Thomas Suddick - Malta Convoys

Fay Cunningham talking about her stepfather Thomas Suddick:

"Thomas Suddick was born on the 17th of July, 1917 at Jarrow, died on 23rd of March 1994, at Lawe Road South Shields of lung cancer. His occupation was a caulker burner in the shipyards, and he worked in most of the Tyne shipyards. World War II served in the Royal Navy as a stoker, and took part in the Malta convoys from Gibraltar."

"1941 Operation Pedestal was one of the largest convoys ever; carrying food, oil, airplanes to relieve Malta, which had more bombs fall on the island than London. I didn't know that, but it did. So the convoy, 14 merchant vessels, nine sunk 44 royal naval vessels, five sunk, two battleships and three aircraft carriers."

"As a stoker, my stepfather was locked in the boiler room during battle, which makes your blood run cold. During one of the actions of the convoy, he was sunk. He was picked up from the water torpedoed and sunk again in another vessel and picked up again all in one day."

"The relief of Malta was vital to the allies. If Malta had fallen, we would've lost access to the Suez Canal. The island of Malta received the George Cross."

"The oil tanker, Ohio, which was fully laden, was bombed five times and was sinking, but they lashed her to two destroyers and a tug and got her into the Valetta harbour with the oil intact."

"My stepfather never, ever, talked about his war experiences to the family. But after a few beers sitting in the sun in the garden at Lawe Road, when pressed, he told his story to our friend Jack Brown. After the war, he returned to Jarrow and to the shipyards. His fiancé died of TB and he suffered from nerves, not surprisingly, he married my mother a widow, Francis Annie Cunningham at St. Mark's Church, Jarrow on the 19th of May, 1952."

"So Thomas Suddick, quiet, kind, gentle, brave man."

"But he never ever talked about it. Just didn't at all."