Dudley Marrows's story
Dudley Marrows was a Flight Lieutenant and flew anti-submarine Sunderland flying boats with the RAAF's No 461 Squadron during World War II. Dudley trained through the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) in Rhodesia before his deployment in England. He recalled the extraordinary comradeship and quality of the young men with whom he worked.
During an action in the Bay of Biscay in July 1943, Dudley participated in an attack against three German U-boats. Flying low, he attacked and was successful in sinking U-461 - an odd coincidence given his squadron number. Seeing the German survivors struggling in the water, Dudley decided to drop a dinghy from the plane. This was done and the German sailors were later collected by Allied corvettes.
A month later, Dudley and his crew were shot down over the Atlantic. They managed to survive crammed into the single lifeboat left undamaged after the attack.
Dudley and the U-461's captain, Wolfgang Stiebler, were introduced to each other 40 years later. The two men maintained a friendship until the captain's death in 1991.
For his service during World War II, Dudley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and the French Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour.
