Ken Lewsley was a stoker on HMS Belfast in the forward engine room. He also had to check the bearings on the ‘prop’ shaft and this meant going right down to the bottom of the boat and closing three hatches securely behind him. If anything happened to the ship when he was down there he would have stood no chance and like a lot of sailors he couldn’t swim even if he did get off. When the Belfast was shelling her twelve guns the vibrations through the boat were terrible. HMS Belfast was the first ship to open fire on D Day.

At one point he was two years and nine months without leaving the ship.

On D Day the ship had to progress as close as she could to the beaches but going very slowly and as quietly as she could so as not to be heard by the Germans.
As they approached the beaches the Commander said to him, “Now my Lad, are you frightened?”
Ken replied, “A bit Sir.”
Every two or three days they had to return to Portsmouth to rearm because they were firing nearly all the time.

Ken Lewsley

Ken Lewsley on HMS Belfast