MINESWEEPER OFF NORMANDY

After helping clear the path to France, Royal Navy veteran Claude Sealey and his crewmates experienced a deadly encounter with their own countrymen

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It’s a beautiful summer’s day in August 1944 and six ships of the Royal Navy are sweeping the area near Le Havre for mines. Despite the dangerous task the warm weather is a welcome relief for the recent veterans of the notoriously cold Arctic Convoys. Some are so relaxed that they sunbathe on deck, but a formation of aircraft appears out of the Sun and suddenly dives towards the flotilla.

This would be a bad enough situation if it were the enemy, but the sailors are even more alarmed to see that these are Hawker Typhoons of the Royal Air Force, and without warning the fighter-bombers attack their own ships. Explosions erupt everywhere and vessels begin to sink. Many men have to abandon ship, and to make matters worse German shore batteries open fire and kill vulnerable sailors in the water. By the time the Typhoons leave, two ships have been sunk and hundreds of men are either dead or wounded.

One of the casualties is a young British stoker aboard HMS Jason called Claude Sealey. Despite suffering numerous shrapnel wounds, he survived to recall his horrific experiences at the hands of his comrades.

Powering a minesweeper

“I joined the Royal Navy in September 1940 when I was 17,” said Sealey, who passed away in September 2022. “I got a shore job because I was underage and I ran away from home to join up. My sister was at the barracks gate crying and I was given the choice to either go home or stay, but I decided to stay. Of course I wished I hadn’t that day when I saw her crying.”