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HMS Manxman's demise (Part 3 of 3)

Heroes Remember

HMS Manxman's demise (Part 3 of 3)

Transcript
And of course when we got to Gibraltar, two-thirds of the crew went back to England. It was, and just one-third was left on of which I was fortunate to remain to be, to await the tow back to, back to the United Kingdom. We were towed, eventually towed back after about seven months, we were towed back to England. The damage was such that they never did attempt to repair it before the war ended although there was an alteration to the ship following, after the war. They did make, not, not, it wasn't the same ship, it wasn't required for the same operations. I left that ship after decommissioning her; I left the Manxman on the 17th of July 1943 and as I said, it was November 1942 when we were torpedoed. You become attached to the vessel that you're on no matter which vessel it is, it's your home, it's your place of work. You, you live in a tight community, of friends, you make, you have friends, you have the ship-born acquaintances, and when the numbers only 250 people, you become very close.
Description

Mr. Rusling concludes his story about the Marksman being torpedoed with her eventual demise. He also talks about close friendships that developed on the ship.

Frank Rusling

Frank Rusling was born in Belton, Lincolnshire, England on January 30, 1922. His father moved the family to the county of Suffolk in England where he grew up. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 because of his love for the ocean. He entered the communications’ department of the navy and trained in visual signalling where he was very successful during his training and very rapidly reached the rank of Yeoman of Signals. The first vessel he was on was the HMS Sheffield. However, he did work on other vessels and travelled to several parts of the world with the Royal Navy. After the war he joined the Canadian Pacific police where he served for 30 years. He now resides in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
01:58
Person Interviewed:
Frank Rusling
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
North Africa
Branch:
Navy
Rank:
Yeoman of Signals
Occupation:
Signalman

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