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Description
Mr. Rusling concludes his story about the Marksman being torpedoed with her eventual demise. He also talks about close friendships that developed on the ship.
Frank Rusling
Frank Rusling est né à Belton, Lincolnshire, Angleterre, le 30 janvier 1922. Son père a fait déménager sa famille dans le comté de Suffolk, en Angleterre, où il a grandi. Il s'est enrôlé dans la Marine royale à l'âge de 15 ans parce qu'il adorait l'océan. Il est entré au service des communications de la Marine et a reçu l'instruction en signalisation visuelle. Il était très doué dans ce domaine et a rapidement gravi les échelons pour atteindre le grade de timonier. Le premier navire sur lequel il a servi fut le HMS Sheffield. Toutefois, il a travaillé sur d'autres navires et s'est rendu dans diverses parties du monde avec la Marine royale. Après la guerre, il a joint les rangs des policiers du Canadien Pacifique, où il a travaillé pendant 30 ans. Il habite aujourd'hui à Saint John, Nouveau-Brunswick.
Transcription
And of course when we got to Gibraltar, two-thirds of the crew went back to England. It was, and just one-third was left on of which I was fortunate to remain to be, to await the tow back to, back to the United Kingdom. We were towed, eventually towed back after about seven months, we were towed back to England. The damage was such that they never did attempt to repair it before the war ended although there was an alteration to the ship following, after the war. They did make, not, not, it wasn't the same ship, it wasn't required for the same operations. I left that ship after decommissioning her; I left the Manxman on the 17th of July 1943 and as I said, it was November 1942 when we were torpedoed. You become attached to the vessel that you're on, no matter which vessel it is, it's your home, it's your place of work. You, you live in a tight community, of friends, you make, you have friends, you have the ship-born acquaintances, and when the numbers only 250 people, you become very close.