大象传媒

I volunteered for the RAF Air Sea Rescue 1941 but couldn't get in, so I volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm, joining in December 1941. I went to Lee-on-Solent. Training took place there and at Leigh, Lancs.

Training was army and commando. I did this because I had very little chance of getting on an aircraft carrier. Didn't like this army training. I wanted to go to sea so I joined the Navy.

I had seen the Army by being in the Home Guard.

I was sent to Havant to do coastal forces training on MTBs - very uncomfortable boats!

Relocation to Chatham followed as a stoker at Chatham Mechanical Training Establishment. I went to the Far East on an old Canadian Pacific liner called the Aurangi - ended up in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa on the veldt. The boat trip took six weeks, all the while dodging U-boats. There were about 5,000 troops of all forces.

We were in Pietermaritzburg for two months, waiting to be reallocated. A lot of training took place in tented camps. There were giant ants and it was freezing cold at night. The ants were unexpected but we just accepted it!

One night, when I was a camp guard, I heard the most hair-raising thing in my life, which I later discovered was a hyena. I've never been so scared in my life!

Had to go to a little place called Volksmeet to find some deserters. Got one at 3am at a place before and was told we would have to walk there. When we got there we were told we were very lucky not to have been attacked by lions but we didn't realise.

Picked up the Canton - merchant cruiser. On it 3 months and went to Mombassa and then went on the Adamant - submarine repair ship. Spent two and a half years working on her repairing submarines.

Always had to be careful Japs didn't find us.

When we were taking Rangoon was allocated to a ship which was taking troops in. We were being shot at all the time.

They went to Fremantle on the Adamant operating up through Banker Straits and into Pacific.

Got six weeks home leave after two and three quarter years.

Hoping to be demobbed but was allocated to Pluto mine sweeper in English Channel.

Transferred to Stavanger in Norway and had to deal with German mines. Very difficult to cope with the cold weather after all that time in the Far East. Took 6 or 7 months off Norway.

Went on to Ireland, the Londonderry, sweeping the Irish coast. Didn't know where the mines were.

I remember being in a patrol in the Far East as the only sailor among army. The patrol was with Kings Own Africa Rifles. The soldiers knew how to melt away but I spent the night under bushes too scared to move. We were under fire from Japanese and it was five hours or more before the soldiers came back to find where the stupid matelot was.

Standing in the ships cutter alongside Adamant when one of the submarines we were repairing accidentally fired a torpedo which hit a tanker filled with crude oil. I was wearing my whites and was absolutely covered in oil.

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