Billy's Story

<p>I grew up only knowing that my great-uncle Billy died in World War II - his ship had been sunk. In my twenties I was given a photo of him receiving a Distinguished Service Medal at Buckingham Palace. Years later in my forties I discovered that his mother my great-grandmother Dolly had written a twenty-seven-page manuscript about his wartime adventures.</p><p></p><p>With the help of my mother who shared treasured memories and family details and through Dolly's words keepsakes newspaper clippings and online research with my sister I began to piece together Billy's story - a young man from the Isle of Man who joined the Royal Navy Patrol Service at seventeen and died just days after his twenty-second birthday.</p><p></p><p>What began as curiosity became a journey into my family's history - and into the emotional legacy the war left behind. By following one young sailor's path rather than focusing on dates and battles we begin to understand in a more human way what so many soldiers endured.</p><p></p><p><em>Billy: A Memoir of a Young Navy Seaman Aboard WWII Trawlers</em> is both a tribute and a rediscovery - a way to give voice to a life once silenced and to honor the love and resilience that carried through generations.</p>