大象传媒

I joined the RN in April 1944 - I was just 18 years old and I was conscripted - you know called up. So then i was sent to Chatham as a rookie to learn seamanship. anyway, at the end of the 9 weeks training I was sent on a ship an old naval trawler but it had been chnged to become a minesweeper in prtsmouth. I started on the 6th of June the day the landings took place in France. Once the landings took place we were sent to minesweep up round Grimsby and then we were mineclearing from Grimsby right up the coast of Scotland.We finished up in Scapafloe and we were mine clearing the whole way up - exploding the mines as they came to the surface. From there we came down the west coat of scotland and over to Derry.
We had to get supplied up once there and we went out from Derry three days later up to the mouth of the foyle to explode mines. The mines came to the surface alright although some did explode under the surface.as they surfaced we had to shhot them with a gun then we had to sink every last one.We did that for months.The foyle was full of hundreds of mines. all the important ports were full of them. The allied ships had a particular paasageway they had to stay within when coming into port other wise they'd be blown up. If a ship stryed even a little bit off course it was curtains.The odd time mineclearing around the Foyle and out to Donegal we fished out the odd dead body - we'd have to fish the dead bodies out of the water. It wasn't a pleasant job.
one night I was working away - we'd exploded one mine but knowing mines are laid in pairs we were busy trying to find the other one when 'BOOM' the whole ship lifted up and out of the water - there was a mine under our boat and it had gone off - we were lucky to be alive.
The work was dangerous but I enjoyed it - making the sea safer for our ships was an important job and i met my wife in Ireland so that was a great bonus.

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