarch
Eventually John was united with his new ship, the Dominion Monarch, and prepared to set sail for the Pacific. At the time of her building, the Dominion Monarch was the most powerful motor liner of her kind in the world. A former first class cruise liner, she had been stripped out and fitted with light armament after being commandeered by the Royal Navy as a troopship. During the War, she carried over 29,000 American and British military personnel and brought thousands of wounded soldiers home. As John recalls, her speed also gave her an air of confidence when it came to steering her crew clear of danger during potential torpedo attacks by enemy submarines.
“We sailed across the Atlantic in a convoy towards New York and then we broke off and sailed through the Caribbean towards the Panama Canal, which was a wonderful experience. We felt absolutely alone then with no cover after leaving the convoy but we relied on the speed of our ship. She was one of only six ships in the world that could outpace a submarine. That in itself was very encouraging for us.”
They were entertained by the US Navy in the Panama Canal before crossing through to the Pacific.
“By now the Japanese had been beaten back in the Pacific which made it easier for us to cross,” says John.
“On one occasion on route to Australia there was a Japanese submarine in the vicinity and we had to drop depth charges to try and destroy her. My role as a Telegraphist was to communicate messages between the American and British ships.”
A Land Down Under
When they arrived in Australia, the medical team discovered John had tonsillitis as a child and the Doctor insisted he went to Sydney to have his tonsils cut properly.
“They then gave me a fortnight’s leave in Australia and I went to Adelaide and Melbourne, sheer luck in its way. They then gave me a job in a Fleet Repair Base, connecting with the American fleet that were coming in for repairs. I was based on land for the duration of the War.”
John met and married his first wife in Australia and he’ll never forget the celebrations in Sydney when the war ended.
“I’ll never forget that Victory Parade in Sydney,” he says.
“It really was a wonderful experience to be marching with everyone from all the different allied nations and with all the ticker tape coming down. I’ve never been able to get a photograph of that Victory Parade in Sydney and I’ve tried everything in my power to get my hands on a copy. I would love a photograph of that parade but I’ve failed at every attempt.”
The War Hits Home
The reality of war soon hit home for John when they stopped in Singapore on the way back to the UK from Australia to pick up allied prisoners of war who had been held captive by the Japanese.
“They looked like skeletons,” he explains.
“That really got to me. We provided them with new military uniforms which were hanging off them. They were just skin and bone and I’ve never forgotten that.”
John also discovered that one of his closest friends from Corwen had been killed in the War and the reality of never being able to see his friend again soon sank in.
He counts himself one of the lucky ones: “I had a good War and it was a very lucky experience for me,” he laments.
“The speed of the ship almost certainly saved us. We were asking a hell of a lot of her without the convoy’s protection across the Atlantic and the Pacific. Looking back now, I don’t think I would have liked to have done it in a slow vessel because the Japanese were completely ruthless when it came to destroying and sinking allied ships.”
Highlighting the importance of the Heroes Return 2 programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales Director, John Rose, said: “It is a very real honour and pleasure to announce that Second World War veterans from across Wales who have already been on a Heroes Return commemorative visit can now be supported to make another journey to a place where they fought or served. They let us know how important these visits are to them - whether it be a trip to London’s Cenotaph on Remembrance Day, a visit to the beaches of Normandy or journeys to war cemeteries in the Far East. The experiences they revisit remind us that we must never take for granted the peace this generation secured for all of us and the debt we owe for the freedoms we enjoy and value today.”
Past and present photos of John Clifford Williams are available: contact Oswyn Hughes at the Big Lottery Fund press office on 02920 678 207.
The Big Lottery Fund has extended its Heroes Return 2 programme to enable veterans to apply for funding to make second trips. The programme deadline for closure will now be end of 2015. This will ensure Second World War veterans from the UK, Channel Islands and Republic of Ireland who have already been funded since the programme opened in 2009, will have a second opportunity to apply for a grant towards travel and accommodation expenses to enable them to make trips back to places across the world where they served, or make a commemorative visit in the UK. For details contact: Heroes Return helpline: 0845 00 00 121 or visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/heroesreturn
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 0735 Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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