1912 - 1942

In 1917 a five-year-old boy called William Savage left his house in Raglan Avenue, walked 50 yards down the road, checked his cap was on straight, entered the large school hall, went down the corridors lined with splendid copper-brown tiles and took his place in the beginners’ classroom where his six elder brothers and sisters had also been taught.

Twenty-five years later Bill Savage was to go on another big adventure for which he was covered in glory - but which also cost him his life.

Bill Savage was a gunner on a small naval launch which took part in the Raid on St Nazaire in France on March 28, 1942. The dry dock at St Nazaire was the only one on the Atlantic coast capable of holding the German warship the Tirpitz. Strategists believed if the dock could be put out of action then the Tirpitz would be confined to the North Sea and would be unable to wreak havoc on the Atlantic convoys.

On March 26 the destroyer HMS Campbeltown and 18 motor launches left Falmouth on a mission to sail up the Loire estuary into the harbour of St Nazaire where the Campbeltown, packed with explosives, would ram the dock gates.

Savage’s boat, MGB314, would sail in front of Campbeltown before darting out of the way at the last moment to give the destroyer a clear run at the dock. As soon as the convoy entered the narrow estuary shortly before midnight it was under attack from enemy batteries on both sides. The boats were traced by glaring searchlights and strafed with machine gun fire and heavy artillery. MGB314 led the Campbeltown in, swerved out of the way, landed its complement of commandos, waited for them to lay charges round the dock, picked up the survivors and headed back to the sea.

Throughout the raid Savage stood on the deck of the flimsy mahogany boat firing his pom pom gun at the German installations. The launch was within yards of clear water when he was hit by an enemy shell. The raid was an undisputed success but the human cost was horrific. Only four of the 18 launches crept home, 24 officers (55 per cent) and 157 ratings (53 per cent) were killed. The official report reads “William Alfred Savage AB C/JXL 73910: the layer of the Pom Pom, who throughout the action fought his gun with exceptional skill and courage, and was eventually killed by shrapnel from a large calibre shell during the withdrawal.” For this exceptional piece of bravery he was awarded the Victoria Cross. His heroics were immortalised in a Victor comic beneath the headline: “Savage’s Last Stand.”

Courtesy of Jason Beattie