Lencops, thank you so much for posting the information and photos of HMS Mallard, Ray is really thrilled, although we still can't find anything about the bombing of the Mallard - not torpedoed as I posted, we are not sure of the year. BTW Ray could well have gone into the secondhand shop near Lily Road, do you know when or him?
Thanks also to David Fowler and Frothblower through the links they posted we have also found photos and information on other ships he served on - he joined the Navy about 1920 and was a sub-mariner on HMS Rainbow, and also served on HMS Caledon and HMS Broke, that we know of. We would like to send for his records but unfortunately haven't got his service number, so we are doing it the hard way.