5th March 2020
UPDATE: Due to current government guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we are postponing the talk by D-Day Veteran, Jim Radford scheduled for the 28 March. We have made contact with those who were booked on the event
D-Day war veteran, Jim Radford, will talk about one of the biggest untold stories of WW2, the T124T aka the Tatty Mob, the wartime Naval Rescue Tug Service.
Believed to be the youngest surviving participant in the D-Day landings, Jim will discuss his experiences and perform some of his poignant and much-loved songs, at Ferens Art Gallery on Saturday 28 March, from 2pm.
The Hull-born veteran was just 15 when he took part in D-Day on what was his first trip to sea, he sailed out of Hull in the Rescue Tug ‘Empire Larch’ in 1944. Jim served as a galley boy on board a deep sea tug where he helped to construct artificial harbours in northern France.
So many Hull men joined T124T that they called it 'The Hull Navy''. The Battle of the Atlantic would have been lost without them but wartime secrecy has meant that few people know what they did and just how crucial their role was.
Councillor Daren Hale, Portfolio Holder for Economic Investment, Regeneration, Planning, Land and Property, said: “Jim is an inspiring individual with a fascinating story to tell. This is a great opportunity to hear his account of serving the country alongside other courageous Hull seafarers.”
Jim Radford is looking forward to visiting Hull and give his talk, he said: “Although I still have family and Folk Singer friends in Hull, I long since lost contact with my old schoolmates, from the Hull College of Art and Crafts (1942 - 44) and with the Hull men who sailed with me to Normandy in 1944, so I am hoping this event may attract one or two survivors from that era.”
A well respected folk and shanty singer, Jim is a regular attender and performer at maritime and folk music festivals around the UK. Jim also remains actively involved in the British section of the Veterans for Peace organisation.
In October 2015 he was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur by the French Republic "in recognition of... steadfast involvement in the Liberation of France during the Second World War".
Book your place here.
A copy of Jim’s book will be on sale at the Ferens for £25.
