As the 75th anniversary of VJ-Day is remembered on 15th August 2020, Lizzie Graham (K 76 & Alb) tells us about her father, Clement Coldwells, who fought in the Far East on the destroyer HMS Undine. We let Lizzie take up his story:

Clement Coldwells (ISC & K 40) left Haileybury in the summer of 1943, to join the Royal Navy, shortly after his 17th birthday. His Mother was a ‘secret’ lady working for Winston Churchill in the War Rooms under Whitehall. There were only 6 of them during the entire Second World War. She reported directly to Lieutenant Commander Denning (later Vice-Admiral Denning) who formulated and established the Operational Intelligence Centre (OIC) for the Navy based at the Admiralty Citadel in London. The OIC became a key and vital element for the British intelligence services, coordinating efforts between decryption units such as the Government Code and Cypher School – and the staff and command officers planning operations.

*Above: Clement Coldwells before joining up*

Joining the Royal Navy

Hence Clement’s choice to go into the Navy rather than the Army. Just as Clement joined the Navy, his younger brother (Canon) Alan Coldwells (K 43) went to Haileybury and their Mother to Bletchley and Hut 4 (Naval intelligence).

Clement enlisted in the Navy ‘Y scheme’ as he was below the age of 18 and was assigned to HMS Undine– a U Class destroyer, in January 1944. For most of 1944, HMS Undine saw battles in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and Normandy, but in November took passage to the Indian Ocean and was transferred to the British Pacific Fleet (the BPF).

By 26th March the Fleet was stationed off the Sakishima Gunto islands, between Okinawa and Formosa (now Taiwan). HMS Undine’s task was to escort and protect the aircraft carriers HMSs Indomitable, Victorious, Illustrious and Indefatigable. There were four gunners on HMS Undine (A, B, C and D). Clement was ‘A’ gunner, manning the 4.7″ (120 mm) main gun on the bow of the ship.

Above: HMS Undine; Clement fought in A Turret, the first gun nearest the bow

Kamikazi attacks

When the first kamikaze attack against the BPF occurred in April, 1945, one of the planes having been hit, and not being able to make it as far as any of the aircraft carriers, decided that the new target should be HMS Undine. At the age of 18, Clement found himself facing, directly, a small fast target heading straight towards the bow of the ship.

Showing ice-cool presence of mind, and amazing hand/eye coordination, he shot down what he later believed to be the first ever kamikaze for the BPF. Kill or be killed. After the attack, the Captain congratulated him over the tannoy and later shook his hand. During May, the BPF was subjected to intense attack and Clement shot down a further 7 kamikazes.

Rescuing an American – and the value of a “wet” ship

Clement vividly remembered a rescue south of the Sakishima Gunto. Something was spotted, by radar, in the water and when HMS Undine went to investigate, it became apparent it was a life raft. As HMS Undine drew closer, a man, suddenly sat up and frantically started to paddle away. As he could manage, at most, 3-4 knots and Undine 37 it wasn’t much of a race!

Above: a US Navy Vought Corsair firing rockets in the Pacific theatre

He turned out to be a United States Navy Corsair pilot who had been shot down off Okinawa and had been adrift for two days. He knew that HMS Undine wasn’t a US Navy ship so thought it was Imperial Japanese Navy – hence his determination not to be found (or caught)! However he was most relieved to be rescued by HMS Undine and, much to his surprise, that the Royal Navy had ‘wet’ ships. The US Navy had ‘dry’ ships (no alcohol allowed). Later, when a group were discussing the existence of God (or not) when asked on his view he simply replied, “there are no unbelievers on a life raft”.

No VE Day for Clement

Clement never celebrated VE Day. He didn’t celebrate it the first time around. He was still at war. After the surrender of Japan on 15th August, 1945 HMS Undine remained in the Far East and was deployed mainly in Japanese waters for support of the allied occupation forces.

Sailing from Sydney to the UK in January 1946, calls were made at Melbourne, Perth, Colombo, Bombay and Aden. There was a shooting competition while in Colombo. Clement was in a team of four. They won. He always said that the others were ‘marvellous marksmen, far better than I’. HMS Undine finally arrived back in the UK on 29th March, 1946. Clement was still only 19 years old.

A forgotten war, bravely fought

The BPF was dispersed and largely forgotten. Sadly, they were not represented at the Victory Celebrations held in the United Kingdom during June 1946.

(Above: the medals awarded to Clement for his service in the Far East)

Clement was awarded the Burma Star with Pacific Bar rather than the Pacific Star. HMS Undine, during January 1945, had been deployed with TF63 for the attacks on an oil refinery at Pladjoe, and also, had carried out the rescue of aircrew from two of the aircraft carriers. Clement was also awarded the 1939-1945 Star and 1939-1945 medal.

Postscript

Anyone who met my Father, will probably be surprised to read of his war service. He was the very essence of the perfect English gentleman from a bygone era. He had immaculate manners, everyone loved his gallantry and his gentle and totally sincere demeanour. Despite his experiences in the Pacific during the war, he never ever spoke badly of the Japanese. When he came home and saw the horrendous destruction from the blitz, being mathematically inclined, he qualified as a chartered civil engineer as he wanted to be a part of the rebuilding. He was a Churchwarden of St. James Garlickhythe for many years and was pleased to be able to help in 1991, after an unfortunate accident with a crane caused massive damage to the roof and south wall.

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today”.

Kohima Epitaph

Clement Coldwells (1926-2017)

We are grateful to Lizzie Graham for this moving and thoughtful epitaph to her late father. All photographs supplied by Lizzie apart from those of HMS Undine and the Vought Corsair, both of which are from Wikipedia (Public Domain copyright). VJ Day images via Imperial War Museum public download service.

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Clement Coldwells – the OH who shot down eight kamikazi aircraft in WW2.