Alfred Raymond Lowe, (born 14 June 1931) is a British recipient of the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

. Lowe joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as a

boy seaman A boy seaman (plural boy seamen) is a boy (male minor) who serves as seaman or is trained for such service. Royal Navy In the British naval forces, where there was a need to recruit enough hands to man the vast fleet of the British Empire, ext ...

in January 1947. After training at , he joined the crew of the aircraft carrier . On 17 October 1948, when aged 17, a boat he was on sank and Lowe risked his life to rescue a drowning midshipman. For his actions in the disaster, which led to 29 deaths, including that of the midshipman, Lowe was awarded the

Albert Medal for Lifesaving The Albert Medal for Lifesaving was a British medal awarded to recognize the saving of life. It has since been replaced by the George Cross. The Albert Medal was first instituted by a royal warrant on 7 March 1866. It was named in memory of P ...

. Lowe later served as a radio operator and diver and saw action in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

aboard , receiving a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. Lowe retired from the navy in 1959 as a petty officer. He later worked as a salesman in England and New Zealand. Lowe took up the offer, made to all living Albert Medal recipients in 1971, to exchange his Albert Medal for the

. He now lives in New Zealand.

Early life

Lowe was born in London on 14 June 1931. From the age of 12 he attended the

Watts Naval School Watts Naval School was originally the Norfolk County School, a boarding school set up to serve the educational needs of the 'sons of farmers and artisans'. The school was later operated by Dr Barnardo's until closure in 1953. History Norfolk ...

, a boarding school operated by the

Barnardo's Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same group ...

charity, in

North Elmham North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census, including Gateley and increasing slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 Census. For ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Naval career

In January 1947 Lowe joined the

as a

. He attended the training establishment in Suffolk. Lowe excelled in the seamanship classes and was one of only two boys, out of 2,000 at ''Ganges'', to be appointed boy coxswain. By early October 1948, Lowe was a boy first class aboard the aircraft carrier . The carrier had spent the summer in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

, carrying out pilot training exercises with NATO allies. On the night of 17 October Lowe was aboard a liberty boat, returning to the ship from

Weymouth Pier Weymouth Pier is a peninsula between Weymouth Harbour and Weymouth Beach, in Dorset, England. It was intended to extend Weymouth's esplanade, and consists of a theatre, Weymouth Pavilion; pleasure pier; car parking and a cross-channel ferry te ...

with 51 sailors who had been on

shore leave Shore leave is the Leave (military), leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is also known as "liberty" within the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps. During the Age of ...

. The boat was in of water in rough sea conditions and with a strong wind blowing. At 22.45, when the boat was around from the stern of ''Illustrious'', it overturned and sank. Lowe was initially trapped under the boats canopy but broke free and swam to a lifebelt that had been thrown from ''Illustrious''. He then removed his overcoat and shoes and swam to the ship, where he grabbed hold of a rope. Lowe heard Midshipman Richard Clough, around away, calling for help and swam to him. Clough had fallen unconscious and Lowe could not keep his head above water; he instead dragged him to the side of the ''Illustrious''. The crew lowered a fog buoy and Lowe placed Clough on top of this. A petty officer climbed down the rope to assist and, having secured Clough, the buoy was lifted aboard. Clough died of shock half an hour later. The Portland disaster caused the deaths of 29 sailors and was one of the deadliest incidents in the peacetime history of the Royal Navy. Lowe was awarded the

for disregarding his own life and leaving a place of safety to assist Clough. Lowe continued to serve in the navy and became a radio operator and then a shallow-water diver. He served in Hong Kong and later in the

, aboard . He was not involved in the landings at Inchon but took part in later naval operations there and saw action at

Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's third largest city. It is sometimes called the ''City of Iron''. History Prehistory According to archaeological findings near the lower ...

. On 3 October 1952 he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

"for distinguished service in operations in Korean waters". Lowe retired from the Royal Navy as a

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

in July 1959.

Retirement

After leaving the navy Lowe attended a sales training course in Manchester and entered that industry. He moved with his family to New Zealand in 1963 and settled at

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

near

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, working as a salesman in the flooring and boatbuilding industries. In 1971 it was announced that

would be replaced by the George Cross. Existing recipients could exchange their medal for the George Cross. Lowe took up the offer, received the George Cross, and presented his Albert Medal to as an inspiration to naval recruits. Lowe has returned to Portland periodically to attend memorial services for the victims of the 1948 disaster. Lowe is now retired and lives in

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

, Auckland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Alf 1931 births Living people Sailors from London Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving) British recipients of the George Cross