大象传媒

Iain C. Macpherson's reference to the 'Admiral Lord Jellicoe' reminded me of aspects of my military service during the Second World war.
I joined a newly formed anti-aircraft regiment/Royal Artillery in 1943 at the age of 18, as a radar gun-layer.
I recall a posting to Benderloch on the shores of Loch Linnhe, in Argyll, where American Liberty Ships sought refuge after discharging their vital supplies of food and munitions at Glasgow.
It was from there that I became acquainted with the 'Admiral Lord Jellicoe', when moving to Scapa Flow. Bording a troop ship at Invergordon, I sailed by night, with naval escort, to the naval base of Lyness on the island of Hoy. Conditions were fairly grim, particularly during the winter months, being billeted in nissen huts heated by peat-burning stoves.
I remember the deafening and awesome occasions when the 'Orkney Blast' took place; usually at night. This was a testing of the islands' defences.
Periodically, a vessel of the Arme Fleet would be declared a 'visiting ship'. There was an occasion when I visited the battleship Duke of York and nearly came a cropper when attempting to smuggle off the ship a loaf of WHITE bread, (a luxury), and a tin of 50 duty-free cigarettes under my geatcoat.
I was granted leave several times during my 14 month stint at Scapa, and travelled on 'the Jellicoe' on each occasion. On the return leg I would pick up the train at York, around midnight. The train was a long one, and left King's Cross station every night at 10 o'clock, bound for Thurso.
On one occasion I remember the train being over-crowded, and servicemen and women, (chiefly naval personnel), were sitting on their kitbags in the corridors. After heavy snow the train travelled very slowly on sections of single line track when heading north beyond Inverness.
On arrival at Thurso in the early hours, a short journey was made by road to Scrabster, where a ship was boarded to make the Pentland Firth crossing, which I might add could be very rough, having myself suffered seasickness on more then one occasion.
By the end of 1944 the anti-aircraft defences were being run down and I retrained as a high grade cypher operator with the Royal Signals, seeing service in Egypt and Eritrea until my demobilization in 1947.

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