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Frederick "Ron" Crank initially joined the Merchant Navy and went aboard Patroclus as a cadet, being transferred to the Royal Navy when the ship was requisitioned. He spent 12 hours in a lifeboat after the armed merchant cruiser was torpedoed and was picked up by the destroyer HMS Active. He joined HMS Carnarvon Castle and participated in the gun battle with the German raider Thor in December 1940 and spent some time at Newport News where the ship was repaired. At the end of January 1941, he joined HMS Salopian which was torpedoed in May 1941 southeast of Cape Farewell after which he was picked up after 52 hours in a lifeboat by the destroyer HMS Achates who landed them at Reykjavik where they spent 10 days in an army camp before being returned to Greenock together with the three survivors from HMS Hood. Frederick then joined the ocean boarding vessel HMS Lady Somers and experienced his third sinking when the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Morosini west of Gibraltar on 15 Jul, 1941. He was rescued by the Spanish tanker Campeche and taken to Lisbon and was very appreciative that they move out of their cabins for them and shared all they had. A collier then brought him back to Gibraltar. He served on HMS Montclare from January to April 1942 and then returned until December 1943 to HMS Carnavon Castle, mainly patrolling the South Atlantic around the Decpection Isles, Elephant Isle and the Falklands. In October 1944 he was transferred to the reserves at Liverpool and worked as third radio officer for the Admiralty at Risley.