Secrets of tragedy

HMS Glorious (Letters) was engaged in operations off Norway in 1940 when Captain Guy D’Oyly-Hughes instructed his Commander (Air) J. B. Heath to use the aircraft from the carrier in a ground attack role to assist the Army.

Heath refused, on the grounds that the carrier’s planes should not be used in that way and it would be a waste of precious fuel.

D’Oyly-Hughes told Heath he would be court- martialled when they arrived back in the UK. He ordered Heath to place all his aircraft below deck in the carrier’ s hangar.

This cleared the deck for nine Hawker Hurricanes from Norway to be landed on the carrier, which was done without mishap. However, when the squadron leader in charge of this operation reported — with some satisfaction — to Captain D’Oyly-Hughes, he was coldly told to put all the Hurricanes away in the hangar.

D’Oyle- Hughes was so anxious to get Heath court-martialled that HMS Glorious continued to sail without any air cover.

Unfortunately, the pocket battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau appeared over the horizon and engaged and sank the Glorious.

A distress signal was sent out and was picked up by the petty officer telegraphist on the cruiser HMS Devonshire.

When that ship’s commander, Vice Admiral Cunningham, was shown the details of the distress call, he ordered that the wire telegraphy log should be removed and replaced with a new one and that the telegraphist should not divulge the contents of the message with any other member of the crew. The reason for this was that HMS Devonshire was conveying the King of Norway to the UK — and so the ship continued on its way.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill had instructed Cunningham that he must not break wireless silence throughout the voyage.

JACK W. BROWN, London N11.