Cag wrote:
.......................although in the books on the sinking there are descriptions (despite the lack of growth) of people still receiving injury after sliding down her side from shell plating, rivets etc. I'm sure those from Repulse had a worse time as she was still steaming as she turned over.
You may be surprised at how quickly marine growth grows on ships, and especially so in warmer waters. I imagine PoW then would have had enough growth, while not necessarily 'stand-out-visible' so to speak, was still enough to tear skin when sliding over same down the hull. And then as you say, rivet heads and plating joints simply added more insult to injury.
How long (when sunk) had it been since PoW had been dry-docked?
Cag wrote:
My uncle was one of the pompom gunners, despite being wounded he was only released from duty as she began to roll, he managed to get down the side and fearing the suction saw a raft and pulled himself into the life ropes, he was dragged down for a short time but came to the surface attached to the raft.
Quite and experience no doubt, and I tip my hat to him! He was on PoW, correct?
Cag wrote:
He surfaced minus most of his clothes and having large pressure wounds where ropes dug into his back. Thankfully he was rescued and once back in Singapore was evacuated to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to recover.
'Lucky' him in a way. Many survivors from PoW (and I believe Repulse) were, if Marines, sent north into Malaya as troops, or for sailors ended up on ships that went south into the Java Sea (in HMS Exeter for instance) and subsequently were either lost or spent the rest of the war in Jap prison camps.