4.
Oct. 13, 2008

My late father Kenneth Alexander George Smith served on Malaya during WWII. I'm keen to obtain photos of the ship's company, and hopefully of him. I believe he was a Petty Officer Torpedoman. Any help much appreciated.

Ken Smith

3.
July 22, 2007

I am John Stuart Clark of Melbourne Australia. My father, John E W Clark served on the Malaya (and other ships) during WWII as a signaler/telegrapher. He was assigned a position in a secure "watertight" signals compartment down at keel level during action and was shown a bolted hatch in a bulkhead that reportedly led to the torpedo blister, from where he could make his way to the lifeboats. He was told he had to un-do the bolts using a spanner that he later found to be absent!!

When the call came for a volunteer to be available to repair signaling transmitter wire at the level of the radar/spotting station on the fighting-top mast he decided to volunteer and lose his natural fear of heights!! It was necessary for him to slide out away from the fighting-top mast and radar room along a narrow angle-iron insulator support to retrieve aerial wire that had come adrift during shelling. This task sometimes had to be completed while shelling was in progress.

Mum and Dad are living happily in Auckland, New Zealand and Dad is looking forward to getting his new hearing-aid next week!

People routinely did extraordinary things during the war to win the freedom we now enjoy.

Cheers,
Stuart Clark
Eltham, Australia

(Sept. 23, 2007:
Thanks for posting my July message about the Malaya on your bulletin board for the ship. My dad was really "chuffed" to see it. Soon after I completed a digital "painting" for him based upon one of the images that I copied from your site, a photo of a very rough sea.

I took the broadside guns off as they were removed during her re-fit prior to Dad joining her, and I drew Dad out on the aerial support strut retrieving broken aerial wire. I first had him on the main (fore) mast outside the radar room but when I sent him the picture he told me that he was stationed in a small radio room on the aft mast during shelling, so I moved him and added the radio room to your photo based upon his description of it. Apparently it was very small and accessible from a ladder up the aft mast and through a hatch in the floor.

Great web site, Michael! Please feel free to use this image however you may think fit, after all, the photo I used came from your site in the first place! :-/ :-)

Cheers,
Stuart

HMS Malaya by Stuart Clark

2.
November 17, 2006

I know a CPO George Watts who served in the Malaya in the Med. He was locked in a magazine when she was hit by a fish. Gave him a nasty turn, he says. He still works every day in his shop at Brighton. East Sussex.

Perhaps I may be able to pass on a message?

Regards,
Paul Campbell
(Grandson of gunner John Campbell AB in HMS Collingwood A turret with Prince Albert at Jutland.)

1.
November 8, 2006

Hello, I am Robert Swinemar, of Halifax, Canada. My father served during WWII, in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve from 1940 - 1945.

He was on loan to the Royal Navy for much of this time and served in a British battleship, I think HMS Malaya. He retired as a Chief Petty Officer First Class (ERA*). I remember him saying he spent time in the Mediterranean.

Is there any way to determine if HMS Malaya was his ship?

Regards, Robert.

* Engine room artificer.