大象传媒

My Grandfather and Father both served in the Royal Navy - in fact I was named Edgar after HMS Edgar the ship on which my father served, which was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic. Naturally when war broke out I wanted to sign on to the Royal Navy. I failed the medical, but was told that if I studied hard for the artillery gunnery school, then after a year I would be able to transfer into the Navy. I did study hard, and sure enough about a year later I applied for a transfer. I went on a refresher course on the west coast of Scotland, where I crossed swords with a future Prime Minister. This resulted in me being posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This was a bonus as it turned out, not only was the pay better, but there was overseas money as well!!

Back in Scotland after accompanying the convoys from Canada, I was due some leave to go home to Kimbolton. My commanding officer ordered me to take a rifle in case I got caught up in the invasion - as it happened I was glad of the bayonet when the English bus conductor called me a fifth columnist when I tried to pay my fare with a Scottish pound note.

At Preston in Dorset, when we came ashore on the liberty boat, we would queue for our pint of beer - one pint was all we were allowed. We couldnt understand how the American sailors we getting so merry on just one pint, until they let us in to their secret. They had found out how to drain pure alcohol from the torpedo tubes, and were adding it to their beer! It is a wonder they lived to tell the tale!

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