Written October, 2015

 

Dear Friends:

 

After reading your summary of the Corfu, Channel Incident, (on the website) I am taking the liberty of sending the following personal recollection.

 

Am not relying on memory at this stage (now 89) but have in front of me what I remembered in 1964. HMS Superb's first commission began in December, 1945.

 

The following month we went to the Med for "working up". Soon after returning to the UK we were again sent to the Med, this time to relieve HMS Ajax as Guard Cruiser at Haifa. First, however, we were sent to Trieste where trouble was expected on international Labour Day (May 1).

 

In the event, there were only minor problems, and we went from there to "show the flag" in Venice for a couple of days. From there, in company of HMS Orion, which carried the Flag of the 15th (?) Cruiser Squadron we sailed down the Adriatic Not sure if we were going direct to Haifa or via Malta.

 

As we passed the rugged Albanian coast we were startled one morning at about 0730 to hear gunfire. The Torpedomen's Mess was midships on the upper deck level, and from there I rushed out to the port waist to see what was going on.

 

It just amounted to several small splashes about 100 metres from us. As I recall no general announcement was made, but the rumour that Albanian coastal guns had opened fire on us, spread rapidly No action alarm was given, and the two cruisers continued to steam in the same direction.

 

I remember wondering at the time why we didn't return fire, though the common sense of the Admiral was quickly realized. The immediate and memorable result of the incident was an unexpected but delightful stay at Corfu for a few days whilst awaiting orders from Whitehall. The Superb was not involved in the terrible incident off Corfu in October that year.

 

Ted Davy