#11371, James Norman COBBOLD

James ran away to sea as a young man, riding his bike all the way from Sudbury in Suffolk to Portsmouth. Later he met his wife when he was on the commissioning of HMS Anson on the Tyne; they were married in Swindon (in a Methodist Church which is now the Railway Museum) and honeymooned in Sudbury.

His WWII warship service was as follows:
HMS FLAMINGO; August 1939 to November 1941, Sloop on convoy support in the North Sea, Mediterranean, North Africa and Red Sea.
HMS ANSON; April 1942 to January 1943, Battleship hunting Bismark plus Atlantic and Arctic convoy protection.
HMS MUTINE; February 1943 to October 1943, Minesweeper in Mediterranean actions including Sicily, Anzio Landings and Malta.