Commander B. R. Woodruff RN (Retd)

July 1st, 2012 by JCB
Posted in Obituaries | No Comments »

 

Basil Woodruff was a remarkable and unique man, a man of many talents and comfortable in whatever company he was in.

He was born into a family with a strong marine tradition, both his grandfather’s having been Trinity  House pilots. He was a “Worcester” cadet where, like his grammar school days, he excelled at winning. For example, the gold medal for rowing.  Before completing his training, war was declared and Basil found himself bound for Singapore to join a destroyer, HMS Stronghold,  in the rank of midshipman.

Returning to the UK, Basil was appointed “interpreter” to a requisitioned French balloon carrying tug renamed HMS Ramier escorting convoys between Sheerness and Southampton, the balloon serving as a useful range finder for the German shore batteries! He used to recall that the routine was to count up to four on seeing the gun flashes then duck!  Basil spent the rest of the war serving on destroyers and his next appointment was to HMS Lancaster which was engaged in escorting Atlantic convoys. On being promoted to Sub Lieutenant he was appointed to HMS Lamerton which, in between escorting North Russian convoys ,took part in the Lafoton Isle landings. The ship then joined the Mediterranean Fleet and took part in operation “Torch” (North African Landings). He was then transferred to HMS Puckeridge which, whilst on passage between Gibraltar and Algiers, was torpedoed with the loss of sixty two men. Promoted to Lieutenant he joined HMS Meteor, based at Scapa Flow, which was primarily engaged in escorting North Russian convoys to Murmansk but she also eventually joined the Mediterranean Fleet and in one action sank two German destroyers and damaged another.

Returning to the UK at the end of the war and being promoted Lieutenant Commander he married Connie, his childhood sweetheart, and together they enjoyed many shore appointments before Basil, then aged twenty eight, decided to leave the Royal Navy. There followed a succession of ‘short term’ shore jobs before he signed on as third mate of a ship tramping around the Mediterranean.

He subsequently obtained his Master Mariners FG Certificate and became a Trinity House pilot based at Gravesend transferring to Milford Haven in 1964. In the early years at Milford he was UKPA secretary. One of many ‘incidents’ during Basil’s pilotage career occurred one New Year’s Eve when he was called out to a regular trading German tanker whose master was certainly at the far right of German politics. Basil boarded resplendent in Trinity House jacket and cap, Scottish kilt, stockings etc. That Master was never quite the same after that but it’s not known whether that was due to Basil’s dress or his pilotage technique!

On resigning the UKPA secretarialship he became very much involved in local politics, serving as a county councillor for many years. During this time, amongst other things, he served as chairman of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, chairman of the Public Protection Committee, and chairman of the Mid and West Wales Fire Service.  Additionally he served as chairman of the Governors of Milford Haven Comprehensive School and of the local Torch Theatre Committee.

His leisure interests were varied encompassing philately, beagle hounds, Scottish dancing and fund raising for the RNLI. In his youth, in addition to rowing, he had excelled at soccer, rugby and cricket.

At the well attended funeral service the clergyman, well known to Basil, in delivering the eulogy concluded by saying if he was asked to sum up Basil’s character in one word it would be ‘convivial’ but on reflection he thought it would have to be ‘very convivial’. So we say farewell to a remarkable, unique, multi talented and very convivial colleague.

He was predeceased by his wife Connie in 2007 and is mourned by his two daughters, Rosemary,  Jocelyn and family and by his son, John and family.

B. Ian Evans (Milford haven, Retd.)