My Father A/S Harold
Lewis Service Number JX185980 served on HMS Harrier from Nov.19/41
to Aug.30/44.
He is
from Grand Falls, Newfoundland, Canada. He married Gertrude (Smith)
Chapman from Hull, Yorkshire. After the war he returned to grand
Falls and passed away at the young age of 67 on August 28th,1988.
He
talked a lot about the Russian Convoys and when the Russian
Government passed out Medals for Russian Convoy duties he was
overlooked and didn't receive the honour which he so deserved. He
also spent some time on HMS Dunnotter Castle as well as HMS Sikh.
If
anyone has any info on Harrier duties and actions the ship was
involved in like at Normandy I would greatly appreciate hearing from
you. He often mentioned about convoy PQ 17 and I was wondering would
it have been possible that a ship's company could have been
dispatched to another ship while the Harrier was under refit at the
end of June 1942 when Convoy PQ 17 set sail. My mother told me of a
message she received from Russia saying how they arrived safely.
This is usually unheard of during wartime action. I hope some of
this information is of use and I wonder if any of his shipmates
remember him.
Wayne
Lewis March 2008
____________________________________________________________________________
I
am the son of Harold Lewis. Dad served on the HMS Harrier . Harold
was a volunteer from the then British colony of Newfoundland. He
served with the Royal Navy form 1940 to 1945. I did talk to dad
about some of his experiences. He was not one to talk about the
horrors that were experienced by those who served their country
during the second world war, like those of other wars. Dad did carry
both emotional and physical scars from the harsh northern climate ,
enemy battles and loss of those he loved during his service. I
have a record of his service record as follows:
Name: Harold Leo
Lewis
Port Divison:
Chatham
Official No.: JX.
185980
Date of
Volunteering: February 21, 1940
Date Received or
Forfeited: Received Star Ribbon 1939-1943
Harrier Service:
Nov.19, 1941 to Nov.24, 1946
David Lewis April 2008
