Ian Handford: A talented historian and a total treasure

The diverse life of Frank Pearce born in Plymouth in October 1909 and educated there, later moved to Torbay where he lived until reaching over a hundred years old.

It would seem Frank was destined to write as an author, poet and story teller after teaching English at Dartmouth. He became one of the Westcountries famous  military historians covering the Second World in lectures and books describing amazing sea episodes including - "Great Naval Battles of World War Two" - "The Ship that Torpedoed Herself"  and "Last Call for HMS Edinburgh". He also produced books on the history on local towns in "Torbay The Golden Years" (1999), "The Book of Brixham" (2000) and "The Book of Paignton"(2001).

It was during the 1930's that Frank was an employee of a wholesale fruit merchant in Plymouth before in 1934 appointed Superintendent of our Marine Spa Swimming Baths on Beacon Quay Torquay until the war.

With the Second World War over Frank had a business in Dartmouth whilst teaching English and Maths at Thurlestone College. He then to be the proprietor of a Torbay Hotel and for a short time served as the Chairman of the local Torbay Hotels Association.

Now lecturing at local Colleges and business Institutions on his personal experiences in the Royal Navy, he also wrote amazing recollections on the towns in Torbay and Dawlish. In fact Frank completed twenty hardbacks while opening up his knowledge about "HMS Trinidad" and the "Last Call for HMS Edinburgh" which was a story on how this cruiser carrying £45million of Russian Gold was doing a secret mission to the United States Treasury, when was sunk by German U-Boats in 1942.

But for me, the story of a cruiser built in Devonport - HMS Trinidad - on which Frank served captured my imagination, as it became involved in surviving not one but two major incidents in the early years of the war. The first incident was seen by some as the most bizarre ever recorded by the Royal Navy when "Trinidad" was part of the Arctic and Atlantic conveys protecting British Merchant ships.

When attacked by German Arctic submarines in 1942 on the bridge Frank would have watched as the ships torpedoes were fired at the U-Boats, until he witnessed one of the missiles obviously malfunction (likely due to freezing conditions) as it circled  cruiser then struck "Trinidad" amidships.

Crippled the vessel with many injured and dead sailors aboard now turned to limp to the safety of the "Russian Port of Murmansk". Once "patched up" she would hopefully make home port although this was not to be. 

400 miles off the Northern Ice Barrier German bombers suddenly arrived carrying special surface torpedoes and targeted her when four 500lb bombs found their target sending many sailors overboard while one struck the bridge and fellow Officers and Frank were "literally blown off their feet".

With sailors aware it was certain death to remain in a freezing sea for even minutes reboarding was vital. The incident ultimately claimed 250 lives and Frank was lucky to survive this and the first incident and lived  to relate the story saying - "It's about death and destruction - if you don't kill the men trying to kill you, you die".

I was very fortunate to meet Frank once as he signed my copy of "Torbay - The Golden Years" in 2002.  I was aware he was a true veteran of the war and a superb storyteller, but I also discovered him a modest and very remarkable man.

In civvy street he successfully taught swimming as a coach at the Marine Spa Swimming School (later Coral Island) and worked with the Leander Swimming Club for decades. Yet it had been in 1948 he created the first ever synchronised water ballet at Marine Spa which ultimately was very successful for locals for a decade.

Frank was married and finally lived in Brixham. He celebrated his 100th Birthday in October 2009 at the Redcliffe Hotel Paignton in October 2009 with many friends and family but then three months later Frank died on January 18th 2010  survived by his son Derek.