We’re excited to be giving away two copies of Twice Torpedoed by Colin Carruthers to our GrownUps members!
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About Twice Torpedoed
Ten years in the making, a nephew writes about his heroic uncle killed in the Second World War
40,000 Merchant Marine volunteers lost their lives in the two World Wars, including 27-year-old Colin Watt from Mangere, who was killed in January 1942 when SS Coimbra was torpedoed off Long Island, New York.
One of 140 New Zealanders who joined the Merchant Navy, he fought against Hitler’s failed attempt to starve the Allies into defeat.
In 1939, Watt had been taken prisoner at the Battle of the River Plate and hidden below deck on the Altmark (dubbed the Nazi ‘hell ship’).
Under orders from Winston Churchill, the British Navy rescued Watt and 300 other prisoners in a fatal shootout. He rejoined the Merchant Marine in 1941 but was killed several months later. His letters, accounts, and photographs to family survived to tell his extraordinary heroic story.
To this day, Watt lies on the seabed off the coast of Long Island, New York.
From the Preface
In 1855 Charles Kingsley, Victorian novelist best known for ‘The Water Babies’ and ‘Westward Ho!’ wrote a collection of Greek fairy tales called ‘The Heroes’. An old, undated copy of this book, case bound in cloth with beautiful pen and ink, Aubrey Beardsley style illustrations, was among the scant belongings left behind by New Zealand Merchant Seaman Colin Watt when he died in World War Two.
My aunt, Anna introduced me to the material she had collected and explained their significance to me. She indicated that she wanted me to have them in due course. When my mother died, I became executor of Anna’s estate and responsible for distribution of her estate following her death in 1996. The material Anna had brought to life for me is reproduced as photographs in this book. There are other incidents which provoked and inspired writing the book.
One was a National Geographic television programme ‘Hell Under the Sea’ which re-enacted part of ‘Operation Drumbeat’ and the role of the German U-boat, U123. The programme shows the captain, Reinhard Hardegen, and his crew on the deck of the submarine admiring the Manhattan skyline which was lit up like a Christmas tree. What follows is a re-enactment of the Coimbra being torpedoed and sunk. Colin, who served as an engineer, was in the engine room at the time and was killed instantly. I watched that show repeatedly and was moved by what had happened to my uncle.
Another was the publication in New Zealand newspapers of a full-page obituary of Captain Hardegen. He had had a distinguished wartime career and was highly decorated. He died aged 105. The poignancy of his wartime survival and long life moved me again to reflect on my uncle’s short life.
The passage of time and reminders of the remarkable events in which Colin was involved prompted the publication of this book. Itis his personal account written from contemporaneous records of the events in which he was involved.
While the book is not intended as a military history, an added reason for telling Colin’s story is that I hope it will help ensure the contribution made by 140 New Zealand merchant seamen who died in World War Two is remembered.
About the Author
Colin Watt’s nephew and namesake, Colin Carruthers, was born in Otahuhu, Auckland and grew up in Gisborne and Hamilton. He studied law at Auckland University, took silk in 1990, and in 2019 was appointed founding Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. He lives in Karapiro and practises law from his Chambers in Cambridge.
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