- Contributed by
- Dave Thacker
- People in story:
- Leonard Stanley Thacker
- Location of story:
- Messina, Malta, Gibraltar, Portsmouth.
- Background to story:
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:
- A6204188
- Contributed on:
- 19 October 2005
HMS Thruster: Ship's company 4.2.1945
This story is submitted to the People's War Website by David Thacker, a volunteer from BBC Radio Northampton, on behalf of his Mother, Isabella, wife of the late Len Thacker, and has been added to the site with her permission. She fully understands and accepts the site's terms and conditions.
Len had been in Thruster since her commissioning in Belfast in January 1943, serving initially under Lt/Cdr Baldwin-Wiseman, then under Lt/Cdr A.W. McMullan. He kept names of some shipmates as follow:
Signals Officer: Lt/Cdr May; PO Tels Clarence Thurlby, Nick Beatley and Peter Ward; Coders Glaisher and Nobby Clarke: Leading Signallers Wilf Young and Gordon Little; also Norm Roberts,Eric Taylor, Albert Taylor, Roy "Ginger" Burkenshaw. These people feature in some of the photographs in Thruster related stories on this site as well as in several others retained by the Thacker family.
Len left Thruster in Messina on 22.6.1945 and had passage to Malta in FT25. From there he sailed in the cruiser Enterprise to Portsmouth via Gibraltar.
After being posted to HMS President (Whitehall), Len was released from the RN on 21.4.46, but remained in the Royal Fleet Reserven then RNV(W)R until 19.11.1952.
© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.
Recommended story
Story with photo 