Sadly most of the log books from HM Destroyers were lost in a fire in the early 1950's at the warehouse in Depford where they were stored. They would have made wonderful reading. I have tried wherever possible to only quote incidents where there is some degree of corroboration amongst the first hand accounts. Also, much information has been lost forever because of wholesale plunder of the archives by the author(s) of the 'Official' accounts of the war that were written shortly after the war ended.
Even 'official' papers sometimes conflict (eg which S boat sank Lightning). Some sources even give it as an Italian vessel. One must remember that 'official' reports only state what individuals believed at the time. It can be seen from the contemporary newspaper reports how inaccurate they really were particularly concerning the ship's final battle - this was probably due to the need for propaganda to bolster the war effort and raise public moral.
Over the years many of the events, although memorable at the time, were often recalled in the wrong order in letters and conversation with the crew and some of the many ships involved were sometimes confused (notably battleships and cruisers). Hence I established a 'chronology' to sort the events into a correct sequence and to piece together the 'jigsaw' of memories. This also helped date some of the photographs and highlight gaps in my research. It is remarkable how much information (and how accurate) that the crew remembered after talking around the subject for a little while. Hence the need for several editions - each one resulting in more memories coming forward.
Details of ship movements were taken from the originally Secret 'Pink Lists' that were regularly compiled by the Admiralty and gave the whereabouts of all of the ships in the fleet. These were supplemented by private accounts kept at the time by some of the crew (although this was certainly not allowed at the time). It is a shame that much documentary information about that last six months of the ship went down with her.
Details of officer appointments were taken from the contemporary Navy Lists held in the PRO, although officers were sometimes not able to actually join a ship until it called at a convenient port.
Technical details of the ship were taken from Malcolm Dyer's book. This book also provided valuable supporting evidence to my first hand accounts (although it does quote the results of my reaseach).
The list of those who were lost in the sinking is taken from a copy of an Admiralty document supplied by shipmate Jack Hall. This is corroborated by Royal Navy documents in the PRO (ADM 199/541, ADM 1/14377), and also by the Memorial of the Chatham Port Division.
However, the above PRO documents were not written at the same time and disagree in some areas, particularly in relation to the POW. The earliest document reports William Knight as missing presumed dead, but he is not listed in the later document. Could he have been the POW picked up by the E-boat and later recovered when the Allies over ran Sicily, or was it Robert Clarke as remembered by some of the crew?
The two officers that were lost are not mentioned in the Jack Hall's Admiralty document and have been included from the PRO documents.
In some cases the ID number may be inaccurate or incomplete due to the condition of a photocopied document.
The list of officers aboard at the time of the sinking was taken from contemporary Navy Lists in the PRO.
ADM 1/14377 Reports of loss of HMS Lightning
ADM 199/414 Mediterranean Command War Diaries
ADM 199/415 Mediterranean Command War Diaries
ADM 199/541 Mention of POW, list of dead and wounded
ADM 199/656 Force H report of proceedings
ADM 199/657 Force H report of proceedings
ADM 199/681 Naval Operations in the Mediterranean
ADM 199/802 Damage and losses to HM ships (no mention of Lightning)
ADM 199/806 Naval Operations in the Mediterranean reports
ADM 199/810 Naval Operations in the Mediterranean reports
ADM 199/940 Naval Operations in the Mediterranean reports
ADM 199/1242 Operation Pedestal reports (good detail)
ADM 199/1243 Operation Pedestal reports (good detail)
ADM 199/1277 Madagascar capture and policy
ADM 199/1278 Madagascar capture and policy
ADM 199/258 Naval Operations in the Mediterranean
ADM 199/541 Coastal Forces and HM ships: operations and loses
ADM 199/831 Operation Halberd: reports
ADM 199/1318 Enemy air attacks on HM ships: report
ADM 199/101 Enemy air attacks on RN & merchant shipping: reports
ADM 199/102 Air attacks on HM ships: reports
Deaths of Naval Ratings 1939 - 1948
ADM 104/127 A - Blyth
ADM 104/128 Blyth - Clapham
ADM 104/129 Clapp - Divent
ADM 104/130 Dimmer - Gane
ADM 104/131 Ganley - Hearson
ADM 104/132 Hearsum - Jones K W
ADM 104/133 Jones L - McHaffie
ADM 104/134 McKale - Nattras
ADM 104/135 Naughten - Pumford
ADM 104/136 Pumphrey - Shorton
ADM 104/137 Shorthouse - Thompson P
ADM 104/138 Thompson R - Williams M
ADM 104/139 Williams N - Z
Pink Lists (locations of HM ships, including those 'in build')
ADM 187/1 Sept 39
ADM 187/2 Oct 39
ADM 187/3 Nov 39
ADM 187/4 Dec 39
ADM 187/5 Jan 40
ADM 187/6 Feb, Mar 40
ADM 187/7 Apr, May 40
ADM 187/8 June, July 40
ADM 187/13 May, June 41
ADM 187/14 July, Aug 41
ADM 187/15 Sept, Oct 41
ADM 187/16 Nov, Dec 41
ADM 187/17 Jan, Feb 42
ADM 187/18 Mar, April 42
ADM 187/19 May, June 42
ADM 187/20 July, Aug 42
ADM 187/21 Sept, Oct 42
ADM 187/22 Nov, Dec 42
ADM 187/23 Jan, Feb 43
ADM 187/24 Mar, April 43
Convoys
ADM 199/2172 Convoy titles (gives initial letters to the convoys)
Convoy Lists (UK local mostly)
ADM 199/2186 Dec 1, 1940 - June 29, 1941
ADM 199/2187 June 30 - Oct 31, 1941
ADM 199/2188 Dec 1, 1941 - Sept 14, 1942
ADM 199/2189 Sept 15, 1942 - June 30, 1943
ADM 199/3 Escort and protection
ADM 199/4 Organisation
ADM 199/5 Communications
ADM 199/6 East coast routes etc.
ADM 199/7 Convoy assembly
ADM 199/18 Troop convoy reports
ADM 199/19 BN convoy reports
ADM 199/20 Various convoy reports
ADM 199/23 Atlantic convoys 1940
ADM 199/24 ON & HN reports
ADM 199/29 BC reports
London Gazette (lists of medal awards and 'mentions')
ZG 1/948 May 41
ZG 1/949 Jun 41
ZG 1/950 Jul 41
ZG 1/951 Aug 41
ZG 1/952 Sep 41
ZG 1/953 Oct 41
ZG 1/954 Nov 41
ZG 1/955 Dec 41
ZG 1/956 Jan 42
ZG 1/957 Feb 42
ZG 1/958 Mar 42
ZG 1/959 Apr 42
ZG 1/960 May 42
ZG 1/961 Jun 42
ZG 1/962 Jul 42
ZG 1/963 Aug 42
ZG 1/964 Sep 42
ZG 1/965 Oct 42
ZG 1/966 Nov 42
ZG 1/967 Dec 42
"Pedestal: the Malta Convoy of August 1942"
Peter Smith, ISBN O 7183 0032 7
"Western Mediterranean 1942 - 1945"
Captain Tapfrell Dorling
"Warship Profile - German Schnellboote"
Dr G Hummelchen
"The War at Sea"
Captain S W Roskill DSC RN
"The Electron And Sea Power"
Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Hezlet, SBN 432 06732 9
"Fighting Flotilla"
Peter C Smith, ISBN 0 7183 03148
"20th Century Passenger Ships of the P&O"
Neil McCart
"Destroyers at War"
Gregory Haines
"The War at Sea - Royal and Dominion Navy Actions in World War 2"
Gordon Smith, ISBN 0 7110 1739 5