Mentioned in dispatches

The man who actually sank the submarine U-68, which was Admiral Doenitz’s (Hitler’s successor as Fuehrer) first command, is Mr J A Screech, of 77 Dillwyn Road, Sketty, Swansea, son of Mrs Screech and the late Capt W Screech, of Vernons Lane, Appledore, who has been skipper of the famous Swansea pilot cutter ‘Roger Beck’ for more than 20 years.

Mr Screech served in the Royal Navy during the last war in several large ships including the battleship ‘Revenge’ and the armed merchant cruiser ‘Oceanic’. Later he was posted on defensively equipped merchant vessels and spent eighteen months plying between Salonika and Port Said. It was when he was serving in the Blue Funnel vessel ‘Myrmidon’, 6,278 tons gross, that the encounter with Doenitz occurred. The ‘Myrmidon’ was in convoy east of Malta when the U-boat attacked at 2am, sinking one of the vessels. At 6am she attacked again on the service. Mr Screech, who was in charge of a 12-pounder anti-submarine gun, opened fire on the U-boat as soon as she was sighted, and the submarine was quickly sunk.

Admiral Doenitz and 18 members of his crew were the only survivors. For this distinguished service Mr Screech was mentioned in dispatches.

Gazette article dated 22 May 1945