No Roses on a Sailor's Grave

• Watchlist

June 6th, 1944: D-Day. Patrick Thomas, a telegraphist in the Royal Navy, boards a landing craft in Portsmouth, as thousands of vessels and tens of thousands of servicemen prepare for the day that changed history. The vessel, LCH 185, would be part of the first wave on Sword Beach and all subsequent waves that followed. During the two weeks that followed, the craft would join others in forming a line to protect the landing beaches from German attack by night. During the day, the crew would sleep, perform repairs, or rescue survivors of the near-constant ships being sunk each day. On June 25th, 1944, LCH 185 is struck by an acoustic mine. Patrick finds himself regaining consciousness in the water, bleeding from the head and covered in grey paint. He watched the ship turn and sink to the bottom of the England Channel, taking all but a handful of the crew with it. Records show 35 men died in the sinking. The number may be higher. With men and machine dropping like flies throughout the Second World War, the ship and its sailors have largely vanished from history. Patrick and the families of the crew have no place to honor the fallen who sacrificed so much for our freedom. No position in the sea to know where their friends and family rested. There is no memorial to lay a wreath. Seven decades later all that will change. 73 years after Royal Navy veteran Patrick Thomas' ship vanishes during World War II, he is the last of the handful of survivors still living. Fate brings Patrick and complete stranger, archaeologist John Henry Phillips together. Fuelled by their unexpected bond, and the rapid passing of the Second World War generation, John makes a shocking promise to find the ship and build a memorial with Patrick by his side.