Description

An evening of Two Talks, by David Bickerton…

Parents at War

David has learned about his parents’ WW2 experiences from many letters between them. His father was crew on HMS Dorsetshire, involved in the pursuit and sinking of the Bismark, and he later commanded a minesweeper. His mother tracked enemy aircraft in the war.

David was drawn on a journey of discovery after finding nearly 150 letters that his parents had exchanged between 1942 and 1945 before they were married.

With the help of the letters and extensive research he was able to piece together a detailed picture of their wartime experiences through his book, Parents at War.
He discovered how his father was in the crew of HMS Dorsetshire when she took part in the pursuit and sinking of the Bismarck. His mother was a radar operator in the WAAF and served at 5 RAF radar stations and found herself tracking enemy aircraft on their bombing missions.
The young lovers met by chance in a Haverfordwest hotel in 1942 and had only a short relationship before his father was sent to the hostile waters of the Mediterranean where he commanded a minesweeper and was involved in 6 invasions.

The Battle of the River Plate

The Battle of the River Plate was the first major naval battle of WW2, fought between the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee and 3 smaller British cruisers. It lasted 80 terrifying minutes and left over 100 men dead, with many more wounded. Graf Spee sought refuge in the Port of Montevideo.
In the talk, David will outline the 3-month hunt for Graf Spee which sank 9 British merchant ships, describe the battle, the persuit, and the subsequent political manoevres resulting in the Germans being fooled into believing that superior forces lay in wait, and drove them to scuttle Graf Spee.

Venue

Speaker

David Bickerton

GXSA Host

Stuart Gaunt

info@gxsa.org.uk

Price

Free: GXSA Members

£5 : Visitors

£4 : CA Members

Calendar