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Sailors Odyssey

R.E. Moscrop

I joined the navy in May 1942, and trained as electrician to serve on L.L. Minesweepers at H.M.S. Collingwood, Chatham Barracks. On completion of training I joined the Royal Naval Patrol Service base at H.M.S. Europa, and then in September 1942 I was drafted to H.M.S. Paris., the base ship for minesweepers operating out of Plymouth.
I joined the minesweeper H.M.S. Moonrise — this at a time when German E-boats and bombers were blitzing Plymouth.
In July 1943 I joined the newly built minesweeper M.M.S. 290 at Totnes, Devon. After trials we operated out of Scarpa Flow (Orkneys), the base ship being H.M.S. Exmouth. Conditions were extremely cold and windy, with rough seas.
May 1944 we were off Norway and then diverted for the D day landings in Northern France, June 1944. I left M.M.S. 290 and returned to Chatham Barracks to sit promotion exams, then in September joined H.M.S. Deveron to take passage to the Far East.
October 1994, arrived in Colombo, Ceylon, and from there went on to the Royal Naval Barracks at Calcutta to join the minesweeping flotilla operating down the Arakan coast in Burma. I served on a number of ships in the flotilla — B.Y.M.S. 2223, B.Y.M.S. 2232 — operating behind enemy lines in the Chaungs. We were shooting up Japanese troops trying to escape. A large number of the enemy were killed in the Chaung operations. I took part in all the Arakan landings including the invasion of Rangoon in May 1945. We swept 34 mines clearing channels into Rangoon.
I then returned to Colombo for refitting and leave.
In June 1945 we took part in operations in the invasion of Andaman and Nicobar islands, in the Indian Ocean.
War in Europe was over by now and the rush to take Singapore was on. July and August we were in the forefront of all landings down the Malacca Straights. I was off Singapore when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
From August 1945 to the end of April 1946 we cleared magnetic minefields — Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Malaya coast up to Bangkok and Saigon.
At the beginning of May 1946 I joined H.M.S. Assistance for passage home to the UK for demob. We arrived at Portsmouth on Victory Day.
Four years continuous active service at sea, in extreme climate conditions and in enemy infested waters.

Awards
1939-43 Star with Clasp
Minesweeping Charm
Atlantic Star
Burma Star with Pacific Clasp
War Medal 1939 -45
Naval General Service Medal with Minesweeping Clasp 1945-51
Russian Commemorative Medal

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