As it is Remembrance Sunday I have extracted this extract from Terri Merren’s beautiful book “Roddy Watler In His Own Words”. Entitled “Laddie – A World War Hero” you can immediately see why I have chosen it for this historic Day.

LADDIE – A WORLD WAR II HERO

In the war of ’39 – ’45, we lost our first-born son, James Ladner Wader, at sea. He had gone to England where he obtained a licence of second officer and he shipped third mate on the SS Uandilo. And, from London, he went to New York and, from New York back to Trinidad to pick up a convoy on his way to India when his ship was torpedoed on the 2nd of November 1942.

He escaped. When he got to his boat, she had broken off the davits and was drifting astern. He was a good swimmer. He jumped overboard and swam the boat down, got into the boat and brought her back alongside, and took off the captain and twentyone men. All the entire crew escaped uninjured but, on the morning of the 5th or 6th of November, the boat that my boy was in· had disappeared, and that’s all we know about our boy. He was supposed/ alleged to be lost at sea.

On the 7th of November, the other boat containing 22 men was picked up – the chief officer and 22 men. They were picked up, but the boat that my son was in was nowhere to be seen, and has never been heard of since.

We have had letters from His Majesty the King, and from the Secretary of State and some other folks. And we also had a posthumous medal. He got the posthumous medal for getting the boat and bringing her back alongside.