Dad's obituary from a national newspaper, January 1997
Captain William Bramhill, a Merchant Navy officer who has died aged 83, showed great heroism one foggy night in 1953. In the early hours of May 6, Duke of York, the Harwich ferry, was en route to the Hook of Holland with 500 passengers aboard.
Suddenly the American troopship, Haiti Victory, loomed out of the murk. Bramhill, who was second mate, was on watch as the ship crashed into Duke of York forward of the bridge, slicing her in two.
Bramhill and an officer from Haiti Victory, Howard Ridenour, sprang into action, working chest-deep in the sinking forward section, hacking and cutting with axes and knives to free trapped passengers, of which there were many.
The collision caused eight deaths. There would have been far more but for the presence of a sailor with the experience, skill and courage of Will Bramhill.
William Frank Bramhill was born in Liverpool on January 30 1913, and joined the Merchant Navy seamen's training ship Indefatigable (formerly HMS Phaeton) on the Mersey aged 13. He served with T&J Harrison, Elder Dempster and MacAndrews, as he worked his way from seaman to navigating officer.
During the Second World War he saw action in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and in the Mediterranean. In 1941 Bramhill was commended by Winston Churchill for his brave conduct in firing on a U-boat which surfaced next to his ship. As with great difficulty he angled his Oerlikon gun at the conning tower, a couple of the seamen pelted the sub with peeled potatoes from the galley, hurling Scouse insults at the "Jairmans".
Later in the war, Bramhill was in the merchant vessel Empire Newton at Juno and Gold beaches immediately after D-Day. In 1946 Bramhill moved to Harwich, joining the LNER fleet, later Sealink, and winning his masters' certificate.
He first sailed as captain in the late 1950s. On retirement in 1977 he feared that growing dahlias in his East Bergholt garden would "not have the same thrill as a NW 10 gale" but was glad that seagulls ventured as far as his village. He married, in 1939, Rita Unwin; they had five sons.
Another interesting episode in Dad's life was being captain of the ship (probably Avalon) that ferried Tottenham Hotspur football fans to their European match against Feyenoord in 1974. The journey to Holland, and the match itself, was one of the landmarks in the rise of British soccer hooliganism with 70 arrests and 200 injuries in Rotterdam alone.
Spurs fans set the tone for their Dutch encounter early, smashing up the train taking them from London to Harwich, and Dad was urged to sail as soon as possible in case the violent supporters turned their attention to neighbouring Parkeston village.
Fans ran amok on the ship. At one point, Dad went into the passenger quarters to survey the damage and was approached by a large Irishman who slurred: "I asked for a glass of beer, and what do I get? A paper cup! How can you hit anyone over the head with a paper cup?"
Once the ship docked at the Hook, the Spurs fans quickly left to take the train to Rotterdam.
Dad, having no real interest in football, gave his complimentary ticket to one of the ship's deck officers. At half-time in the match, he was glad he had done so ... the unfortunate officer staggered up the gangplank having been "recognised" by violent Spurs fans.
Back at the match, Sydney Wale, the Tottenham chairman, pleaded with the crowd: "You hooligans are a disgrace to Tottenham and England. This is a football game,not a war".
When the time came for the fans' trip back, Dad was ready. He had water hoses trained on both gangways, ready to repel undesirable boarders. He need not have worried, as the Dutch police had acted so strongly that the Brits had very little fight left in them.
Dad was never one to leave things to chance, however. Although the sea was calm as a millpond, he switched on the ship's stabilisers, producing a gentle rocking effect, likely to promote seasickness in anyone with a hangover!
The Spurs board later wrote to Feyenoord and the Rotterdam police apologising for the shameful behaviour. Spurs lost the final 4-2 on aggregate.
Mum with Les, Eric Dave and William, 1963
Mum Dad, and dad's sister Thyra, 1993
William John Bramhill and Marie, nee Prossor
Bramhill family shot, 1964
Time for work - Capt William Bramhill
Party time - Dave is 11 at 542 Main Road, Harwich, 1961.
