no more than hollow words for the sailors of the Royal Navy, which went to war immediately and took its boys with them. On 17 September 1939, exactly two weeks after the declaration of war, the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous was sunk, taking seven boys down with it.
Far to the north of the towns and cities that had evacuated their children was a small population of teenagers for whom war was already very real. Anchored at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys was the once-mighty battleship HMS Royal Oak . She was there to provide anti-aircraft defence to the other ships of the Home Fleet. On the night of 13 October 1939 a German submarine slipped through the defences and fired three torpedoes at the Royal Oak . Onboard were 165 boy sailors under the age of eighteen. After the first explosion, many of the boys jumped from their hammocks ready for whatever might come next. Within seconds the Chief Petty Officer entered the After Mess deck and told the fifty boys within not to panic and to return to their hammocks. Trusting of his words, they settled down again. Then came a second, even bigger explosion. Some of the boys were thrown from their hammocks and immediately began to rush for the exits. Within seconds the lights went out and they could feel the ship turning beneath their feet.
Fifteen-year-old Kenneth Toop was sleeping when the first torpedo struck, but was awoken by the boy in the next hammock, who told him: ‘You’d better get out, Lofty, something’s happened.’ Dressing in justhis shoes and trousers, he made his way from the mess deck. At first he tried to escape through a route crowded with boys but abandoned it, choosing to move forward through the screen doors, reaching the deck by a clearer route.
As sixteen-year-old Henry Cox rushed for the exit he realized he was not wearing any trousers, turned back, collected his trousers and reached the deck just in time. One boy later recalled how he was fortunate to have the bunk beside the ladder, meaning he was first out on to the deck above. As the escaping sailors rushed for the next ladder, they were forced to stumble through the deck in complete darkness. Up the next ladder, the first escaping boys reached the open air. Looking back on the disaster, Bert Pocock, who had escaped because he was sleeping beside the escape ladder, thought of the horrors the boys left behind must have endured: ‘They’d have struggled against each other to get out of the hatch, but in the pitch dark they wouldn’t have known where to go.’ 3
Out in the darkness of the deck, the boys soon realized they had to abandon ship as soon as possible. One recalled crawling down the tilting deck carefully until he reached the water. Once in the cold waters of Scapa Flow he struck out as fast as he could, desperate not to be sucked under by the sinking ship. As Henry Cox reached the decks he was glad he had fetched his trousers. To reach the water he had to slide down the barnacle-encrusted hull. Without trousers they would have shredded his skin.
Another boy who was relieved to have put his trousers on was Kenneth Toop. As he reached the deck, the Royal Oak began to list to starboard and he clambered over the port side, moving along the hull towards the position where he expected the ship’s drifter, Daisy , to be tied: ‘Of course the Daisy had to cast off, as she would have floundered. I was left with no option but to move up the side towards the keel, until sliding into the sea was unavoidable. I entered into a thick covering of oil on a freezing sea.’ Although not a strong swimmer, Ken struck out for a wooden frame he saw floating nearby. He climbed on to the floating frame, where he found some other exhausted members of the crew.
Within minutes the mighty battleship had slipped beneath the surface. Desperate sailors – men and boys – swam for safety throughthe oily waters, hoping to reach the rescue ships that had raced to the scene. Ken Toop waited for what seemed like hours, until
Far to the north of the towns and cities that had evacuated their children was a small population of teenagers for whom war was already very real. Anchored at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys was the once-mighty battleship HMS Royal Oak . She was there to provide anti-aircraft defence to the other ships of the Home Fleet. On the night of 13 October 1939 a German submarine slipped through the defences and fired three torpedoes at the Royal Oak . Onboard were 165 boy sailors under the age of eighteen. After the first explosion, many of the boys jumped from their hammocks ready for whatever might come next. Within seconds the Chief Petty Officer entered the After Mess deck and told the fifty boys within not to panic and to return to their hammocks. Trusting of his words, they settled down again. Then came a second, even bigger explosion. Some of the boys were thrown from their hammocks and immediately began to rush for the exits. Within seconds the lights went out and they could feel the ship turning beneath their feet.
Fifteen-year-old Kenneth Toop was sleeping when the first torpedo struck, but was awoken by the boy in the next hammock, who told him: ‘You’d better get out, Lofty, something’s happened.’ Dressing in justhis shoes and trousers, he made his way from the mess deck. At first he tried to escape through a route crowded with boys but abandoned it, choosing to move forward through the screen doors, reaching the deck by a clearer route.
As sixteen-year-old Henry Cox rushed for the exit he realized he was not wearing any trousers, turned back, collected his trousers and reached the deck just in time. One boy later recalled how he was fortunate to have the bunk beside the ladder, meaning he was first out on to the deck above. As the escaping sailors rushed for the next ladder, they were forced to stumble through the deck in complete darkness. Up the next ladder, the first escaping boys reached the open air. Looking back on the disaster, Bert Pocock, who had escaped because he was sleeping beside the escape ladder, thought of the horrors the boys left behind must have endured: ‘They’d have struggled against each other to get out of the hatch, but in the pitch dark they wouldn’t have known where to go.’ 3
Out in the darkness of the deck, the boys soon realized they had to abandon ship as soon as possible. One recalled crawling down the tilting deck carefully until he reached the water. Once in the cold waters of Scapa Flow he struck out as fast as he could, desperate not to be sucked under by the sinking ship. As Henry Cox reached the decks he was glad he had fetched his trousers. To reach the water he had to slide down the barnacle-encrusted hull. Without trousers they would have shredded his skin.
Another boy who was relieved to have put his trousers on was Kenneth Toop. As he reached the deck, the Royal Oak began to list to starboard and he clambered over the port side, moving along the hull towards the position where he expected the ship’s drifter, Daisy , to be tied: ‘Of course the Daisy had to cast off, as she would have floundered. I was left with no option but to move up the side towards the keel, until sliding into the sea was unavoidable. I entered into a thick covering of oil on a freezing sea.’ Although not a strong swimmer, Ken struck out for a wooden frame he saw floating nearby. He climbed on to the floating frame, where he found some other exhausted members of the crew.
Within minutes the mighty battleship had slipped beneath the surface. Desperate sailors – men and boys – swam for safety throughthe oily waters, hoping to reach the rescue ships that had raced to the scene. Ken Toop waited for what seemed like hours, until
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