HARRIS Frank Henry

Marine F. Harris of 15 Parkside, Crossways Vines, Droitwich appears on a list of men from the Bromsgrove District killed in the 1939 – 1945 war, provided by the Reverend C.W. Banner, “Tuffley”, 19 Stourbridge Road, Bromsgrove, dated 29th June 1950.

HMS Glorious was a 22,500 ton aircraft carrier. In order to save weight the ship had only very light armament and was therefore reliant on screening ships for protection from enemy vessels.

In June 1940 HMS Glorious was operating in the vicinity of Norway during the evacuation of allied forces. Having taken on board a number of fighter aircraft, Glorious and HMS Ark Royal were due to form part of the escort to one of the convoys. In the early hours of 8th June HMS Glorious sought permission to proceed independently to Scarpa Flow and when this was approved, she and her two escorting destroyers parted company with Ark Royal at 02.53.

The Germans were aware of the withdrawal from Norway and battle cruisers were already on their way to attack any allied convoys they came across. Shortly after 16.00 on 8th June HMS Glorious, Ardent and Acasta and the German ships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sighted each other and action stations was sounded. The German ships, with much heavier armaments, opened fire and Glorious was hit by a salvo which penetrated the flight deck and exploded in the upper hangar starting a large fire. A further hit killed most of the crew on the bridge. A smoke screen was laid by Ardent and Acasta in an attempt to protect Glorious from further attack. Assistance from other British ships was impossible with the nearest ships, Ark Royal and its group, 200 miles away and other allied ships 470 miles away.

HMS Ardent managed to hit the Scharnhorst but received multiple hits in return and sank at around 17.25. HMS Glorious received another hit in the centre engine room and she eventually sank at around 18.10 with the loss of more than 1,200 men. HMS Acasta also received heavy, accurate fire causing her to sink at around 18.10.

The loss of all three ships was the subject of an Inquiry.

The following information has been researched by Peter Kennedy:
Frank Harris was the adopted son of Mrs E. Smith, 16 Brookside, The Vines, Droitwich. He had served in the Royal Marines for three and a half years. Educated at St Peter’s School and then employed at Quality Cleaners, Victoria Square and later by Willis Newsagents, Worcester Road.

Frank Harris has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Plymouth Naval Memorial.