Lieutenant Commander John Manners DSC Royal Navy

t Cdr John Manners RN DSC died on Saturday at the age of 105.He was almost certainly the last man alive who commanded a destroyer in World War II, the V & W Class destroyer HMS Viceroy.THE TELEGRAPH gave him a half page Obituary in Today’s issue.You can read about his long life on this page: http://vandwdestroyerassociation.org.uk/HMS_Viceroy/index.htmlAnd about his award of the Norwegian Medal of Honour for his contribution to the Liberation of Norway in May 1945: http://vandwdestroyerassociation.org.uk/HMS_Viceroy/Trondheim.htmlHe was a fine photographer with a Leica camera whose wartime photographs are in the NMM and on the V & W Associations website. He was equally famous as being the last surviving prewar County Class cricketer. He played for Hampshire while serving in the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert at Portsmouth in 1936. After the war became an authority on country crafts and had two books published. His research files and photographs are in the Museum of English Rural Life at the University of Reading.Bill ForsterV & W Destroyer Associationhttp://vandwdestroyerassociation.org.uk/index.html