Ouvry, John Garnault Delahaize

We have no photograph as yet.

In 1963 Midshipman John Ouvry was one of ten survivors of Jutland who recorded their recollections for an episode of the BBC programme the Great War. John is audio clip number 1 at https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-from-the-battle-of-jutland.

There is also a 23 minute audio clip at https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-jutland.

Transcript: It was a fine afternoon on 31 May 1916 and there was nothing much going on so the hands were given a ‘make and mend’ that means that, apart from those employed in keeping the ship steaming we could have a doss down, have a lie up. And that afternoon in the sun, it was nice and warm, I had a nice little sleep on the quarter deck. Now the normal procedure was – we didn't know anything was around, no excitement at all. But at half past three, tea was piped for the hands. That means the bosuns just went around and shouted out, ‘Hands to tea!’ I woke up and sloped off towards the gun room where I hoped to get a cup of tea and almost immediately – I'd hardly got up – when the bugles went: ‘immediate action’. That meant, instead of having tea, I had to run off as fast as I could to my action station! Which was the starboard side and I was second in control of the starboard six inch guns, which was our secondary armaments, ready for beating off destroyers and things like that. Fire was opened almost immediately on the port side. In fact, Lion, our flagship opened fire at 3.45pm on a visible target which was the German battle


 * 1) HMS Tiger Crew List (Photographs)
 * 2) HMS Tiger Crew List (updated in Real-time)