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The Archives
Hotel History
In Brief
"I know Where
I'm Going"
The Skull
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Fast patrol craft HMS Attacker provided the Royal Navy presence at
a ceremony to unveil a plaque in memory of Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson.
The plaque, at the Western Isles Hotel, will be a reminder of the 200,000
British and Allied officers and men who trained on Mull with their escort
vessels before putting to sea to protect convoys from Hitler's U-boats
in the North Atlantic and Arctic. |
Under the then Commodore Stephenson a total of 911 escort ships, including
Flower-class corvettes, underwent a rigorous course to learn techniques
such as ASDIC detection and depth-charging and by the end of the war the
Tobermory trainees had accounted for 91 U-boats, with a further 38 "probables,"
and destroyed 39 enemy aircraft.
The Commodore's strict efficiency earned him the nick-name "The Terror
of Tobermory." His daughter. Miss Nancy Stephenson, unveiled the
plaque, donated by the London Flotilla, which since its disbandment as
a RN Supplementary Reserve in 1965 has continued as an association for
serving and retired naval officers.
About 90 per cent of the officers who trained at Tobermory were Reservists,
while the sailors under their command were mainly hostilities-only ratings.
Reservist participation in the unveiling ceremony involved a side party
from HMS Scolia. the RNR headquarters unit at Pitreavie, whose coxswain.
CPO Brian Michael, made the plaque in his spare lime. |
The "definitive" book about the Vice Admiral was written by Richard
Baker of "news" and "Proms" fame. Richard served on convoy vessels
during the Second World War and was sent for training to Tobermory, where
he first met this legendary figure. His book is less a formal biography
than an attempt to capture the personality of one of the great characters
of our time. Tobermory was the peak of Sir Gilbert's career, but
the author does not neglect the rest of this remarkable man's life, and
writes about him with genuine warmth and sympathy.
The book is published by Birlinn the ISBN number is: 1 84158 031 7 |
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