It was some time before they could hear the full story of why Dai had been reported dead. First, he had to rush down to the hospital and help to get his mum and dad home in the ambulance. Luckily, Hugh had been judged fit to be discharged, providing he rested and reported for a check-up at an outpatients’ meeting the following day. Gwyneth, though unhurt, was totally drained.
When Dai was settled on the sofa in the Armitages’ front room, close to Audrey, he told them everything.
“We were torpedoed by a German U-boat, see. They’d managed to sneak into the convoy and let us have it. Our ship had been separated from the others somehow, and we took a direct hit. Trouble is, with a merchant ship, you don’t even have proper guns to fire back, let alone a depth charge. We went down within half an hour of the torpedo hitting us – on fire, split in two, straight into the drink.”
“I can’t remember much about what happened then,” Dai went on, “except that it was pitch-dark and I was in the water, hanging onto a bit of wreckage. There was burning stuff everywhere, and people screaming. Thought I was done for, see. Got carried away from the wreck. Cold! I’ve never felt so cold! I knew that if any of our crew were still alive, they’d be out there in the water somewhere. But I couldn’t see them, and I knew that none of us could last long in that temperature—” He paused for a moment, unable to go on. Audrey held his hand tightly.
“The next thing I remember was somebody pulling me out of the water. Swedish, they were – a fishing trawler, way off course. God knows how they spotted me. Hauled me on board. I passed out, but they managed to keep me alive. I think I must have been out for quite a while – shock, exhaustion, all that. But they warmed me up somehow, brought me round. They even had some vodka! The only trouble was, when I was finally able to speak to them, none of us could understand a word the other was saying. I wanted to get them to radio the company, to get a message to all of you that I was safe. But they didn’t understand, and I think their radio communication was a bit duff, anyway.
“The miracle was that it turned out they were heading for Whitehaven! Heaven knows what cargo they were carrying. I thought it was better not to ask. But they were great lads. They made a detour and got me to Liverpool. Just my luck that we docked before the siren went for the worst Blitz attack ever! I tried to telephone Mum and Dad from the docks, but all the lines were down, and I knew all the ambulance services were fully stretched. But some brave bloke gave me a lift. There were fires everywhere… I thought I might have got so far, only to be blown up on the last lap home. But we made it. And here I am.”
“Here you are!” echoed Audrey, still holding his hand as though she could hardly believe it.
“Oh, Dai, I’m so glad you’re home safe,” was all Mum said. She was all choked up with tears.
Joan could not help noticing that, for a moment, she glanced up at the photograph on the mantelpiece, of Dad in uniform.
The one who didn’t make it home.