A FARNWORTH navy veteran was one of the heroes of a dramatic wartime sea rescue which saved the lives of more than 800 people.

Alfred Hedley, now 82, still has faded letters of gratitude from some of the people he and his shipmates helped to pluck from the jaws of death in the South Atlantic 58 years ago.

The BEN's recent Merchant Navy Day feature on the role of the service during the war years revived poignant memories for Geordie born Alfred, who moved to Farnworth just before he signed on for a life at sea in 1938.

Alfred, of Lancaster Avenue, joined the Merchant Navy in 1938 to see the world. But he hardly had time to find his sea legs before he was drafted into the Royal Naval Reserve to help man an armed, converted banana boat on patrol and convoy duties protecting vital shipping routes. One of the crew's duties was to intercept German ships taking propaganda literature to America.

He was in the thick of the U-boat onslaughts as food and supplies were brought across the Atlantic. To this day, he remains amazed that his ship, HMS Corinthian, was never hit.

But he saw many other ships go down and still vividly recalls October 11, 1942 when -- as sub-lieutenant on the Corinthian -- he took an SOS call to go to the aid of the troopship the Duchess of Atholl.

More than 800 people -- service and merchant men, women and children -- had already been adrift in 32 small boats for hours and "were spread out all over the ocean" when the Corinthian reached the scene.

"The U-boat commander had given four hours for those on board to abandon ship before he pounded the Atholl with more torpedoes and sank it," Alfred explained. "Two men died when the first torpedo hit, but everyone else was saved and carried to safety on the Corinthian".

"The amazing thing was, the Duchess of Atholl was owned by Canadian Pacific who I had worked for earlier. Some of the merchant men we were pulling from the boats were my friends."

Despite the massive overcrowding, the care the survivors received from the Corinthian crew was never forgotten.

Alfred said: "The small boats were so scattered around the ocean it took from 8am to 7pm before everbody was safely aboard our ship. And all the time we were afraid that a U-boat would attack us."

One of Alfred's treasured letters is a typewritten note of gratitude from the women and children who were saved.

It says: "While we were in the boats we were confident that we would be rescued, but it was hard to believe that help had come so early when we saw your smoke on the horizon."

In another letter, Lt Col Marr, in charge of the troops who were saved, wrote: "It is more than difficult to convey our deep gratitude ... your kindness and generosity was wonderful and beyond any praise I can give."

Another of Alfred's treasured mementos is a certificate to mark the first time his ship crossed the equator in July, 1942.

When he came out of the Merchant Navy, he worked in the electricity industry at power stations in Back o'th' Bank at Astley Bridge and Agecroft for many years.

He said: "You know, this may sound strange, but for all the danger we were in on the oceans, not knowing from one day to the next whether we would be torpedoed, I felt safer then than I do now at the age of 82 walking out at night in Bolton."