thedrifter
02-13-06, 06:16 AM
War marines meet again 62 years after boat sank
Feb 9 2006
By Matt Collison
TWO Second World War veterans have met for the first time in more than 60 years at an emotional reunion in Dorking.
Former Royal Marines John Dixon and Albert "Paddy" Thomasson relived wartime memories at Mr Dixon's home in Chart Gardens.
The veterans, the only surviving members of their regiment, shared memories of the fateful day in 1944 when the patrol boat they were on took a direct hit.
On the end of the line was Paddy, 82, from Chorley, in Lancashire, who had made the call while visiting his granddaughter in Crawley.
John said: "It was 62 years since I had seen him and we did not know what he would be like.
"He could have won loads of money for all we knew and of course he is a north country boy so we might have had problems understanding each other," joked John.
It was in August 1944, two months after the D-Day landings, when their landing craft guns boat, on patrol off the coast of Le Havre, took a direct hit from German gunners.
The blast, which left Mr Dixon permanently deaf in his right ear, blew him clear of his gun post and into the water.
John recalled: "I was not strapped in and we were opposite to where the blast was when I was blown out to sea. I don't know how long I was out there."
Paddy had just come off watch duty and had gone below deck when a missile ripped apart the boat. He struggled in darkness for a way out before escaping through a hole in the boat's side just moments before it sank.
Just nine from a crew of more than 70 survived the blast and only John and Paddy are still alive to tell the tale today.
"We were guinea pigs on a small boat," recalled John, who was demobbed in July 1946.
"We were there to bring the German guns out along the shore and the battleships behind us would try to knock them out."
While the distance between the two means it is unlikely that Paddy and John will have a second reunion, they have vowed to remain in contact with each other.
"I had not seen him since the ship went down," said John. "It was brilliant to see him and Paddy was pleased as punch to see me again."
It was in January when John, 81, and his wife Dorothy received an unexpected phone call.
Ellie
Feb 9 2006
By Matt Collison
TWO Second World War veterans have met for the first time in more than 60 years at an emotional reunion in Dorking.
Former Royal Marines John Dixon and Albert "Paddy" Thomasson relived wartime memories at Mr Dixon's home in Chart Gardens.
The veterans, the only surviving members of their regiment, shared memories of the fateful day in 1944 when the patrol boat they were on took a direct hit.
On the end of the line was Paddy, 82, from Chorley, in Lancashire, who had made the call while visiting his granddaughter in Crawley.
John said: "It was 62 years since I had seen him and we did not know what he would be like.
"He could have won loads of money for all we knew and of course he is a north country boy so we might have had problems understanding each other," joked John.
It was in August 1944, two months after the D-Day landings, when their landing craft guns boat, on patrol off the coast of Le Havre, took a direct hit from German gunners.
The blast, which left Mr Dixon permanently deaf in his right ear, blew him clear of his gun post and into the water.
John recalled: "I was not strapped in and we were opposite to where the blast was when I was blown out to sea. I don't know how long I was out there."
Paddy had just come off watch duty and had gone below deck when a missile ripped apart the boat. He struggled in darkness for a way out before escaping through a hole in the boat's side just moments before it sank.
Just nine from a crew of more than 70 survived the blast and only John and Paddy are still alive to tell the tale today.
"We were guinea pigs on a small boat," recalled John, who was demobbed in July 1946.
"We were there to bring the German guns out along the shore and the battleships behind us would try to knock them out."
While the distance between the two means it is unlikely that Paddy and John will have a second reunion, they have vowed to remain in contact with each other.
"I had not seen him since the ship went down," said John. "It was brilliant to see him and Paddy was pleased as punch to see me again."
It was in January when John, 81, and his wife Dorothy received an unexpected phone call.
Ellie