[BITList] Pre war NOWSHERA

[Ronald Thomas]

Derek H. 
Obviously NOWSHERA under reference was well before my time. However having sailed with Alan Stevens for some 2 years,(when he ws C/O and me 2/O RESURGENT) and  therefore before he got his command, we stayed friends right until his death in a Bexhill Nursing Home. He died at complete peace reading the Daily Telegraph. By this time though he was confined to a wheel chair.
Re Nowshera he often told me that ,as 2/O,homeward bound from Australia and completing a 4year "spell", whilst on watch they were accosted by the "Penguin" who ordered them to stop and not to send any signals. Having done so, and by which time Capt Collins appeared on the bridge they had a boarding party nearly alongside. Capt Collins "Alan alledged (not me!)" was all prepared with his best whites and a small case of personal effects to abandon ship. Alan suddenly remembered the secret instructions and codes and just before they were boarded managed to jettison the same overboard. They boarded Penguin and eventually arrived in Bordeaux from which place either a junior engineer or Sparks made an escape. The Marlag camp (forgotten the number) also housed RN personnel and it was in the RN section that the Albert RN episode took place.This was subsequently made into film well after the war. Some of you may have seen it. Again according to Alan (and my memory) Capt Collins made very little contact with his crew in the camp.In fact Alan and the Indian seamen hardly saw him. I got the distinct impression that he was not very well respected by his crew. Again don't shoot the messenger, but Alan and his lovely wife Win became lifelong friends of Janice,my wife and myself right up to the end. To our children they became surrogate grandparents or favourite Aunty and Uncle.
I think that his first command was possibly Ozarda and we both found ourselves in Yokohama at the same time (58? and I was a lowly 2/O) Alan had Win aboard and he invited me aboard for a really super evening where all distance in our ranks  completely disappeared.  May they both RIP    Ron
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