大象传媒

I want people to know what it was like to be on a troop ship in the Mediterranean, with torpedoes all around. I was 19 at the time, in 1943.

I was on a ship that had sailed from Liverpool to North Africa. There were thousands of us on borad. We trained in Tunisia, preparing to invade Sicily.

We slept in hammocks -- a hundred or so to a level. We kept fit with PT. We were on basic rations -- no alcohol! But they did give us chocolate.

The worrying time was the three weeks spent simpy getting there. You had time to THINK about the U boats that you knew were out there -- you heard about the other ships that had been torpedoed. There was little to do but read magazines, books and letters.
It was liveable -- but I was anxious. You just kept asking yourself -- how would I get off if anything happened?"

THIS STORY WAS SUBMITTED TO THE PEOPLE'S WAR WEBSITE BY JOHN YOUNG OF 大象传媒 SOUTH EAST, ON BEHALF OF CECIL GODDEN. IT HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE SITE WITH HIS PERMISSION, AND HE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THE SITE'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.