EARLY June 1940 saw Britain suffer defeat after defeat. The last exhausted troops had just been lifted from the beaches of Dunkirk leaving their weapons and equipment behind. As the Nazis completed their conquest of Europe, the evacuation of British forces from Norway would see a tragedy that would scar Gwent.

The aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her company was carrying soldiers and airmen evacuated from Narvik in Norway as the battle turned against the allies.

The carrier steamed south on June 8th for the short journey to the naval base of Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. But at 4.30pm the Glorious was sighted in perfect weather by the German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The modern radar-equipped ships had 11-inch guns which could lob shells from 25 miles away. An hour and a half later she turned over and sank.

Only 43 men of the 1,200 on the ship were to survive and 19 of the dead would be from Newport and Gwent, making this blow an especially cruel one for the city.

Its sinking is still mired in controversy to this day, with allegations that the captain did not take proper precautions against attack and was slow to react when the enemy engaged them. Others say that British ships nearby could have picked some of the 900 men who abandoned the sinking carrier but died in the cold of the sea between Norway and the Orkneys.

Marine Ronald Healiss was one of the survivors. He told how the noise of machinery in the great ship meant they barely heard the initial salvo, but after the crash of the first shell the flight deck was wreathed in smoke. Then the shells came “like distant thunder” before crashing home “in a wall of vicious sound” as the Germans found their range and began to pound the hapless carrier.

He steeled himself to jump from the deck, now sloping at 45 degrees, telling how "I stood there looking down. It must have been thirty feet. He saw the “oily black bobbing heads of the men in the water and the ship's screw on the starboard side turning beneath me."

Marine Healiss survived four days and nights in a damaged lifeboat before being rescued. Hundreds escaped from the sinking Glorious but later died at sea. No German or British ships picked up survivors and most of those who lasted days in the cold northern waters were saved by Norwegian fishing boats.

Why was the Glorious so exposed? One explanation is the ship did not sail as part of a larger convoy, but with just two destroyers for protection. The captain had wanted to sail south as soon as he could to complete the Court Martial of a senior officer.

Why had no British ships stopped to pick survivors up? One reason was a British ship HMS Devonshire, despite passing within 40 miles of the battle, was carrying out orders to evacuate the Norwegian Royal Family to Britain and to keep radio silence.

Why had the Glorious failed to launch her aircraft to fight her attackers? No aircraft were on deck at the time of the attack and the ship was at cruising stations (the fourth degree of readiness). There was no lookout in the crow's nest and the ship's company was taking what the navy call a 'make and mend' which is a half-day. As the ship came under attack, torpedo bombers were readied to fly, but by then it was too late and German shells crashed on to the flight deck, destroying the aircraft.

Glorious’ two escorting destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent fought heroically to save her. Both laid a smoke screen to shield the carrier and then attacked the German cruisers with torpedoes. Both were sunk, although Acasta hit Scharnhorst with one torpedo. There were two survivors from the Ardent and one from the Acasta. Two dead Newport sailors were on the Ardent and the Acasta.

In the days after June 8 the Argus printed a brief, sceptical story telling how the Germans had claimed to have sunk the Glorious. The report said there had been "contact" between German and British naval forces in northern waters on June 8.

It quoted a German report claiming to have "completely shattered" the aircraft carrier Glorious. Five days later, the Argus carried a story where the Admiralty admitted the loss of the carrier. Again it quoted a German report, this time praising the conduct of the Royal Navy, telling how the Glorious was pouring out fire and smoke and how "slowly the giant began to turn on to her side".

It paid tribute to the escorts. "The destroyers did not give up. Their guns continue firing after they are hit. Then they are in flames and slowly begin to sink. Then the waves close over these brave opponents too."

The pages of the Argus then told their tales of woe. Among the dead from Gwent was Marine Francis Stanford Ayres , the only son of Mr and Mrs Frank Ayres of Raglan Street, Newport.

Also killed was former railway worker Reginald James Carpenter was 21. He was the youngest son of Mr and Ms WJ Carpenter of 11 Gloucester Street, Newport. His service was brief, having only joined the Royal Navy in January 1940. The Argus noted he was “very popular among the staff” at the Great Western Railway at Glascoed and Newport Docks.

Ordinary Seaman Bernard Rowan, 22, eldest son of Mr and Mrs W Rowan of 55 Blewitt Street in Newport. A former pupil at St Marys Roman Catholic School, he worked as an engineer at Ally-yr-Yn hospital before joining the navy seven months before the sinking of HMS Glorious.

Former pupil of Bolt Street Boys’s School, Cyril John Keyse, had been in the navy for five years. The 21-year-old was the son of William Keyse and stepson of Margaret Keyse of 30 New Street.

A Newport mother faced new heartbreak after losing her husband in the First World War. Mrs LM Willis of 3 Albert Terrace in Rogerstone lost her fourth son Corporal Clifford S Thomas. He was one of the many soldiers and airmen on the Glorious.

Did they and the other Newport men face the same terror as Marine Healiss? Did they make the thirty-foot jump from the stricken ship into icy waters or were they consumed by the blazing vessel?

What is certain is the grief they left behind. When we think of a conflict as vast as the Second World War, we think of unimaginable sacrifice; of millions dead. But the words carried by the Argus after the Glorious went down could easily be seen in the Argus of today. They speak of a sorrow beyond belief - of a son who will never return. That grief was the same then as it is now and it visited many streets in the days and weeks after the Glorious disappeared beneath the waves. The tribute to Newport sailor Patrick Fitzgerald is one of these:

"Ever-loving memories of my dear son Paddy, who lost his life on HMS Glorious in June 1940. To the world just a boy, but to me all the world. Ever remembered by his loving mam, dad, Terry and Molly.

Acknowledgements:
Shaun McGuire newportsdead.shaunmcguire.co.uk