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My Father’s cabin is in amongst that damage. He was a Commissioned Engineer on Swiftsure and was on watch in the engine room at the time of the collision. He then moved to be in charge of the damage control party. He lost all his kit in the fire. I can remember him telling me that the hole was repaired with planks of wood and cement - I didn’t really believe him at the time. There is a famous signal involved, when Diamond’s skipper was asked what he was going to do now he replied “Buy a chicken farm”. Swiftsure ended up being stuck in Chatham for ages. We lived in Southampton and I can remember, as a nine year old, the excitement of having my Father home most weekends when I didn’t usually see him for months on end. After the incident was over my Father was asked by the Engineer Commander why he hadn’t logged the start time of the fire pumps. He was actually relieved by someone else so that he could go to his damage control station but the reply “My pencil wasn’t long enough Sir” was not appreciated.
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