A Royal Navy veteran has urged Britons to remember the families of the fallen when the country marks Remembrance Day this year.
George Walker, 85, lost his father Harry when his vessel struck a naval mine off the coast of Iceland in August 1943.
The tragedy struck aboard the Strathlyon H19 steam trawler, where Harry Walker served in the trawler fleet under Merchant Navy and Reserved Occupations command.
The veteran, who lives at an Edinburgh care home run by veterans charity Erskine, met his father just once before his death.
Harry Walker was only 27 when he died – leaving behind his young son who was just four at the time.
Today, Mr Walker has called on the public to consider the lasting impact on relatives when observing the two-minute silence on Tuesday.
“When the silence falls at 11 o’clock, my mind always goes straight to my father,” he said.
“He died so young, just 27, and I never had the chance to know him. I often wonder what kind of man he was, what kind of father he might have been to me, and what life would have been like if he had come home.”
George Walker, who now lives at an Edinburgh care home run by veterans charity Erskine, met his father just once before his death
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PA
“That gap has always been there, it shaped me as a boy, and it still shapes me now as a man,” he said.
“I’ve carried him with me all my life, even without knowing him. Remembrance Day is when that feeling is at its strongest.”
Mr Walker’s thoughts extend beyond his father to include his stepfather, who skippered a trawler after serving in the Merchant Navy during the war.
At 16, Mr Walker convinced his mother to sign off on his Royal Navy enlistment papers.
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‘I’ve carried my father with me all my life, even without knowing him. Remembrance Day is when that feeling is at its strongest,’ Mr Walker said
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His then spent a decade in service as a Seaman Gunner from 1956 to 1966.
This included protecting fishing boats near Iceland, participating in missions around Cyprus, and an eighteen-month deployment to southeast Asia during the Indonesian Confrontation.
After his naval career, he joined the Merchant Navy and sailed to Kuwait, America and the Philippines.
“I suppose I’ve been lucky in my own way; I’ve lived what I call nine lives,” he reflected.
“I’ve been shipwrecked off Iceland and pulled out of freezing water when I could so easily have been lost.
PICTURED: British troops wait as a Westland Wessex HAS.1 of 845 Naval Air Squadron lands to pick them up after the completion of patrol during the Indonesian Confrontation
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IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM
“I’ve patrolled during the Cold War when tensions were high and danger was never far away. Later, I fought cancer and thought my time was nearly up, but I pulled through.
“Every time I’ve survived, I’ve thought about those who didn’t, my friends, people who were just as brave as me but didn’t come home. I think about them every November,” he said.
Mr Walker acknowledged that life outside the Forces can be difficult, particularly the loss of the day-to-day military structure and fellowship.
He credits Erskine with restoring his sense of community and purpose.
“Erskine makes sure veterans like me are not forgotten, and on Remembrance Day that means everything,” he said.
Wing Commander Ian Cumming, Erskine’s chief executive, said: “George’s story is a reminder that the impact of service runs through generations.”