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George Frederick Dickensc Married Married: 1918 Margaret Millie Mirehouse F/Mc | ||||||||
| Desmond Anthony George (Dag) Dickens [CFT #13498] Born: 1924-Jun-11 Died: 2002-Oct-23 |
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| b Weston-super-Mare, Somerset d Surrey Captain 'DAG' Dickens, who has died aged 78, was a 19-year-old Merchant Navy cadet on the severely mauled convoy Operation Pedestal, which saved Malta from falling to the Axis powers 60 years ago. Dickens had joined the fast cargo liner Dorset as his first ship the previous year in 1941. When she was assigned to Pedestal, charged with reaching the Mediterranean island before it was starved or pummelled into surrender, the ships' crews were warned that their mission was extremely dangerous and that anyone wishing to leave could do so: no one left. On entering the Mediterranean, the convoy was betrayed by a Vichy French aircraft and badly mauled. Dickens, who was a deck officer alternated between keeping watch on the bridge and manning the ship's small anti-aircraft guns, first witnessed the torpedoing bu U-73 of the aircraft carrier Eagle; she capsized ans sank in eight minutes on August 11th. Next day, while the convoy was changing formation to navigate the narrow Skerki Channel, Dorset was subjected to a simultaneous air and submarine attack. She lost touch with the main body and, ignoring an order from the convoy commander to turn back to Gibraltar, pressed on towards Malta. Dorset then passed unescorted north around the Italian island of Pantellaria, where she single-handedly fought off the attack of a German torpedo boat. She rejoined the convoy, after repeated bombing by aircraft and torpedoing, to be set on fire and stopped on the morning of August 13th. She was temporarily abandoned and when reboarded Dickens helped his captain to keep Dorset afloat by pumping the holds and restarting the engine. After several more near misses, Dorset was hit again at sunset, when the starboard side of her engine room was blown out. The crew was unable to control the fire, which had now reached the hold where cased petrol was stowed, and Dorset sank just 70 miles short of her destination. Dickens was picked up by the destroyer Bramham and transferred to the tanker Ohio where for the next two days he and survivors from other ships helped to man anti-aircraft guns, fighting off continuous attacks from the Germans and Italians. The carrier Indomitable and four cruisers were damaged or sunk and only five out of 14 British and American merchant ships reached Malta: Ohio was brought into Grand Harbour barely afloat and towed by the destroyers Ledbury, Bremham and Penn and the minesweeper Rye. Admiral Syfret spoke for the Royal Navy when he praised the steadfast manner in which the merchantmen had pressed on through all attacks and the conduct, courage and determination of their masters, officers and men.'DAG' Dickens was born into a naval family. His father, Lieutenant Commander George Dickens, a distant cousin of Charles Dickens, was awarded the DSC in September 1914 for saving secret papers and equipment from the German Cap Trafalgar when she was sunk by the armed merchant cruiser Carmania.After his repatriation from Malta in 1942 in the submarine Clyde, he continued to serve with the company, benefiting from its renowned training scheme on the refrigerated cargo ship Durham. He gained his master's certificate in 1954 and, aged 30, became one of the youngest serving captains, taking command of the cargo ship Papanui. He commanded six more of the company's ships, crossing every major ocean and rounding Cape Horn five times. He also held a commission in the Royal Navy Reserve, rising to lieutenant commander. From 1962 onwards Dickens was active as a Younger and then Elder Brother of Trinity House (founded under royal charter by Henry VIII for the provision of pilotage and navigational systems around the coasts) until his retirement in 1984.He was vice president of the Board of the Royal Alfred Seafarers Society for 40 years; a member of the committee of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Missions to Seamen; a liveryman of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners; and a member of the board of Tower Hill Trust. He acted as a maritime assessor in various inquiries at the Admiralty Court. Dickens represented one of the last generations of British men who saw the Merchant Navy as a vocation and a worthwhile career, and who made a vital contribution to Allied victory. he was a modest man with a strong Anglican faith which helped him through the declining health of his last years, which he faced with considerable fortitude and determination.Despite infirmity, he went to Malta two months ago for the 60th anniversary celebrations for the Santa Marija convoy, as Operation Pedestal is known by the Maltese; he was made an honorary citizen of Valletta. For many years Dickens organised reunions for the survivors of Operation Pedestal and his diary is an important source of information about that hard-fought battle. 'Dag' Dickens is survived by his wife and their three sons and a daughter.Obituary published November 8th 2002. |
1: 1956 Simon G Dickensc 2: 1958 Nicholas J A Dickensc | |||||||
| 2 Children | ||||||||
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