Forgotten fallen of Second World War navy honoured with new book immortalising their stories
The lives of Northern Ireland’s navy heroes who battled the fascist threat in World War Two has been honoured with a new book formally recording their lives.
Compiled by Royal Naval Reserve honorary chaplain, the Very Rev Houston McKelvey, the roll of honour for the first time brings together stories of all the province’s brave fighters, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice while at sea in service of their country.
As Dean McKelvey explains, he wanted to make sure the books were written as the passage of time means “we are in danger of losing our stories”.
He’s already compiled a Roll of Honour for First World War navy heroes, and his 380-page follow-up is to be presented to the HMS Hibernia, the Royal Naval Reserve base at Lisburn, on Thursday (3rd).
"At the end of the day, what’s important is the human side to this,” he told the News Letter, “and it’s quite interesting to see where people from here got to.”
Indeed, Dean McKelvey has uncovered some astonishing tales during his lengthy research, including local men who formed the basis for important strategic decisions that played a vital role international warfare.
"There was one man," he remembered, “whose father was the astronomer in Armagh; a Danish gent.
"The son was educated in Royal Armagh and went on to serve in both the First and Second World Wards, he was an aide to an admiral.
"At one point he was sailing through Jutland, in Danish waters; he drew up the tables that every British ship used in the Second World War – very complex mathematics."
Stories like that, or an admiral who wound up setting down documents that formed the basis of America’s post-war nuclear strategies, are almost forgotten, he says, even within the navy itself.
"Really, unless you happened to directly serve with these gentlemen and knew them, the stories would come as a surprise to most,” he said.
Dean McKelvey relied on details from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, who said proved invaluable to his research, as well as painstakingly compiled records from wartime vessels.
"It’s not like the army, where each regiment would have a war diary recording who fell,” he said. “In the navy, each person has a record; when they started on each ship, when they transferred and where.
"I was thankful that the records have been kept on computer – if we’d had to go through handwritten records, [compiling the Roll of Honour] would have been a much more difficult story.”
Dean McKelvey’s work are the first ever rolls of honour for all Royal Navy personnel from Northern Ireland who served, and in some cases fell, in the wars.
Indeed, he was inspired to start work on the two books when he learned the province’s naval heroes didn’t have a proper Roll of Honour while he was serving as honorary chaplain.
Working with the help of three people from Belfast Cathedral, he was able to trace 1,375 names, including just over 100 women who served with the Wrens.
The entries on fatalities are included in daily posts on the Remembrance NI website.
Research is under way for further Rolls of Honour covering Northern Ireland’s war heroes from the Royal Artillery and Royal Air Force.