Special Remembrance Day screenings at the Riverside Cinema

Felixstowe’s pivotal role in the protection of coastal convoys during the Second World War is highlighted in a new short film, We Fought them in Gunboats, based on the memoirs of war hero Robert Hichens who was killed in action in 1943.

The film by Suffolk-based filmmaker Tim Curtis, will be screened for the first time on Remembrance Sunday, November 12^th, at the Riverside Cinema, Woodbridge.

It tells the story of the Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats, based at HMS Beehive, which is now part of the Port of Felixstowe. These small craft and their volunteer crews, heroically engaged larger and more powerful German E-Boats, which sought to wreak havoc with Britain’s coastal convoys.

The very personal account of this story is told by Robert Hichens in the book We Fought Them in Gunboats which was recently published for the first time as an uncensored edition by East Anglian author and publisher Julia Jones.

“The book is the de-censored, de-edited version of the text written by an exceptional individual – an officer from the volunteer reserve – on active service from HMS Beehive, the coastal forces base at Felixstowe,” notes Julia Jones.

The film uses archive material and interviews to explain and highlight both the role of HMS Beehive and the crews, among them Robert Hichens, who risked their lives in what became known as the ‘Spitfires of the Sea’.

“It’s a very powerful story which highlights the role of Beehive and those such as Robert Hichens who sailed out of Felixstowe to protect our coastline,” adds Tim Curtis.

We Fought them in Gunboats will be screened as part of a double bill with, another Tim Curtis film, Stanley’s War, which tells the story of First World War hero, Stanley Banyard, from Ramsholt.

Tickets are now on sale for the screenings at the Riverside Cinema, which will be followed by a Q&A with Julia Jones.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to the armed forces charity SSAFA that supports veterans and their families in the community.