大象传媒

These diary extracts were written by my father, Mr L.F.C. Knight (1912 鈥� 1991) as part of our Family History, which includes stories of life as family members knew it, photos, family trees and other relevant information. After serving at Reading, my father was sent overseas and below is a description of the journey to Malta.
Diary Extracts 鈥� Greenock to Malta
Saturday 4 November 1944
Still in harbour, very rough, cold wind, rain and choppy sea. More shipping collecting together. Final inspection and checking up. Ship' s library open 3-4 pm. Newspapers whilst in harbour. Boat drill with preservers and water bottles. Radio inter-com, throughout boat. Ship about 14,000 tons and top speed 14 knots.
Sunday 5 November 1944
Three days aboard. View of mountains with snow. Ben Lomond, Loch Long, Dunoon. Many troops and navy at sea for first time. Four years today in Army completed. Rat and cockroaches reported to be in lower parts. Book from Library 鈥淭he Hideous Dummy鈥� by Gerald Kersh. Spoke to a Medical Corps orderly who had been a repatriated prisoner with service Matla, Trepoli, Cairo, Haifa, Heros. Captured at Leros, intercepted by Navy, taken to Brindisi and repatriated to England. Now going out again after volunteering.
Monday 6 November 1944
Still in harbour. The 鈥淪tirling Castle鈥� lying astern. Exercise on boat deck. One loaf each day and butter. Apple yesterday, bacon, egg, porridge for breakfast, Shipping agent put ashore. Most troops in bed in afternoon. Cup of tea at 4.00 pm. Safety lights on rafts come on when raft is in water. No port holes on our deck, very stuffy.
Tuesday 7 November 1944
6th day on boat. No date for sailing. Popular tune being hummed or whistled 鈥淎ll day and far away鈥�. On mess orderly duty. Wait with Jixies for meals, take and dish out and wash up. Fresh and salt water on board. Fresh water limited to certain times, salt water any time. Steam pipes in mess for heating water. Still more snow on mountains. F.F.I. inspection. Queues for everything, library, barber, shop, soft drinks, cards in evening. Difficult to get sight of a newspaper.
Wednesday 8 November 1944
7th day on boat. Wintry weather. Three meals a day and bed. All sorts of tales as to where we are going. Haircut after 陆 hour in queue. Sea much calmer. One week since coming on board.
Thursday 9 November 1944
On the way, starting at 5.20 am. Passed Ailsa Crag a magnificent rock, straight up out of the sea. Shape of a triangle to a great height. Then down St. Georges Channel opposite Belfast. Sea rough, snow on mountains of Ireland. Picked up more ships for the convoy in St. George鈥檚 channel. Passed the Isle of Man and then off N. Wales coast 6.30pm. Some sea sick, myself escaped. Ship rolled at times but sea much less rough. Hints to avoid sea sickness, eat plenty of bread, fresh air, not much to drink. Concert in afternoon. Good for what it was. Singers, comedian, trumpet player, sailors dressed as Wrens. Ship shudder from its engines, horrible continual noise from ventilating fans. Strange to be part of a convoy such as we have only formerly seen on pictures.
Joke: Anybody seen Chalky? Chalky who? Chalky White who comes from Dover and has a brother 鈥淐liff鈥�.
Friday 10 November 1944
Sailed past Scilly Isles about 4.00 pm Sea slight but with a big swell. Small birds flying alongside. Saw a Sunderland flying boat in the morning. The 鈥淐apetown Castle鈥� in front of us and a sister ship 鈥淗ighland Princess鈥� opposite. Temperature up 8 degrees since yesterday. Sweets and tobacco today. Issue us a pear each. Some cigars available. Pipe tobacco issued to Navy but not to Army troops, but could buy it from those who did not want it. Warmer and clear. Ships look like black monsters. Foam as ship cuts through waves reflecting diamond sparkles. Many with headaches and dizzy feelings of sorts. Many Navy men out on a 2 陆 year draft.
Saturday 11 November 1944
Open sea all day, warm sunshine and calm sea. Felt rather unsteady. Small birds still with us. They say we covered 249 miles in 24 hours. 鈥淭ombola鈥� played at certain times. Sat on 鈥楧鈥� deck in sunshine in afternoon. Gun and fire practise by crew. Now three days at sea.
Sunday 12 November 1944
Beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Saw a lighthouse in the distance, possibly Cape St. Vincent. Small birds still with us. Same ships and escort still with us all steadily gliding along. Not dark until 6.45 pm. Free meals, beautiful weather, cheap cigarettes, comfortable beds, but horrible ventilation fans and smell of diesel oil.
Monday 13 November 1944
Change of course now due east. One ship dropped off for Lisbon. Another cloudless day with brilliant sunshine. One or two birds still with us. Packed away pullover and gloves. Library Book 鈥淭he Case of the Missing Nursemaid鈥� by Philip Macdonald. A lance-corporal, a regular soldier batman to G.O.C. Malta, travelling out to join his boss who had flown out five weeks ago. Cases of theft cropping up. Questions of altering clocks. Oranges for tea. Bugle sounds Reveille at 6.30 am but no-one take any notice. Breakfast 7.30 - 8.00, dinner 12.00, supper 6.00 pm. Sea still calm. Sighted land in dim distance at about 4.00 pm, the North African Coast. The sea journey might be out into the Atlantic and then back to avoid possible mines off-shore, and other ways for attack.
Tuesday 14 November 1944
Passed through Straights of Gibraltar about 3.00 am. Did not see the Rock. Convoy in single file through the narrows. Reformed off the coast of Morocco visible in the distance and the Atlas mountains. Gun practice in morning anti-aircraft and firing at a smoke target in the sea. Due to disembark on Friday. Mediterranean Sea like a lake much less rough than the Atlantic. Late afternoon quite close to N. African shore past Algiers. Navy changed into white tops i.e. white coverings to hats and white singlets. Hot sunshine today. Listened to 6.00 pm news. Slow progress on nearly all fronts.
Wednesday 15 November 1944
Sailed past Tunis and Bizierta close to coast. Could see hills and houses plainly. Sea less calm with the ship rolling a bit. Cool at night very hot by day. Reformed into single file. Talked to Maltese. They had been on a course in England and had visited many towns and works. Fifteen weeks in England visiting G. Heath Ltd, Austin and Morris Lucas鈥檚 etc.
Thursday 16th November 1944
Passed close to the island 鈥� Pantellaris. Very rugged, many houses, white blobs and visible from a great distance, handed in safety lights, life belts, emergency rations. Rifles with drawn from armoury. Beautiful day, cool wind. Wrote letters. More activity on board. Airman鈥檚 empty rubber dingy floated past.
Friday 17th November 1944
Entered Grand Harbour, Valetta after dropping off the convoy. Pilot came on board at 7.30 am. Massive walls and buttresses. Everything a light yellow colour. No rivers or lakes very desert like. Glare from sunshine very bad. Off boat at 10.00 am. No trees but some shrubs. Curious gondolas for water travel and small horse taxis with bells. Air raid damage everywhere. Fruit on sale locally grown lemons, pomegranates, green bananas and oranges. Steep streets up from the harbour driven through the rock in places. Many locals bare-footed. Pretty children black hair, dark eyes and complexion. Stone buildings with balconies. Cultivated plots between the stone walls. Goats in the scrub. No green grass, some tough yellowish growth resembling it. Pay office and barracks at St. George鈥檚 Bay. Signing forms and so on. Sent cable back. Went down to Sliema in evening to pictures. Supper and back for 11.30 pm. No blackout.
More stories and pictures including Leonard Knight鈥檚 Diary Extracts of Malta can be found on our Family Memories website:
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