大象传媒

Birmingham blitz 1940 to Royal Navy Patrol Service 1942-1946

In September 1939 鈥� 鈥渢he Day war broke out鈥� as that great comedian 鈥淩ob Wilton鈥� used to say, I was 15 years old, in my 5th year at St Philips Grammar School when the whole school was evacuated to Hereford. Having spent a few months boarding with a lovely young married couple I decided to forego taking my 鈥渟chool cert 鈥攎atriculation exams鈥� 鈥攈aving achieved a distinction in art 鈥攐ver 75% -in the鈥� Mock ups鈥�- and knowing that I always wanted to be a Commercial Artist, I decided to leave and got a job as an apprentice Commercial Artist with Messrs Toon & Heath Advertising agency on the Tyburn Road at the princely salary of 12 shillings and sixpence a week (75p). Having demanded a rise around January 1940 and not getting it 鈥� having established first that I had got a job with Lewis鈥檚 Store in their Publicity Dept. at a salary of 30 shillings a week ( 拢1.50), I told Mr.Toon to 鈥榮tick his job鈥�.
During the early part of 1940, aged 16 as an employee at Lewis鈥檚 the Staff were asked to contribute to the war effort by becoming 鈥楩ire Watchers鈥� and it so happened that I was on duty on the night of November 19th at their Furniture Depository premises in Constitution Hill opposite Barclays Bank on the corner. The equipment for dousing an Incendiary Bomb comprised of a Stirrup Pump and a bucket of water and therefore you can imagine our horror to discover the building comprised of several storeys packed solid with furniture and bedding, the top storey packed to the roof which happened to be glass. We decided therefore to shelter in the enclosed brick roof entry passage way with the adjoining building as there was no way we could use a stirrup pump and a bucket of water on the top floor with bedding mattresses 12 inches from the glass roof.
The Air Raid started at 7.17p.m. and ended at 4.30 a.m. We could see the fires raging and hear the explosions of the bombs falling on Birmingham .It was around 3 a.m. whilst still sheltering in our 鈥榚ntry鈥� that the most terrific bang reverberated in our ears, thank God it wasn鈥檛 a bomb. A policeman had sheltered in the other end of the entry passage equipped with a 303 rifle and was trying 鈥� God knows why 鈥� to shoot at a parachuted Land Mine- you can guess what our comments were!
At around 7a.m. we made our way up Snow Hill which was virtually impassable strewn with rubble and fire hoses, demolished buildings. This was the night that Grey鈥檚 store, Joseph Lucas, The Lamp public house,(destroyed) and 9 well known factories were hit. On reporting back to Lewis鈥檚 we were met by our Managing Director, Mr. Breeze, who asked us to lend a hand in the basement of the store, which had been turned into a straw floored hospital. We reminded him that we had been fire watching all night with no sleep and he kindly gave us the day off.
It was after this I decided it was safer in the Royal Navy. I had already joined the Birmingham Sea Cadets in 1941, and spent 3 months as a trainee at H.M.S. Bounty in Worcester, achieving 10 words a minute as a Wireless Telegraphist and in April 1942, at the age of 18 automatically went into the Royal Navy proper, at H.M.S. Collingwood in Portsmouth, eventually 鈥楶assing Out鈥� at 25 words a minute, Transmitting & Receiving, as Telegraphist. My first Draft was to H.M.S. Europa in Lowestoft, known as the Sparrows nest ,which was the shore based 鈥榖arracks鈥�, where you reported daily from your local 鈥楲and lady鈥� billets to see what ship you were going to serve on. I was now an LT (Lowestoft) rating, not a PJ (Portsmouth) and we were called The Royal Navy Patrol Service (Minesweeping). We had many names for it, one was Harry Tate鈥檚 Navy. Our Skippers were mainly ex fishing trawler skippers promoted to the Royal Navy with the rank of Captain or Lieutenant, as were some of the seaman ratings that had joined the Royal Navy. My first Draft was to a dirty big trawler, mine sweeping out of Lowestoft, where after the first three hours I discovered I would have to live with constant sea sickness on small ships unless it was really calm. The heroes to me were the Stokers who had to endure shovelling coal in these old steam trawlers, below decks, in stifling heat. Thank God this only lasted 3 months when I was drafted back to the Sparrows Nest where we were issued with both Tropical Gear and believe it, Arctic warm clothing. This was to keep us guessing to where we going, was it Sierra Leone, known then as 鈥榳hite mans grave鈥� or Russian Convoys. All heavily burdened with all this kit we boarded the train to Scotland with a few NAAFI sandwiches & buns arriving at Gourock on the Clyde at night to see silhouetted the shape of that wonderful Liner the QE2.-America hurray! It seems there were twelve crews of Patrol Service ratings going to America to pick up 12 wooden built Minesweepers, which had been built on the Delaware River. Also on board were RAF pilots, crews including Waafs being shipped to train in the States & Canada. What a difference, as soon as we settled aboard, we tucked into white bread, pork chops, French fries, apple pie etc., The QE2 was American victualled, no rationing. We zig -zagged across the Atlantic to avoid the U-boats and eventually arrived in New York. It was fantastic to see all those lights at night after the black out in the U.K. The Patrol Service crews were the last to leave the QE2 and were told on our honour to meet at Pennsylvania station to board the train to Norfolk Virginia at 9p.m. Believe it or not the whole lot turned up on time but not quite all sober and what a feast was waiting for us aboard that wonderful American train. 鈥淒inner is served gentlemen鈥� said the Negro waiters. We just couldn鈥檛 believe it compared to our bags of NAAFI sandwiches on our train to Scotland. To be in America in November 1942 on a train at the age of 18 and being treated like Royalty to a feast of Soup, Roast Turkey with all the trimmings, American apple pie with cream, beer & coffee was like a dream to me. I had always had a liking for the American way of life, being a lover of Jazz, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington etc. and still am at the age now of 81. Further treats were in store for us when we arrived at the Barracks in Norfolk Virginia. We actually had real mattresses to sleep on with sheets instead of straw pall lasses and rough blankets and a PX store where you could buy any thing from motor bikes to chocolate & cigarettes. We were also paid in Dollars some back pay and higher than our rate of pay in the UK which if I remember was only about 拢2 ten shillings a week. I think there were 2 Dollars to the pound in1942 and I鈥檓 sure we had at least 12 Dollars a week; even so we never seem to spend much as most entertainment was free during the 7 months I spent in America. After a short time we were told to go on leave or Furlough as they called it and so back to New York and report to the USO club where they would find us free accommodation. I was one of 12 ratings who were selected to spend my 14 days leave in what I would describe as a Mansion. It was situated in Madison Avenue, a stones throw from Central Park, and it was owned by a Mrs. Stephenson, who I believe was the wife of the owner of Pullman Coaches, who had donated her house for the duration of the war for the use of overseas service men of all nationalities. Beautifully left furnished as if the owners still lived there. On coming down for breakfast, even as late as 11a.m. you helped yourself from heated covered Silver containers, which held every type of food that one could desire and on going out into New York each day there was a selection of free entertainment tickets for just about every Show in the city as well free cartons of different brands of cigarettes. Apart from all this, at the USO club there were invitations to office parties that were being held prior to Christmas and invites from families to visit and dine with them. I can honestly say my 7 months spent in America at the age of 19 both ashore and on trials at sea on our ship BYMS 61 (renamed BYMS 31) was one the happiest times of my life. I could go on and describe in intimate detail the antics I got up to but it would fill a book and I would like to tell you more of the history of these 12 American built Minesweepers.
It took 10 days to cross the Atlantic via Newfoundland and typical of the Royal Navy, we were ill equipped to cope with any U-boats of which there many in mid Atlantic. We were informed on arriving Londonderry in Ireland that we had actually passed through two packs. I had an idea we had in Mid Atlantic when I had stopped being sea sick after 5 days 鈥� (you either died or got over it) 鈥� and I got over it when I realised you needed 5 days at sea in a 145 foot ship to achieve this. I had read from the pink sheets that I was given, being the 鈥淪parks鈥� on board, that there was some U-boat activity in the Atlantic, but having no up to date鈥� day 鈥渃odes to be able to transmit or listen out and W/T silence except in emergencies. I imagine they left us alone as we looked a pretty formidable bunch from our silhouettes with our 3鈥� Gun up on the Foci鈥檚, twin 鈥極rlikon鈥� guns which fired tracer explosive shells, depth charge racks and firing mechanisms, but if only they had known that all we were supplied with when we left the States were about six rounds of 3鈥� shells, limited ammunition for the Orlikons, and half a dozen depth charges. Any way we got away with it and enjoyed the luxury of these modern American built BYMS, with their twin Merlin diesel engines capable of 12 Knots, bunks with mattresses and sheets, ice cold drinking fountains, electric Galley which our Geordie 鈥榗hef鈥� produced wonderful meals from the American supplied food, consisting of fresh refrigerated meat, tinned chicken, turkey, bacon. What a difference from the dirty old steam trawlers we were on in the U.K. We were even kitted out with Jeans and shirts instead of the Boiler suits we had supplied to us by the R.N.
The one amusing incident that occurred in Mid Atlantic was when on one of the BYMS who was transporting some high ranking Officer, who was supposed to be in charge of this whole operation, decided to get out of his bunk after being sea sick for 5 days, not being used to small ships only large ones, decided to test the 12 Skippers and asked them for their positions. Now this entailed using Sextants and most in shore Skippers seemingly could only navigate in sight of land. As we had voice contact ship to ship radio up to a range of 25 miles he decided to use it despite W/T silence, with the message that he considered that they all do their 鈥渉omework鈥� again as 2 or 3 of them were just off Greenland and a couple were near the Cape of Good Hope whereas he could see the bloody lot of them! Like Spike Milligan鈥檚 book 鈥淗ow I won the War against Hitler鈥� I have to agree with him, more by luck than judgement.
I could relate a lot more, but if there are any old shipmates that were in the Patrol Service I would love to hear from them, Just briefly we went from the U.K. escorting M.F.V.鈥檚, after a 14 day leave, down to Gibraltar and then on to North Africa following the 8th Army along the North African coastline and then on to Sicily, Sardinia, and Elba, where 鈥榝ortunately鈥� we had the generator engine break down completely and had to limp our way back to Sicily where we later heard that the invasion up the river Elbe was a complete disaster for the Fleet Sweepers and the following small sweepers being blown out of the water by the German Guns situated on both sides of the estuary. To this day I swear my Guardian Angel was looking after me. We spent quite a long time in Sicily living aboard but literally enjoying the time ashore whilst the generator engine was being overhauled; it was just like being on holiday. We eventually sailed up the Adriatic and finished up being based at Bari where we went out daily looking for mines. On finishing up in Malta, I left the ship, having applied for permission to become an Officer with the Skippers approval and came back aboard the Princess Beatrice, which in peace time had been a cross channel Ferry Boat, but to me felt like a luxury liner, having no problem on a ship of that size with sea sickness, unlike a lot of other returning ratings who had been serving on larger ships. I, for once, was the one asking for any extra 鈥楪ash鈥�.
Needless to say I did not get my commission after completing my coarse back in Lowestoft at H.M.S Europa. It was after D 鈥攄ay and there were too many Sub. Lieutenants 鈥榣eft over鈥� and only those who were willing to sign on for a full term in the Royal Navy were being accepted and so I was drafted to a dirty old steam Drifter, the George D. Irvin which was being used to take stores from Chatham & Sheerness to Ostend and back with scrap metal. Two large tins of cocoa or coffee and 2 large bars of 鈥榩usses鈥� soap would be enough to pay for a night with drinks on the house for three or 4 of us in the Merry Grill night club in Ostend listening to the equivalent of the 鈥楬ot club de France鈥� Jazz quartet.
The 鈥楪eorge D Irvin鈥� was eventually paid off to the scrap yard and back to Lowestoft, where I applied to become an Education & Vocational Training teacher in Commercial Art and on completion upgraded to鈥� Killick鈥�,( leading Telegraphist ) and taught Art to all would be tradesmen from Bricklayers to plasterers, anything to avoid them being drafted to another ship prior to them being demobbed. This all took place at Gunton Hall near Yarmouth, which was a primitive holiday camp comprising of unheated large sheds, with the exception of ours, the EVT instructors, who had all been up rated to Leading Hands. We had a coke and coal fired stove situated in the centre of the shed, whereas the other ratings just froze. In May 1946 I was demobbed having reported back to H.M.S. Europa in Lowestoft and so back to 鈥楥ivvy Street鈥�. I would love to hear from any surviving shipmates who I trained with at H.M.S, Collingwood. I still have a photograph of our Class with all the names signed on it, including Ray Curly who was at St. Philips Grammar School with me. I am now 81 years old and you can contact me by phone at 01922 452707, or E-mail at Geoff_Bannister @ Hotmail.com, or my artists Webb site at WWW.geoffbannisterartist. Com. God Bless you all.

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