On 17 November 1940, Stockwell was the Pilot of a Skua which took off from HMS Argus to lead six Hurricanes to Malta. The operation turned into a disaster. The Sunderland scheduled to escort them failed to take off from Gibraltar. The landfall was missed and they failed to find the bomber sent out to meet them. The Skua navigator radioed for further help but his set was faulty and he could not receive the reply. The Hurricanes ran out of fuel one by one and fell into the sea, with the loss of all six pilots.
With almost no fuel left, Stockwell sighted Sicily. The aircraft was fired on by Italian defences and crash-landed on the beach at Punta Palo on the Isola delle Correnti, near Syracuse. Stockwell and his navigator were taken prisoner.
After liberation Stockwell became a Commissioned Pilot in 1945. He later served in Nos 771 and 779 Squadrons.
He retired from the Navy on 9 December 1950 and died in 1992.
