When our veterans of the Second World War packed up their meagre collections of personal effects, uniform kit and documents and walked up the gang planks of hulking grey troopship…

Albert Henry Brown was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, on 26 March 1923. His father, and namesake, Henry, was a retired Petty Officer Stoker in the Royal Navy who had served in the Battle of Jutland,…