大象传媒

Iam a pupil from Prudhoe Community High School, Northumberland, entering Ted Goodachgre's story onto the website, and they fully understand the website terms and conditions of use.

Some idle thoughts on my service in the R.N during the war, my service in the R.N.V (W) R after the war and my transfer to the river in 1960 as a Lieutenant Commander.
It was a long time ago, my memory is poor. I was seventeen when war broke out and like most young people I felt I ought to go in to something more exciting. Having been a member of the Air Training Corps and a stock exchange cadet. I asked our senior partner, Oliver Parker, If I could have an extended lunch hour as I wanted to go an volunteer for the Royal Air Force. I have an aversion to having to queue. When I got to the R.A.F place there was a gigantic queue so I went straight back to the office. My cousin, Bill, had joined the Navy so I thought, 鈥渢hat was for me鈥�.
My father was killed by a motorcar in 1937, he saw the car coming, pushed me out of the way and got killed himself. So my mother was left to bring up the son and two daughters.
I suppose my mother and my two sisters must have been slightly sad (?) at my leaving.
Any way I left and got involved with a bunch of people, just like me, leaving home for the first time. I was then trained as a wireless operator, you know dots and dashes. The pay was not very good, I think we were on three shillings a day (15 pence I think) we went to H.M.S Royal Arthur, which was what we called a stone frigate. It was one of Butlins Holiday camps. After initial training I finished up in Scotland, then went on to Lowestoft to join the Patrol service.
My first ship was a very old fishing trawler with a very old gun on the 鈥渦pper鈥� which the captain, a pre-war fishing man forbid any one to fire, as it broke all the windows in the wheel house!
I spent my first Christmas away from home and was very miserable when the fleet padre came out we were anchored, and the music being played over the Tannoy was 鈥業鈥檓 dreaming of a white Christmas鈥�, I have hated that sing ever since. I stayed for a short while, mine sweeping (which I found mostly boring) then I was recommended for a commission. I left the trawler and went down to 鈥楰ing Alfred in Hove to sit the odd exam and go before a board. I was a little cocky in those days and I remember somebody telling me 鈥業f you fail your board you will be on Russian convoys鈥�, what a load of claptrap I thought, do you know he was right! My board went very well and I was just about to leave the establishment as a newly promoted subby when some old four ringer said to me 鈥渨hat was your mother?鈥� to which I replied 鈥渟he was a women sir what was yours?鈥� I was on H.M.S Orwell doing Russian convoys for the next two years. The next time I sat aboard I kept my mouth shut!
Leave was a matter of luck, when we had a boiler clean, we got seventy two hours leave and I think we had a seven day leave twice in the two years I served on H.M.S Orwell. During the 72 hours leave we were in Scotland and I could not go home. We were invited to a wrenery, having no money we decided to go, seamed a good idea at the time. I disliked women in uniform, I still do. We said good-bye and went back to our ship and sailed for Scarpa flow. I can not tell you what I think of the Scarpa Flow something something a convoy it was nice to be inside.
After a convoy we got three tickets to a base dance (there was nearly two hundred Orwell ships company) and I got one. I have no idea or how and why, one of the wrens at the base dance, (I think the wrens were out numbered, at least twenty to one.)

I met the wren I had seen at Rosyth.
Any way we flogged up and down to Russia which seemed a long way. I proposed, and Cicely (Celia) said yes and we got hitched. The war seemed to be coming to an end so I pushed off to the Far East and became a small, very small part of the American Fleet. The Yanks. Away from London, the girls were more kind, their view was, we are all away from home, what can we do for you. I was a wireless operator on what we called a 鈥楻ust Bucket鈥� was alive with rats, cockroaches and everything else. There was no leave at all you just waited until the war was over and then we hoped we could all go home. I was on watch one evening when I heard the atom bomb had been dropped and the Japs had decided to turn it in. The stokers our ship broke open the officers wine locker and drank the lot.
Mail was a hit and miss affair. Like pay, you could go without anything from home for several weeks.
I finished up coming back to Hong Kong by H.M.S Speaker; a Woolworth carrier then sailed for home in an American Liberty ship George victory which broke up off the coast of Ireland. The American crew were the first away. My return was by lifeboat to have. I think. Three week leave to find I had A little boy called Peter.
I earned four pounds and eight shillings a week and could not get a mortgage. We bought our first house in February 1951. We moved in to Highfield drive in September 1954.

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