Harry Waddingham, a Royal Navy gunner and the grandfather of actress Hannah Waddingham, has died at the age of 109 in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, the family and local Royal Naval Association branch have said.

Naval service and wartime experiences

Born in 1916, Harry Waddingham joined the Royal Navy in 1932 at the age of 16 and served through the Second World War. He served on six ships and survived the sinking of two of them. On 29 May 1940, HMS Wakeful was hit by a torpedo while picking up soldiers during the Dunkirk evacuation; Harry was among the ship’s company who survived. A year later he was aboard HMS Juno during the evacuation of Crete when the ship was struck by high-level bombing and sank in minutes.

Waddingham also served on north Atlantic convoys and Russian convoys and saw action in the North Sea aboard HMS Mendip as a member of a gun crew. Recounting his wartime service he said of Juno: “I didn’t like the Juno. I was only on there as a replacement for somebody, I was only on it about six months.” He described life aboard convoy ships — long zig-zag routes to avoid submarines and the ever-present risk of attack — and the constant demands of action stations.

He rose in rank from able seaman to sub lieutenant during the war and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant at the end of the conflict.

Later life and tributes

After the war Waddingham obtained a degree in marine physics, became a schoolteacher and later took a post with the RAF educational wing, retiring with the rank of squadron leader. He taught at Archbishop Tenison’s School in Croydon, where he ran the military cadets, before moving to Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, where he died.

Last July he became Britain’s oldest surviving war veteran following the death of 110-year-old Donald Rose. Announcing his death, the East Sussex Branch of the Royal Navy Association described him as “Truly one of the last of our greatest generation,” adding: “He lived a long and full life and he will be greatly missed. RIP Shipmate, your duty is done, we have the watch.”

His granddaughter, actress Hannah Waddingham, paid a moving tribute to him at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance last year. Images in the report were credited to the Royal Naval Association (Facebook) and to Instagram for family images.

Recognition and legacy

Waddingham’s experiences — from Dunkirk and Crete to Arctic and Atlantic convoys — reflect the breadth of Royal Navy service during the war. Accounts in the local Royal Naval Association and family tributes note his long service and the esteem in which he was held. He will be remembered by family, former pupils and naval comrades.

Image Referance: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/38680434/hannah-waddingham-grandad-oldest-war-veteran-dies/