A summer edition of BBC’s Songs of Praise remembered the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, despite a lifetime of pain due to the horror of war.
PO George Hinkins was on HMS Formidable from 6 January 1942 and was killed by a kamikaze on 9 May 1945. At a reunion of crew and family his son, David, who was only five months at the time of his father’s death, was told the full story of that day on the boat and how he had saved a number of young sailors lives by sending them away from the gun and into shelter. Unfortunately the kamikaze hit the ship and killed George who had continued to fire the gun single handed until the plane hit.
Years of bitterness
David had been very bitter for a number of years and then attended a church and was challenged by the song ‘Father God I wonder I managed to exist’. This led to his conversion and he later became a missionary to Africa. After enquiring about the attack, a Japanese news association heard of David’s search and tracked down the brother of the kamikaze pilot.
