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Doug-Shelley

A veteran interview with

Doug Shelley

Doug is a proud Chatham Rating who experiences the best and worst of the Port division. He was drafted to the M-Class destroyer HMS Milne.

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About Doug Shelley

Doug Shelley served as an Able Seaman in the Royal Navy during World War II, joining at 17. Inspired by family members who served before him, he volunteered in 1942 and underwent rigorous training at HMS Glendower in Wales, where he adapted to military life.

He was assigned to the Arctic Convoys aboard HMS Milne, enduring some of the harshest conditions of the war. He faced freezing temperatures, U-boat and air attacks, and witnessed the devastating toll on merchant ships. He recounted rescuing survivors from torpedoed vessels in the icy Barents Sea, many already frozen and lost. Doug’s role as a gun layer required precision and resilience, particularly during battles with U-boats and harsh storms.

Later, he served in the Pacific on HMS Armada, assisting carrier operations and rescuing downed pilots, often navigating the intense heat of Australia and Fiji. Doug also travelled aboard HMS Anson, the battleship that brought him home, and served briefly at HMS Golden Hind, a dispersal camp in Australia. Reflecting on his service, Doug recalls the physical and emotional challenges, as well as the pride in completing his duty. His stories reveal the personal grit and endurance required to navigate the realities of naval warfare.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Atiyyah Afzal

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Home | Veterans | Doug Shelley

A veteran interview with

Doug Shelley

Doug-Shelley

Doug is a proud Chatham Rating who experiences the best and worst of the Port division. He was drafted to the M-Class destroyer HMS Milne.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Shelley, Doug. A Veteran Interview with Doug Shelley. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 15 Mar. 2014 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doug-shelley/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
APA Style:
Shelley, D. (2014, March 15). A Veteran Interview with Doug Shelley [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doug-shelley/
Chicago Style:
Shelley, Doug. 2014. A Veteran Interview with Doug Shelley. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, March 15. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doug-shelley/
Harvard Style:
Shelley, D. (2014). A Veteran Interview with Doug Shelley. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 15 March. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doug-shelley/ (Accessed: 25 April 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Shelley, D. A Veteran Interview with Doug Shelley [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2014 Mar 15 [cited 2025 Apr 25]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doug-shelley/
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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:
Interviewed by:
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An interview with

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Far reaches and new challenges, Jeff York served as a Sonar operator during his underwater voyage aboard HMS Spartan in the Falklands War.

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Service:
Interviewed by:
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An interview with

Cornelius Snelling

Cornelius Snelling recalls his WWII naval service aboard anti-submarine patrol ships in the North Atlantic, the Arctic and the English Channel.

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
Service:
Interviewed by:
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