大象传媒

This article, presented here in 8 chapters plus an introduction, is the naval autobiography of Alec Kellaway. Alec served in the Royal Navy from January 1936 to November 1947. His story shows what life was like training for the Navy immediately before the war as well as service in a wide variety of ships during the conflict. The book was written by Alec himself and has previously been published on the HMS Hood Association web site (www.hmshood.com) and in the HMS Cossack Association newsletters.

I was There! Where?
Chapter 2c H.M.S Hood

After I had completed my auxiliary course a notice was put on the regulating notice board saying that a stoker was required for the Captain鈥檚 Motor Boat. I put in my request for this position and was lucky enough to be accepted. This proved a good move in that I was classed as a special duty man and relieved of all other duties. Whenever the Captain required his boat I and the rest of the crew had to be there. Our crew consisted of a PO Seaman, a Leading Seaman, an Able Seaman and myself. The Captains I served with were Captain Pridham, Captain Walker and Captain Glennie; of these three Captain Walker I served with most. He was very energetic and given to outbursts of temper if an order was not carried out correctly, never did I fall foul to him. His nickname was Hooky because in the Great War he had lost an arm and was fitted with an artificial arm with a hook and if someone did not carry out an order correctly Hooky was liable to swing his binoculars carried on his hook in that person鈥檚 direction.

One day we had to take Hooky to a tanker anchored in the Bay. We went alongside to a Jacob鈥檚 rope ladder hanging down the tanker鈥檚 ship side. Hooky with great agility went hand over hook up the ladder on to the deck with such speed it would have put a fit man to shame. It was fantastic to watch.

Our boats crew was called away one evening to take Hooky to a large yacht in Malta harbour. When the Captain had got on board he gave the order for us to lay off, which meant that the visit would be short and we would be called alongside. We waited and waited, the coxswain keeping the boat in sight of the yacht. After several hours in which we had lost our evening meal the boat was called to pick up Hooky, who we returned to the Hood. Hooky on going up the gangway turned to the coxswain and said, 鈥楥oxswain I believe I have kept you waiting? Anyway it's part of your duty, Goodnight鈥� and that was that.

The Hood was kept on patrol and exercises and one operation we had was to do a fifteen-inch shoot at a moving target with live ammunition. The target being HMS Centurion, an old battle ship that was radio controlled by HMS Shikari. Her crew would take the Centurion to sea and when in the operational area the crew would be taken off and the Shikari would take over. The Hood on firing her first salvo straddled the Shikari. This would have been disastrous had the salvo hit the destroyer.

Unfortunately for the Hood鈥檚 gunnery officer the Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was on the Shikari to observe the action. Anyhow we carried on the action, getting several hits on the Centurion. The ships then returned to Malta our Gunnery Officer having to see the C in C Med for his excuse for the wayward first salvo.

One trip found us back in Gib and we were suddenly put on sailing orders. The Hood then proceeded into the Atlantic, up to Bilbao in Northern Spain. It would appear that a British cargo ship was trying to run the blockade and get a cargo of potatoes to Bilbao. A Franco warship was trying to intercept it. The Hood steaming at high speed arrived at the scene put herself between the Spanish warship and the cargo boat. This entailed a lot of toing and froing. At one time the Spaniard was on our port side 鈥� left 鈥� and then on our starboard side, - right -, this cause a problem on Hood as we were not fully manned. At one time the port six-inch guns were manned and when the starboard side guns were nearest the Spaniard, the gun鈥檚 crews had to cross from port to starboard. This went on for quite a time until the cargo boat got clear and everything went back to normal. Captain Potato Jones returning to England with his cargo boat and the Hood returning to Gib.
At one time the Hood did a courtesy call to Marseilles in Southern France. On going through the Gulf of Lyon we encountered the roughest sea I ever experienced in the Mediterranean. On arrival at Marseilles the Captain had to be taken ashore. This we did but on the return trip the boat鈥檚 engine packed in. After signals between the coxswain and the Hood we were eventually towed back. This stoppage of the engine caused a big flap. Engine room artificer Bill Brading, was sent to investigate and found that the engine had seized up. By this time Lieutenant Commander (E) the senior engineer had turned up and finding Bill Brading鈥檚 report ordered me to be removed from the boat immediately and put on report. A spare engine was put into the boat and another stoker took over my duties, it being assumed that I had neglected to put oil into the engine.

Unknown to me Bill Brading went to see the Senior Engineer and suggested that no claim of negligence could be found until the engine had been examined. The following day I was duly presented to the Senior Engineer as a defaulter. The charge being neglect of duty and that I had failed to maintain a level of engine oil required. This I denied and the Senior Engineer asked how I could say that when the engine had seized up. I then stated to the engineer that I could bring four witnesses to state that there was the correct level of oil in the engine. The Senior asked how I could do that to which I replied that prior to anchoring four stokers doing their auxiliary course were under my instructions and each one had to check the engine level on my instructions. These four were called and stated what was said was true. The charge was dismissed and I was reinstated to the boat. It was brought to my attention afterwards that the Senior was very devious in that he knew the cause of the engine seizure was a mechanical fault and not through the lack of oil. This was found in the dismantling of the engine as soon as it was removed from the boat and the statement from the PO Coxswain that until the engine stopped there was no lack of oil pressure on the gauge in the cockpit. An episode never to be forgotten.

At a later date I was put on report for failing to supply a fire extinguisher, the Hood was on the Mole at Gib and all motor boats were moored aft of the ship. The Captain鈥檚 ship was called away to go across the harbour and while we were waiting for our PO to turn up a seaman called to me for my fire extinguisher as there was an exercise on the quarterdeck. I said to the seaman that I would not allow the fire extinguisher out of the boat for an exercise, as the boat was about to leave, by this time our PO had arrived and we went across the Harbour. On our return I was told to report to the Officer of the watch for refusing to obey an order. I was duly paraded on the quarterdeck, off cap and charged, in my defence I gave the reason for not obeying the order and the Officer of the Watch sent for the Engineer Officer in charge of boats for his opinion. He reluctantly agreed with me and the charge was dismissed. From that time on I was very wary of all officers.

Twice while in the boat鈥檚 crew I found myself in the sea. On the first occasion the Hood was at anchor at Tangiers. Our boat was lying from the port after boom and there was a big swell in the sea coming from the Atlantic. This was causing problems as our boat was being thrown against the ship鈥檚 side. The Officer of the Watch called us to take our boat to the starboard after boom on the leeside, the normal mooring for the Admiral鈥檚 barge, which was in Gib. On getting into the mooring the bow of the boat was on a running lanyard and I had secured the aft of the boat with a static rope and I was stood up rolling up the White Ensign when the boat suddenly sprang upwards and threw me into the sea. The Admiral was on the quarterdeck and shouted out to me 鈥淒on鈥檛 lose that flag!鈥� giving no thought that I might need assistance which I did not. I managed to get to the gangway and went on board to change from my wet clothing and dry out the Ensign. The reason for the boat springing was that our boat length was 25鈥� and the Admiral鈥檚 barge was 35鈥�, this made the distance between the bow rope and stern rope 10鈥� shorter than our boat needed so that as the long roller of the sea came in the boat was lifted up on the top of the wave and as the wave went away the boat dropped away between the two ropes which were to tight and caused the boat to spring up. Letting out the stern rope on the quarterdeck rectified this. Everything returned to normal.

My second fall into the sea was in Malta harbour on a very hot day. It was practice for us when mooring the boat on the after boom to leave by means of climbing the rope ladder onto the boom and then onto the quarter deck, but it was easiest for us to jump up onto the after wire stay gripping by our hands and swinging ourselves upwards onto the boom, a slight acrobatic move, though on this day the sun being so strong there was a haze over the wire. This gave me a false distance and as I jumped up my hands did not grasp the wire so by grasping fresh air I found myself in the water. This made me more careful afterwards.

One problem we encountered in Malta harbour was loose ropes floating around that fouled our boat propeller. This caused a large operation on board the Hood; the boat had to be lifted out of the water to clear away the rope. This entailed using the Hood鈥檚 main derrick, a large boom fitted to the aftermast and was used to lift all boats in or out of the ship. It was very labour intensive using many sailors to man the ropes that pulled the derrick round to the shipside and back again, though the hoist was mechanical. I thought of a way to save this operation which turned out to be workable. I suggested to our PO that if we went into shallow water I could get into the water and if the crew went to one side the boat would list over and I on the opposite side may be able to get at the propeller to release the rope. This proved successful and the PO got a pat on the back for saving a massive derrick operation.
On one visit to Malta we were enjoying some night leave; I had now become 20 years of age and drew my rum ration; when a strong wind, Maltese Gregale, blew up. This was so intense we could not return to the ship, we were met on the jetty by the local naval patrol and told to remain ashore. This kept us on shore for three nights, which we enjoyed. When the wind abated we returned aboard to find that the ship had been using her engines to maintain her position between her moorings. It certainly was some wind.

During one stay in Malta a cruiser came in from England with many naval cadets and midshipmen on a training cruise. These young men would be the naval officers in future years. Our motorboat was called away and we had to go to custom house to pick up a Captain and his wife, and then proceed to the cruiser as their young son was on board as a cadet. We went alongside the after gangway and the captain was piped alongside. The piping party consisting of several cadets seamen POs and seamen; the captain鈥檚 wife going up the gangway noticed her son in the piping party and to his embarrassment called out in a reasonably loud voice that everyone around could hear, 鈥楾here鈥檚 my baby!鈥� I often wonder how that 17 year old felt.

On one trip back to Malta it was decided for the Hood to go into the floating dock; this would be a great achievement, as the floating dock had never accommodated such a very heavy vessel. The floating dock was lowered and the Hood was gently eased into the dock and when secured the water was pumped out of the dock and the Hood was lifted out of the water 鈥� no mean feat! As the dock lifted and the Hood was in her docking position the watch of seamen were called on deck. This sudden body of over 200 men on one side of the ship caused the Hood, who was only partly buoyant, to list one side. To prevent a near disaster the dock was flooded until buoyancy of the Hood was recovered and the list taken off. There being no further incidents the floating dock lifted the Hood out of the water and kept her there for several days while under water maintenance was done, the ship鈥檚 bottom cleaned and painted. We then undocked and went about our patrol and exercises.

The navy encouraged all types of sport and rivalry between ships of the Med fleet was no exception. On one visit to Malta the Hood played HMS Barham at football, losing 7-0. On the next day Barham was leaving Malta to return to England having completed her commission in the Med. Barham left her moorings in Grand Harbour flying her paying off pennant of many yards 鈥� indicating length of ship and time spent in the Med 鈥� very impressive pennant. As Barham passed Hood in Bighi Bay it was noticed that an additional adornment was displayed on 鈥楤鈥� 15鈥� turret; Barham had rigged a temporary mast from which was hung seven footballs, talk about rubbing it in.

During her time in the Med the engine room personnel under the watchful eye of a Chief Stoker produced a harmonica band consisting of many mouth organ specialists, the band gave concerts and even did radio broadcasts, they were very entertaining and though amateurs were very professional.
There were many sporting activities for the crew, from water sports, all athletic events, sailing or rowing competitions, name it, it was available. There were also various educational exams that could be studied for as the Hood had classroom facilities, with qualified teaching staff. It was better for junior sailors to be drafted to capital ships on their first commission, as there were more facilities available than on smaller ships. The large ships offered more chances towards promotion than the smaller ships did.

Alec's story continues in Chapter 2d

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