Themes
Rupert Lonsdale
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Adoption of prisoners by the villagers of Seal
Adoption of prisoners by the villagers of Seal
The village of Seal, near Sevenoaks in Kent, had adopted HMS Seal during it’s commissioning in Chatham Dockyard because of their shared name. During the internment at Marlag all families living in the village adopted a particular member of the submarine’s crew and sent him a parcel. These parcels included such items as a razor, a toothbrush and an extra thick blanket. After the war had finished the crew of HMS Seal thanked the village by collecting money for a new cricket pavilion. In May 1998 the surviving members of HMS Seal reunited at the village of Seal.
HMS Seal reunion (RNSM)
At the reunion lunch the submariner’s drank rum from HMS Seal’s “tot measure” for the first time since 1940. The “tot measure” had special significance for the crew because the Coxswain, Chief Petty Officer Warwick Higgins, and Able Seaman Charles Biddlecombe had successfully hidden it from the Germans during their years of captivity.
Half gill tot measure hidden by the crew of HMS Seal (RNSM)
To find out about the liberation of the prisoners, select Next
