War hero Harry Melling receives late birthday gift from the military

That’s because the second world war veteran was given a late birthday gift as a thank you for his service during the global conflict 75 years ago.

Harry, who lives at Alexandra Grange Care Home in Newton, is Britain’s oldest surviving submariner from the second world war.

To commemorate his 100th birthday on April 18, the Submarine Flotilla (SUBFLOT) personnel wanted to present a gift to Harry at a party that was due to happen at the Wigan Borough Armed Forces HQ. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the party was postponed.

So SUBFLOT researched Harry’s career and discovered he had served on two submarines during the war, HMS Osiris and HMS Tuna. They purchased two submarine’s crests and had them mounted either side of a personal letter of congratulations from the Head of The Submarine Service, Commodore Jim Perks.

It was this mounted letter and crests that the SUBFLOT presented to Harry via Charlie Neve, a retired Submarine Commander who lives in Wigan and is a Director at the Armed Forces HQ.

Harry’s service between 1939 and 1945 was remarkable, with him and the other crew members of HMS Osiris serving in the Mediterranean where they played a role in the Allied invasion of Sicily and even travelling as far as Kenya.

In a previous interview with the Wigan Post, Harry said: “The Mediterranean was a hot sea, it was far too busy and it was very dangerous. It was more or less only submarines operating there.

“However, it was a good life on board. I got to do things and see things I would never have normally done or seen.

“We had to go all round the south of Africa and then up to Kenya because it would have been too dangerous otherwise. I must admit for someone of my ilk to be going to the middle of Africa was an eye-opener. I was only in my early 20s so it was a real education.

“The place was still British at the time and everyone knew the British. The Kenyan people were as British as a lot of English people were, although they spoke with a different accent. On board a submarine it was quiet. When you dived you stayed down as long as you could and you were waiting for something to happen.

“You weren’t stirring things up, you weren’t creating a situation, but if something did happen you were just hoping you would be there.

“It was quite claustrophobic and the smell after diving was foul, although you got accustomed to it. It wasn’t hectic on a submarine, you got your sleep. We got on each other’s nerves a bit but when we went into combat it broke that up.”

Harry received more than 650 birthday cards from well-wishers to mark his centenary on April 18.

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