Unsung teen hero who helped end the Second World War honoured
A teenage cook whose heroics onboard a warship helped shorten the Second World War has been honoured in his home town after a public vote.
The regenerated centre of North Shields, North Tyneside, has been named after Thomas Brown, who was awarded the George Medal for helping to retrieve codebooks from a sinking German U-boat in October 1942.
The books were later used to crack the Enigma code by experts at Bletchley Park, enabling the British to decipher Nazi messages.
Two naval men died while searching the stricken submarine but Thomas, a 15-year-old civilian who lied about his age to work in the canteen on HMS Petard, survived and managed to save the books from the sea.
More than 30 family members were present on Friday to see the unveiling of a 6ft 6in granite memorial to the local hero.
Andrew Miller, Thomas’s nephew, explained how the boy ran away to sea after lying about his age.
He said: “Thomas was not meant to be there on that day. He was never in the Navy. He was a civilian who worked on board HMS Petard in the canteen service. What’s more, when he signed up… he lied about his age, he’d only just turned 15.”
‘He took a big risk to help retrieve the codebooks’
Mr Miller said Thomas had a tough upbringing and learnt to swim when his father and brothers threw him in the Tyne.
He said: “At that moment when he jumped from the Petard into the water, we don’t know if he’d asked permission or if he was supposed to be accompanying the two naval men.
“The two other men went under the water into the submarine and he stayed above water. They passed the books up to him, making three trips to the surface.
“The submarine was sinking. It went down with the two men inside.
“The papers had to stay dry and Thomas managed to protect them. He got them back on board the HMS Petard so they could go on to Bletchley Park where they were used to crack the naval Enigma code.
“We don’t know why Thomas took such a big risk. But when you’re 15 you don’t think anything’s going to happen to you.”
Thomas was awarded the George Medal in 1945 but died in a house fire before he could receive the honour.
Lynn Melville, his niece, said at the unveiling: “When it came to the naming of the town square, for us Thomas was the only choice, and we were confident but relieved that the vote was his.
“Lots of people in North Shields still don’t know his story, and we want to change that.”
The family has pieced together Thomas’s story, which had been subject to the Official Secrets Act for 50 years until 1992.
Dame Norma Redfearn, North Tyneside’s elected mayor, said Thomas Brown was the clear winner of the public vote.
She said: “He was a young lad whose heroic actions helped shorten the Second World War. We can’t say for sure how many lives he saved by that moment of bravery, it could be many thousands.”
