HMS Punjabi was a 1,850 ton Tribal Class Destroyer which was part of a screen of destroyers on the flanks of a line of capital ships (code PQ15) that included the battleship HMS King George V, the Carrier HMS Victorious, the battleship USS. Washington, and the Cruisers USS. Wichita and USS. Tuscaloosa on May 1 1942. The force was on its way to Murmansk in Russia with vital materials for our ally in the fight against the Nazi's.
HMS King George V was a 34,000 ton battleship which, while the convoy was at full steam in in thick fog, had to make a sudden turn to avoid a floating mine. Unfortunately this was right into the flank of HMS Punjabi, the smaller ship was literally cut in half with relatively little damage to KGV (pitured below). Sadly 49 men lost their lives out of the 250 crew on board but my Grandad Robert 'Bob' Ellis was one of the lucky ones to survive. I have read his memoirs he wrote while at sea and one of the most moving things I have ever read is, in his beautiful handwriting 'Today we buried our dead', that I will remember forever. I recall him as the most polite and happy man, much respected, a perfect Grandfather who, with our Grandma, took all us cousins fishing in the Bass Boat and other such adventures here in, around and from Torpoint. I did not read those memoirs until later in life when he had passed, but what a great man who went though some tough times. He is remembered on a grave in the nearby Horson Cemetery, not far from my other Grandad referenced in our cache Swordfish (near the bottom entrance to the cemetery).
'Minor' Damage to HMS King George V after the collision.
Please feel free to walk around the cemetery, there's a lovely war memorial down there as well as all the war graves for those 44 sailors and 21 Royal Engineers who lost their lives in HMS Raleigh during a German bombing raid on 28 April 1941.
If you are interested in more of the history on this, more can be found at the following links:
http://www.britisharmedforces.org/pages/nat_ken_tipper.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_PQ_15