Battle of the Atlantic: Man surprised to see film of dad's WW2 return

Mr Marchant's father can be seen (front, far right) in Pathe's "U-boat killers" film

A visitor to a museum about World War Two's Battle of the Atlantic got a big surprise when he saw footage of his father's safe return - 75 years after he first tried to watch it.

Andy Marchant, from Bedford, first tried to view the film about HMS Wild Goose when he was six, but was deemed too young to go into the cinema.

He forgot all about it until he visited Liverpool's Western Approaches, where the film forms part of an exhibition.

He said seeing it was "so special".

Mr Marchant said it was "so special" to see the footage of his dad's return

Acting Stoker CP Marchant PO was on board HMS Wild Goose when it returned to Liverpool in March 1944.

It had taken part in what became known as the "six-in-one trip", which saw six German U-boats sunk in 1943.

Thousands of people lined the docks to cheer its return, a spectacle that was filmed and broadcast in cinemas across the UK to boost morale and highlight the Navy's success.

Western Approaches and the Battle of the Atlantic

• In WW2, Liverpool was Britain's main convoy port and helped to maintain the relationship with the US and Canada - a lifeline that was crucial for the ultimate Allied victory

• On 7 February 1941, a combined operation by the Royal Navy, Air Force and Marines moved into a secret bunker in the city to monitor enemy convoys and "wolf packs" of U-boat submarines

• The department was known as Western Approaches Command as it checked Western Approaches, the area of the Atlantic immediately to the west of the British Isles

• Victory at the Battle of the Atlantic was essential because the invasion of Europe in 1944, which instigated the beginning of the end of the war, could not have occurred if the U-boats had succeeded

Source: Western Approaches

Mr Marchant said his mother "tried to take me to see this film of my dad coming in, but they wouldn't let us in because I was too young".

He said he had been visiting Liverpool to find out more about the WW2 campaign at the city's maritime museum, but had not realised the Western Approaches site existed.

"It was... so special to see the film of my father for the first time," he said, adding he was "very proud of my father".

"All those sea of faces, my dad's amongst that lot and what they did. It's mind-blowing."

The crew of HMS Wild Goose also helped support the D-Day landings in June 1944

Dean Paton, who was working at the museum when Mr Marchant visited, said the moment had been "both thrilling and emotional".

"There were plenty of teary-eyes amongst the staff, and we've made a copy for Mr Marchant to watch any time he likes."

HMS Wild Goose (right) was launched in 1942 and decommissioned 13 years later