RMC Annual Review 2020-21 digital (1) - Flipbook - Page 46
Never above you, never below you, always by your side
Inspiring stories
Inspiring
stories
Royal Marine Jim Wren was aboard
HMS Repulse when it was sunk by
Japanese bombers in 1941. Hundreds
of people died, and Jim was lucky
enough to count himself of one of the
few survivors. He aligned himself with
an Army unit who were defending
the British fortress of Singapore.
Although valiant efforts were made
to save the lives of hundreds of
civilian men, women and children,
the Japanese had taken control
of the routes, blocking their
escape. Jim, along with others on
board, were taken prisoner.
Last year, the Royal Marines
Association were lucky
enough to visit former Royal
Marine James (Jim) Wren,
101 years old, and his late
wife Margaret at their family
home to hear him recount his
amazing story first-hand.
He is truly an inspirational former
Marine and Jim and Margaret are the
true epitome of the Corps Family.
It was an honour and a privilege
to meet with them and talk about
his experiences as a Japanese
Prisoner of war during the 1940s.
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The conditions in Japanese Prisoner
of War Camps were atrocious, and
many did not survive, Jim was a
prisoner for three and a half years,
and he was still a prisoner when he
found out that the war was over.
Jim was only 19 when he tried
to ‘join up’ in the war effort, he
had been turned away from
the RAF and the Army, when he
was recruited by his uncle.
“One day, my uncle who was a
retired Royal Marine said he had
been recalled on reserve. He came
home one weekend and said, ‘Join us,
we’re taking recruits,’ and that’s how
I came to be in the Royal Marines.”
After completing the 8-month
training course at Stonehouse he
was posted to join the Battlecruiser
HMS Repulse in the Autumn of
1940. They spent months as part
of the Arctic and Atlantic Convoys,
delivering weapons to Allied troops.
This was a dangerous job, and they
were a target for German attack.
“It was gruelling, especially up in
the Arctic. The small ships we were
with had a particularly tough time
of it. But it was all part of the job.”
“HMS Repulse was a very wellorganised ship. We had a great captain,
and everything ran quite smoothly.
The camaraderie was marvellous. I
met some really super men in those
days. I can never forget those men.”
HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales
were re-tasked with deterring Japanese
aggression and arrived in Singapore
on 2nd December 1941. Within five
days Japan had declared war on the
British Empire and had begun to preemptively attack Allied Forces. Jim
was shocked at how ‘prepared’ the
Japanese were and recalls thinking
that they had been ‘underestimated.’
Celebrating the 75th Year of the RMA
At 11:13 on the 10th of December the
Japanese air force attacked, two
bombs missed but the third struck.
“It all happened so quickly, we were
on our usual mid-morning break, all on
the mess deck having a cup of tea, and
the alarm was sounded. I dropped my
tea and headed to my action station.”
“There was such a
confusion going
on. The noise was
terrific, it was one
big noisy battle.”
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“Gun crews of all descriptions involved.
There was no panic though, we’d
been through the routines so regularly
that we just got on it. Everyone knew
their role and we had such a good
crew. We all had faith in each other.”
“The first bomb that hit dropped
right behind me. Fortunately, it
went down 2 or 3 decks before
it exploded. I didn’t have time to
think about it at that point.”
HMS Repulse sank at 12:33 10th
December. Jim said that he “didn’t
even hear the actual call for abandon
ship” but it was only when he had
left that he could see the devastation
that had been caused. The sea was
slick black from tar and oil, and
it was every man for himself.
Jim managed to find debris to stay
afloat and was later dragged onto
a Carley float. He was sick from the
amount of oil he had swallowed.
“I lost many good friends. I can still see
images of them today in the mess deck.
I was with them every day. I can still
see their faces and remember them.”
He was rescued by HMS Electra, and
they were taken back to Singapore,
where they were welcomed with
a tot of rum. As the Royal Marines
were one of the very few units that
were trained for jungle warfare, they
were sent to protect the retreating
Army and suffered huge losses.
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