Waves of emotion for Claire

A TREASURED piece of history came to life thanks to a chance search on the Internet.

Claire Cummins (20) was over the moon to discover that Ron Slade, who served with her late grandfather John 'Johnny' Cummins in the Navy on board the submarine HMS Truculent, was happy to meet her.

Claire's brother Anthony (32) had made a video including commentary about the submarine, which he posted on YouTube.

Meanwhile, Mr Slade's son was also trawling the Internet for information about the sub when he saw Anthony's clip and immediately contacted the Cummins family, via the site, to put them in touch with his father..

Claire from Foxfield Drive, Hollinwood, was delighted to visit Ron in Cheltenham, as she was only 10 when her grandfather died.

John, Claire's father, said: "Ron was a sprightly gentleman who was more then happy to answer all of Claire's questions and to recall stories of life aboard a submarine during the war, about the games they used to play and the life they had.

"He remembered my dad really well and told us how he was put in charge of the submarine's deck gun and all about his encounters with the enemy, including the sinking of a U-Boat north of the Faroe islands.

"I'd heard some of the tales before, but it was brilliant to hear it all from someone who actually knew my dad. The Internet is a real marvel."

Johnny also took part in an operation in which he towed a midget submarine to Norway for its attack against the Tirpitz.

He retired from the Navy in 1960, but found it hard to settle as a civilian and found himself re-enlisted a few years later.

Johnny died in 2000 and was buried in Hollinwood Cemetery.

Claire said: "The youth of today should, if they still have the chance, sit down with their older relatives and ask them about their lives as young people and what they remember.

"It was brilliant to learn all about my granddad as I couldn't really remember much about him."