大象传媒

Private, 27th Searchlight Battalion

My father Arthur James Henbery was born on the 5 May 1901 in Fulham, London, and at the time of the first crisis he was employed as a clerk-messenger in a city stockbrokers. At their suggestion he volunteered to do something patriotic. He joined the Territorial Army, enlisting on the 3 February 1939 at the Mitcham Lane Unit. His serial number was 2081903 and he became a Private in the 27th Searchlight Battalion.

In August of that year the unit had a summer camp at Bosham and I can remember my mother taking myself and younger brother down to Bosham for the weekend to visit him. I can remember that we were shown the Lewis gun they were armed with. A local man who was in the Navy told us that the fleet was preparing to put to sea and getting up steam - this was just a few days away from war being declared. My brother and I were evacuated and from then on we saw nothing of father, as he was retained in the army.

I understand his unit was involved in sandbagging in and around Portsmouth and at sometime based in Dorchester. In 1940 he was transferred further north and, by the last months of that year, he was billeted in Fleetwood. Ultimately his unit was put on embarkation leave.

Service in Egypt

In December, they set sail from Liverpool in the steamship Tamaroa in convoy. The Tamaroa was the Commodore ship and we have obtained knowledge from Lloyds of its history, which I will recount further on. The convoy was attacked by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, but this departed when the British Cruiser Berwick appeared. The Tamaroa was designated HMT J4 in the convoy.

The route taken was mid Atlantic down to the Cape, then Durban and up to Suez where they disembarked just around the time of the battle for Crete. Some of the unit were sent to Crete where there were casualties of which I have no details. Father had remained in Ismalia and was acting as Batman I believe. He was by now 39 years of age and was unexpectedly (through circumstances) over the age for such a posting.

The unit was now on the defence of Suez and was transferred to the Royal Artillery from the Royal Engineers. Father had two younger brothers, who by now had been conscripted - one also in the RA's, the other in the Catering Corps. This brother was posted to Egypt and on arrival somehow he was transferred to father's Unit and became Company Cook.

Return to England

Father remained in Egypt until 1945 and his service had placed him in Category No. 8 as far as demob was concerned, so at the end of the war in Europe he was returned to England, arriving back in May. His final release took place in Woolwich on the 21 July 1945.

His service was marked by medals as follows:

• Territorial (for efficient service)
• 1939-1945 Defence
• 1939-1945 Star
• Africa Star
• 1939-1945 Victory

Father went back to his employment in the city, a much fitter man than he would have been had this six-year break not occurred, but mother had had a long time without a husband or children close at hand. She had no counselling and was gainfully employed as an air raid warden and a cook for the Londoners Meal Service. As children, we did not see our father from 1939 until 1945.

In turn I was 11 years of age when he departed and was 18 when conscripted in October 1945, four months after he came home. Sent to Northern Ireland for training and posted to Italy in May 1946 where I did my service with the RAMC until de-mobbed in May 1948. So I saw very little of my father between 1939 and 1948.

A history of the Tamaroa

He died in 1961. Among our records, we have father's paybook AB64 and discharge documents, plus medals, and the Certificate from Neptune, received when he crossed the line in the Tamaroa. On the latter, we also have the history of the ship with photographs obtained from Lloyds. It was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast and launched in 1921. Originally named Sophocles for the Aberdeen Line, it was chartered for Shaw Savill Line. In 1940 it was converted to a troopship to accommodate 1,763 men, and used in 1942 in Operation Torch and the first troopship into Bone. After the war, it was converted back to passenger use and the first trip was London-Panama Wellington with 372 passengers. Her last voyage was in October 1956, before she was broken up at Blythe 1957.

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