Radio officer Jack Stringer had just turned 19 when war was declared in 1939
A man who set out to discover his late father’s wartime experiences out of personal interest is now sharing what he found with the world. Melvin Stringer had heard “bits and pieces” from his dad, Jack Stringer, about his service in the Merchant Navy.
After Jack, originally from Westcott Street, east Hull, passed away aged 83, his son’s mission began. Melvin, who lives in London but still has family connections in Hull, said: “Over the years when he was alive, my dad told me bits and pieces, just the odd things here and there.
“I just thought it would be nice to try to find out where he went to, and have spent several years doing that, off and on.” With the material he collated, and unique photos he unearthed in the process, Melvin decided to publish a book.
The result is “Survivor: The fortunate story of a Radio Officer from Hull in the Merchant Navy during WW2”, which is out in hardback on Thursday, December 11. Published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd, the 136-page book costs £20.99 and is available primarily from Waterstones and Amazon, where pre-orders are being taken.
It is being promoted as “the true story of one of the underappreciated men of the British Merchant Navy”. Melvin said: “There is an extensive chapter about the third time he was torpedoed in the Atlantic, off West Africa, in May 1943.
“The story of his survival, and most of the rest of the crew’s survival, was covered by the Hull Daily Mail, when he returned to Hull almost two months later – the paper has been a really good source of information for me. Over several years I have found out many further details of this episode.
“I also have a rare set of photos taken from the U-Boat, of this sinking and of Captain Lawson – another Yorkshire man, from Robin Hood’s Bay – being taken prisoner.” The book showcases these rare pictures, along with more than 70 other photographs and documents, mostly in colour.
Melvin said it was two years ago when he settled on the idea of turning what he had discovered about Jack into a book. The publication also contains a number of other unique photos of Hull of that era, for added nostalgic interest for readers.
“Dad had quite the adventurous time,” said Melvin. “He was torpedoed three times and survived, and there were several other close calls.
“When he came back to Hull he was involved in some of the air-raids that went on then. He was a very lucky person.”
Melvin said: “Dad was from Westcott Street in east Hull and trained as a radio officer at Hull Technical College. One of his school friends, Sam Burwell, lived around the corner in Coleridge Street – Sam joined the Royal Navy and had some of his own adventures there.
“They kept in touch all their lives. Sam lived a couple of years longer than my dad.”
Melvin said: “I’m proud of what my dad did. I have loved doing all the research – I have found out stuff about Dad I would never have known.”
A synopsis of Survivor says that Jack was “thankful to survive the horror of being torpedoed on his first two trips in the Atlantic, only three months apart.
“After the safe completion of several hazardous return trips, Jack’s next ship was attacked and sunk off the coast of West Africa. By pure chance he then evaded the destruction of the ‘second Pearl Harbour’ at Bari, Italy, in the Mediterranean.
“He lived in fear of being attacked throughout the five years he was at sea on predominantly old, poorly maintained cargo ships, with weather that was often atrocious. He then faced bombing raids on returning to his home city of Hull, Yorkshire.”