The horrors of WWII through the eyes of an Irishman

After decades of trying to forget the horrors he experienced in the Second World War, Harry Callan, an Irishman, has told his extraordinary story, writes Jonathan deBurca Butler

For decades, Michele Callan knew little about her father-in-law’s early life. That he was, at the age of just 16, a British Merchant marine travelling to every far-flung corner of a vast Empire was fascinating enough. But when she went on to discover how the Derryman had spent the Second World War she felt she had a story that had to be shared.

“In January 1941 their ship was attacked off the coast of Africa,” says Michele, “Just off the Camp Verde Islands. They were taken on board and were prisoners at sea from January to March.”