Rear Admiral Stuart E. Paddon
Born in St. Thomas, Ontario in October of 1917, Stuart joined
the navy in 1940 after finishing university. He specialized in the
new science of radar and was eventually posted as Radar officer on
the soon to be commissioned HMS Prince of Wales - a
Canadian Officer on a British ship. With the
finishing touches on the German battleship
Bismark in 1940, the Prince
of Wales was rushed to sea with the dockyard workers
still aboard! The POW was to accompany
the battle cruiser HMS Hood. On May 24,
1941, in the Battle of Denmark Strait (between Iceland and
Greenland), the two exchanged fire with the
Bismark with the
Hood exploding and the
POW heavily damaged. 1,428 British
sailors were lost with the sinking of the
Hood. The
Bismark however was also damaged and
other ships of the fleet followed a trail of oil and later sunk the
famous ship off the coast of France.
Following repairs to the Prince of Wales, Paddon was sent to the
far east where along with HMS Repulse
both ships were lost in an Japanese attack on December 10, 1941
while trying to sweep the Gulf of Siam.
|
"I was one of very few who managed to escape the
ship by going over the port side, or what had been the port side,
probably more likely part of the mast structure. In any case, at
some point I saw clear water below and I dove. I was wearing a Mae
West. For a moment I seemed to be entangled briefly by something
around my foot, which I managed to kick free. I popped up and swam
very rapidly. Finally I came across an emergency biscuit package
ration from one of the ship's boats. I put my arm over this and
looked around, there was no ship. It was gone. I was lucky not to
have been sucked down by the ship itself."
|
Eventually picked up, Paddon continued to serve in the far east
until joining the signals directorate at Headquarters in Ottawa.
After demobilization, he continued in the service rising to the
Flag rank of Commodore in 1961 and to Rear Admiral in 1965.
Stuart Paddon retired from the Navy in 1972 and passed away in
November 1989.
For more about Paddon's recollections of the Prince
of Wales and the Bismark
and the Sinking of the Prince of Wales in
the far east
click here.
As a Canadian Officer on a Royal Navy ship, Paddon encountered
Winston Churchill on several occasions as well as Roosevelt Junior.
For more of these recollections click
here and look for the Online Article Churchill and
cigarettes board at Port