Harry Walker's HMS Wanderer Days

• Main Author: Their Finest Hour Project Team
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: British history; European history (excl. British; classical Greek and Roman); International history; Their Finest Hour; World War Two; Agricultural; Agriculture; Armed Forces; Atlantic; Child; Childhood; Children; Civilian; Civilians; Destroyer; Eastern Front; Employment; Farm; Farmer; Farmers; Farming; Military; Naval; Navy; Photo; Photograph; Photographs; Photos; Red Army; Rural; Russia; Russian; Russians; Sea; Sea Battle; Ship; Ships; Soviet; Soviet Union; Soviets; Submarine; Training; War Ship; Warship; Work; Worker; Workers; Greenland; Petty; Iceland; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.25446/oxford.25924135.v1; https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Harry_Walker_s_HMS_Wanderer_Days/25924135

Harry (Henry) Walker, born 21 October 1918, Pegswood, Northumberland. He married Helen Adams, born 16 August 1917, Tollcross Farm, Glasgow. They had 5 children - Helen, Robert, Rhona, John and Irene. Our father Harry (Henry) Walker mainly served on the V and W destroyer HMS Wanderer. He joined the Navy in 1937, becoming a Leading Seaman at Chatham - SSX20065 was his service number. His first ships were the minesweepers Harrier and Sharpshooter. In Portsmouth HMS Vernon he became a T1 Training Petty Officer. He joined the Wanderer in January 1940 to November 1944. Our Dad was also on HMS Corinthian. We were always told that she was seen as one of the luckiest ships in both World Wars with the motto - The Wanderer Always Returns. Our Dad was very artistic and he used wood, bakelite etc to craft the Wanderer's Emblem, a model of the ship and a brass holder marked for HMS Corinthian - see attached photos. Dad travelled to Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and Russia as escort ship during the terrible Atlantic convoys. As well as serving on the above ships, he was also on Pembroke I, Marlborough and Cochrane I. After the war, Dad became an electrician with the National Coal Board in Clackmannanshire. We five children were all born in Coalsnaughton, adjoining Tillicoultry. In 1959, he moved the family north to start his work at the UKAEA fast breeder reactor site at Dounreay, 10 miles from Thurso, Caithness. He was a well-respected electrical engineer and invented a sensor probe during his time there. He retired in 1982 and died in January 1988, aged only 69. Captain Bob (Reginald) Whinney described his time on HMS Wanderer in his book - The U-boat peril; an anti-submarine Commander's war, published by Blandford Press, 1986, isbn 0713718218. This includes photos taken on board. In 2022, I communicated with FM Donald, who served on the Wanderer, and Bill Forster, who managed the V and W Destroyer Association website and had added much material. Tragically, Mr Forster died in 2023. This was during the period he was ...