By Mal Butler
The words ‘legend’, ‘remarkable’ and ‘extraordinary’ have been just some of the tributes paid to Alec Penstone this week, following the death of the World War II veteran last Thursday.
Alec, from Shanklin, was 101 when he died, and his passing is being mourned across the nation.
He never forgot the colleagues he lost and, two years ago, he visited Normandy on the 80th anniversary of D-Day to pay his respects to his Royal Navy shipmates.
Among the many tributes, The Royal Naval Association (RNA) said he lived “an extraordinary life of courage, service and resilience. As a nation, we owe our today to veterans, like Alec. Fair winds and following seas.”
Captain Bill Oliphant, chief executive of the RNA, added: “We are deeply saddened to hear of Alec’s passing. Alec represented the very best of his generation: courageous, resilient, and full of life. He was a true legend, and the Royal Naval Association will honour and remember him always.”
At just 15, while working in a factory in Tottenham, Alec volunteered as an Air Raid Precautions messenger during the Blitz, helping to pull victims from bombed buildings.
He joined the Royal Navy, aged 16, after promising his father he would avoid the trenches which had caused such suffering in World War I.
He trained in submarine detection and was at the heart of some of the War’s most dangerous operations, serving in the Arctic Convoys, a dangerous Allied lifeline which transported vital supplies to Russia through enemy waters.
On board HMS Campania, an escort aircraft carrier, Alec worked 27 feet below the waterline as a submarine detector, listening for the threat of U-boats and torpedoes.
Then, in June 1944, Alec took part in the D-Day landings playing a vital role in protecting the Allied fleet, during the largest seaborne invasion in history.
After the war in Europe ended, Alec continued serving in the Far East, before finally returning home to his beloved wife, Gladys, whom he had married during a brief period of leave in 1945. The relationship with his soulmate endured for 75 years
In later life, Alec wrote his autobiography, entitled ‘My Ten and a Half Arctic Convoys – and the Rest of My Life’, and attended countless Remembrance events.
Among other many tributes, the Isle of Wight branch of the Parachute Regimental Association said: “Alec’s courage, honesty, and commitment to the values for which his generation fought earned him the respect of all who knew him.”
While the Veterans’ Foundation added: “From volunteering during the Blitz to serving with the Royal Navy through D-Day and beyond, Alec represented a generation whose sacrifice and commitment must never be forgotten.”
Alec was fighting to the end. Only last November he was interviewed on BBC’s Breakfast TV and was asked what Remembrance Sunday meant to him. He replied: “My message is, I can see in my mind’s eye the rows and rows of white stones of all the hundreds of my friends and everybody else that gave their lives – for what?
“The country of today. No, I’m sorry, the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result that it is now.”
He never forgot his fallen colleagues.
Alec’s funeral will be held on Thursday, June 25, at 1.30pm, at the Island’s Crematorium. The family, following Alec’s wishes, have asked people attending NOT to wear black, but red, white or blue. The funeral will be live-screened for those unable to attend in person.
Isle of Wight Observer