Photo of Royal Marine died 1944 HMS Fiji

[shanreagh]

Hi - wasn't the battle for Crete in 1941?  I have looked at the list of casualties and he died on 23/5/1941 rather than 1944. 

[DaveKe]

Battle for Crete in 1944 ?

HMS Fiji was sunk 22 May 1941.

[joboy]

Of course shanreagh and Davke you are both correct ... I suggest it was just a simple typo by greensleeves ....... we have all been too busy looking at the armaments to pick up anything else I guess.
Joe

[Cowiedavid]

I have been reading all of the posts and can add a bit more.
The gun mount if it is from HMS Fiji is probably the 0.5 inch mount on the port side of the bridge.
it is quite possible that my father (John (Jack) Stephen) would have known James Arthur Philip Smith as he served on HMS Fiji as a boy seaman and was in the secondary armament, 4 inch, turrets.
My father survived the sinking in 1941 and went on to serve in the RN until 1954 finishing up as a petty officer radar trainer.
Regards David Stephen

[Greensleeves]

Thanks for your reply, David, and welcome to Rootschat.  Interesting to hear from you with the information about your father, one of the survivors.  James Smith and his sister were orphaned at a young age - their father dying during the influenza pandemic which followed WW1 and their mother two years later - so the loss of James was devastating for his sister, the only survivor of their family.

[Cowiedavid]

Hi,
I am always happy to help.
There is a great website devoted to HMS Fiji.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/tomlipscombe/hmsfa.html
Have a look because you may get more information.
Regards
David