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A veteran interview with

Albert Malin

Albert provides a great account of his life at sea onboard the Flower-class corvette, HMS Oxslip.

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About Albert Malin

Albert Malin recounts the early days of his Naval service spent living in a Nissen Hut on the shoreline of the Solent, coordinating the loading of D-Day landing crafts. A few weeks later, he received his first draft to HMS Oxlip, a Flower-class corvette, whose surprising appearance left him rather taken aback.

Albert explains Oxlip’s role in anti-submarine convoy duties, before detailing the heart-stopping moment the crew realised the ship’s power had failed, leaving them adrift and alone in the Barents Sea.

A successful rescue mission afforded Albert and his crewmates a night of respite aboard sister-ship HMS Bluebell at Polyarny, the Russian base on the Arctic Coast. But the following day, as Oxlip set sail again, Albert recalls witnessing the devastating torpedo hit that sank the Bluebell, killing all but one of its 92-strong crew: a brutal reminder of the desperate situation faced by all those who sailed on the convoys during the Second World War. Every year, Albert raises a glass to the crew of the Bluebell, and by sharing his memories with us here, he ensures their legacies will also live on.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Caroline Barratt

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | Albert Malin

A veteran interview with

Albert Malin

1-albert-malin

Albert provides a great account of his life at sea onboard the Flower-class corvette, HMS Oxslip.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Malin, Albert. A Veteran Interview with Albert Malin. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/albert-malin/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
APA Style:
Malin, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Albert Malin [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/albert-malin/
Chicago Style:
Malin, Albert. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Albert Malin. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed April 18, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/albert-malin/
Harvard Style:
Malin, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Albert Malin. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/albert-malin/ (Accessed: 18 April 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Malin, A. A Veteran Interview with Albert Malin [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 Apr 18]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/albert-malin/
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Vic Ould

A WWII radar operator gives a fascinating account of his life and work aboard destroyer HMS Carron.

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Photo Gallery icon 3 Photos
Service:
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William O’Brien joined the navy as a 13-year-old cadet in 1930 and qualified as a Sub Lieutenant in 1937. He served on HMS Garland in the Mediterranean and, after World War II broke out, transferred to the destroyer HMS Wolsey patrolling the UK’s East coast. In May 1940, O’Brien was involved in a land-based operation ‘Royal Marine’ laying mines on the Rhine, but had to retreat when German forces advanced. Returning to sea, he became First Lieutenant of HMS Witherington, which patrolled the English Channel but was damaged during a bombing raid whilst docked at Portsmouth. At the end of  1941, O’Brien transferred to HMS Offa, participating in a raid on Norway and escorting Arctic convoys, including the ill-fated PQ17.  In February 1943, O’Brien took command of the destroyer HMS Cottesmore, conducting patrols and participating in D-Day operations at Gold Beach, where they supported the beach landings. Promoted in late 1944, O’Brien was sent to the Asian theatre as a planner for amphibious assaults in Burma. He witnessed the surrender of Singapore and became the Allied Forces Naval Liaison Officer in Jakarta. O’Brien continued his naval career after the war, retiring as an Admiral in 1971
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After serving in the Home Guard and experiencing bombing in the blitz in London, Cornelius Snelling was conscripted into the Royal Navy in 1942 and carried out his basic training on HMS Ganges at Shotley. From his port division, Chatham, he was assigned his first posting, as a Bosun’s mate, to a newly commissioned ship docked at Glasgow, HMS Wild Goose, a Black Swan-class sloop. HMS Wild Goose specialised in anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay and Snelling took part in some of the ship's most notable actions, including the renowned "six in one trip" in 1943, which saw HMS Wild Goose, alongside other Bird-class sloops, sink six German U-boats in a single patrol. Snelling’s final journey aboard HMS Wild Goose was participating in an Arctic convoy to Murmansk and he describes the extreme conditions. In 1944, Snelling transferred to HMS Tyler, an American-built frigate on loan to the Royal Navy. HMS Tyler conducted patrol and escort missions in the North Atlantic and the English Channel, where it also escorted landing craft and supply ships during the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches. Snelling's service concluded in October 1945 when he steamed with HMS Tyler back to the United States, where the ship was returned to the US Navy.
Photo Gallery icon 12 Photos
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