THE 25th anniversary this week of the murder of Earl Mountbatten of Burma will bring especially poignant memories for one Dorset war veteran.

Jim Mariner may have been one among many thousands who served under Lord Mountbatten in World War Two, but he was singled out for special attention.

Mr Mariner, from Winton, was one of the few survivors of HMS Peterel. She was blown apart by the Japanese in the Yangste river, soon after war started in the Far East, after refusing to surrender.

The men of the Petrel were never decorated for their bravery and always believed this was because a nearby US ship had surrendered without a shot.

"The Admiralty refused to give us any decorations because it would be embarrassing to America," said Mr Mariner.

Lord Mountbatten, who was at the time Allied adviser on combined operations, only heard the story of the Peterel years later, after leaving the Navy. He was "extremely upset", said Mr Mariner. Lord Mountbatten then invited the former able seaman to the Queen's review of the fleet as his personal guest.

Mr Mariner came across Lord Mountbatten again when he visited Bournemouth. Mr Mariner was a police motorcyclist assigned to escort the visitor from the Town Hall to his hotel.

He remembered: "When he came out of the Town Hall he saw me on the opposite side of the road. He recognised me and said to the mayor: 'Do you know this man?'"

Lord Mountbatten was murdered by the IRA on August 27, 1979, while on a fishing holiday with his family in Mullaghmore, Ireland. He was one of 23 to die that day in twin atrocities in the Republic and at the British Army base at Warranpoint in Northern Ireland.

Mr Mariner said he was distraught at Mountbatten's death. "He was a most kind man.

"To think he went to all that trouble for me - it beats me how a man like that could do such a thing," he said.

First published: August 23