A WORLD War II hero who survived three separate torpedo attacks and narrowly avoided the Zeebrugge disaster has died aged 91.
Charles James Davies, one of seven children born in Pontypridd, was regarded as a top seaman in the merchant navy and experienced some amazing adventures on the high seas. Over a 10-year career with the Navy, Charles grew from a 16-year-old galley boy into a bosun, but had to abandon his own ship three times because of heavy enemy fire.
On one occasion, when he was on watch, he spotted a torpedo trail heading straight for the ship.
And after raising the alarm, the crew braced themselves for a potentially catastrophic explosion.
But thanks to a heavy swell of sea water underneath the boat, the torpedo went under the ship and carried on into the distance.
The proud grandfather-of-15 was also trained as a bow gunner and would fire at enemy aircraft as his vessel was sinking around him.
Arguably his most important mission came in June of 1942, when Charles was signed-on to take part in an important convoy code named PQ17 to providing vital aid to Russia.
The country had become vital allies in repelling the German invasion.
His son Joe, who described Charles as a gifted linguist and artist, described the harrowing journey.
He said: The convoy initially grouped off the coast of Scotland and then headed for Archangel in Russia.
On July 5, 1942, several ships in the convoy were attacked by German JU88 aircraft based in Norway.
Charles was on the Paulus Potter, a Dutch merchant ship requisitioned by the British government. The ships engine room became flooded and the men were finally ordered to abandon ship inside the Arctic Circle.
The men were exposed to the elements in the open lifeboats for 10 days, some of whom suffered frostbite and hypothermia.
The crew eventually landed on the small Island of Novaya Zemlya, managed to make a fire and caught wild ducks to eat.
They then continued to row southwards in their open lifeboat before finally being picked up by a Russian whaling vessel.
Of the 35 ships that made up the doomed PQ17 convoy, only 11 ships survived a significant defeat for the allies. Charles was awarded the Russian Arctic Star.
After the war, Charles worked as a talented portrait artist and sign writer.
His service on a number of Dutch merchant ships led to him living in Holland and Belgium for several years where his artwork was popular.
Charles said he always felt a sense of divine protection over his life, and this became even more apparent on the night of March 6, 1987.
Joe Davies added: My dad had been visiting some friends in Belgium and was due to return to the UK on the night crossing from Zeebrugge to Dover.
His Belgian friend managed to persuade him not to travel overnight and go at a more sensible time during the day.
How ironic it would have been had that commercial ship claimed my fathers life in peace time, having survived the horrors of World War II.
He is survived by his second wife Beatrice, of Love Lane, Ilminster a woman he married when he turned 80.
But the pair first met in the late 1940s at a church youth group in Pontypridd. Their paths didnt cross again until 2001, when they were reunited by a mutual friend.
Charles died peacefully on August 17 after a short stay in the Princess of Wales Hospital and leaves behind wife Beatrice, his sons Godfrey, Joseph and Noel, daughters Ruth and Elizabeth, his sister Betty and brother Douglas, as well as his 15 grandchildren.
After living in Belgium and Holland, he spent his final years living in Porthcawl.
A short graveside service will be held in Cornelly cemetery at 1pm, Monday September 3, followed at 2pm with a service of thanksgiving at Brackla Tabernacle, Bridgend.
The family request no flowers but a donation in lieu to Open Doors at www.opendoorsuk.org a charity supporting maltreated people.
