Ian Coulson - Curator
THE CHANCE LINE BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH IN THE SEA WAR OF BILLY WINDSOR DSM
The trawler Lady Shirley became a celebrated news story when SW of Tenerife depth charged and forced to the surface the ocean-going German submarine U-111. The crew were astonished at the size of the U-boat when it surfaced behind them, as it was fully twice as long as they were. The two ships fought up to the point that the sub began to sink and then the Germans surrendered. When Lady Shirley’s crew got them aboard they realised that they were also outnumbered almost two to one by their prisoners! In the drawing, the crew are being read a congratulatory telegram from Churchill but Billy Windsor is not in this group. Manning a machine gun on the bridge of the trawler, Billy was seriously injured in the legs and was hospitalised with his injuries, so was ashore when Lady Shirley was lost just weeks later with all hands. Billy was only eighteen when he received his DSM bravery award for his part in the sinking. He met his end off the coast of West Africa when his next trawler, HMT Birdlip, was torpedoed and sunk. Most of the crew got to shore on Carley floats but Billy went down with his ship
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HMT LADY SHIRLEY |
