大象传媒

MY CHRISTMAS DAY 1940

By S. Foreman ex C.E A

On Christmas Day 1940 Convoy W S 5 A, consisting of twenty troopships and supply ships for the Middle East, was approaching the Azores when it was attacked by the heavy cruiser ' Hipper'. The' Berwick' was to rendezvous with the convoy at 6am.

On approaching the convoy gunfire was heard and the ship's commander announced over the 'tannoy' that the only known enemy ship in the area was the pocket battleship 'Scheer' - I well remember the shiver that ran down my spine. Fortunately, our adversary was more of our own size and weight, although much more modern.

The`Hipper` was attacking the convoy with her secondary armament and must have been a little surprised when she came under fire from our 8 inch guns. Hits were registered with our early salvoes.

Shortly afterwards heavy metal hit the`Berwick` and the after-end of the ship lost all electrical power. My action station was in the Forward Dynamo Room and although the explosions were felt I had no idea what had happened, but was more than alarmed when water started pouring down the hatch - the exit path. Reassurance came in the form of the Senior Engineer who told me that a shell had entered the flour store, pushed in a few bulkheads but not exploded, hence the cascade, which was being attended to. Soon afterwards a telephone call - "Go aft - Priority. Get power on steering motor and `X` and `Y` turrets."

Up to this moment I had little knowledge of proceedings. The guns forward were banging away , lots of movement of the ship in heavy seas , but the compartments I passed through on the way aft were lit as usual.On reaching the midship flat a marine was guarding the armoured door which opened onto a different world -smoke, fumes,
darkness . Illumination was by torch and the first person I saw was the electrical artificer of the After Repair Party, lying in the passageway. He was unable to give me any information - some form of shock! On approaching the rear end of the ship - chaos. Fire-
fighters, hoses, portable lighting, wreckage. Where to start?

An engine room artificer, with his party of stokers, was trying manually to answer relayed messages to steer the ship -"Could I get some bl- - dy power on?"
This meant getting down a deck to the cable passage to operate the Service Change Over Switch, so gaining an electrical power supply from the port - side ring main. The hatchway to the lower compartment was under a pile of rubble - Panic began to set in !

The Petty Officer in charge of the fire-fighters informed me that a shell had pierced
`Y` gun house, rifled down through the machinery spaces and exited the barbet at
main- deck level. The shell had then carried on down through the Warrant Officers mess and exploded at a lower level. On it's passage down through the barbet the shell caused fire to erupt and having large quantities of lubricating and hydraulic oil to feed on, the fire - fighters were trying to contain something resembling a blast furnace.

At this time E. A Rose,a recent member of the crew, appeared on the scene. Between us we lowered a table cloth through the hole, secured the upper end and I descended
into the unknown. My only light was my torch, almost useless in the dense smoke. The guns were still banging away and I was more than a little apprehensive. More by feel than by sight I found my way through a shattered bulkhead into the cable passage and found the Service Change Over switch.

A massive switch, two hands to operate, pull hard to disengage, slide to the right and
re-make to connect to the alternate supply - "Easy"! One big bang, green flashes and flames leaping at me - my overalls were alight. The shell had ruptured the cables supplying the branch breakers feeding the various services in the after end of the ship and I had put one or more dynamos to earth, hence the fireworks.

After getting rid of the smouldering overalls my first thoughts were "Get to hell out of here." Somewhat disoriented, the table cloth was eventually found and I started the upward climb. Rose, with assistance, thought he would help. I found myself pulled
through the jagged hole above, which left me bleeding from lacerations to shoulders and arms.

It was then I decided to report to the Warrant Electrical Officer at the Main Switchboard, access to which was via a hatch in the mid-ship flat. Back through the watertight door manned by the marine and I was in light, smoke free conditions-
grabbed by the Regulating Petty Officer- a member of the First Aid Party, who persuaded me,` reluctantly`, to down a tot of rum. Meanwhile a sickbay assistant
was slapping bandages on arms and shoulders.

I eventually dropped down to the Main Switchboard where the Warrant Electrical
Officer, the Chief Electrical Artificer and the Chief Torpedo Gunners Mate were in control of electrical services. They were very much aware that drastic things had been occurring and I managed, almost coherently, to give an account of my actions.

We had been at action stations some considerable time and I was nearly shattered,
my nerves were in a like state. The Warrant Electrical Officer calmed me down
somewhat, then persuaded me to commence running emergency cables.

During the few weeks prior to the declaration of war, the ship`s company had been preparing for what seemed inevitable. My responsibilities had included preparing emergency ring main and supply cables for priority services. These cables had been lain out along port and starboard main- deck gangways, ready for connecting to large brass discs fitted at strategic points on the bulkheads. The discs could accept main and secondary
cables, the latter, of smaller gauge, for supplying starters and switches for priority services such as gun turrets, steering motors, pumps and lighting.


Rose and I set to and the emergency ring main cables were connected to the starboard
ring-main. Quite a lengthy operation, carried out in smoke and total darkness except
for our torches. At last we were able to get a supply to the steering motors.
That done our next priority was the gun turrets, followed by ancillary services.
At one point, to enable me to reach the connecting disc I had fumbled around with my feet to gain sufficient height, completed the connection, pointed my torch downwards - I was
standing on the bodies of some of the casualties. I believe I became a war veteran
at that point in time.

It was mid-day before the emergency supplies were run, during which time the ship
had been following the `Hipper`, banging away with the forward guns when
opportunity arose. Poor visibility and lack of speed meant that eventually we
lost sight of her. The captain gave up the chase and reduced speed to inspect damage
to the ship. To everyone's surprise a `U`boat surfaced alongside to starboard,but
the remaining 4 inch gun was unable to depress sufficiently to get her.
The`U`boat quickly disappeared, the assumption being, she had thought she was
joining her chum the `Hipper`. She must have been out of torpedoes because we saw
and heard no more of her.

The day`s excitement had`nt finished. There was another job to be done. One of
the incoming shells had smashed the forward starboard 4 inch gun, killing the crew.
The damage had affected the control circuits of the after gun, which meant isolating
the damaged circuits.

The relevant junction boxes were spattered with blood and solids - not very pleasant!
The job finished - get washed. The blood, soot and smell from human remains seemingly removed, I thought of food and relaxation - so to my mess.

It was 2.30 pm. and my messmates were assembled like a reception committee.
The Chief E.A and the other Chiefs grouped round to discuss the morning`s
activities and we were joined by the mess-man with my belated Christmas dinner, a sausage roll. I took one bite of this Christmas fare and was sick on the deck. Odour from the blood and solids on the junction boxes remained on my hands and was too much for my stomach. The mess-man refused to allow me to clean-up the mess I made on the deck-- and so back to normal wartime routine on this festive day.

Only one ship of the convoy, the Empire Trooper, which carried over thirty thousand men, had to put into Gibraltar, along with ourselves for repairs.

The day after our excitement, Boxing Day, of course, Mr Peters, the Warrant Electrical Officer told me that he had recommended me for a medal and handed me a pencilled copy of his report. This was a very brief account of activities which had taken eight hours to complete. No medal came forth - "Happy Christmas"!

Mr. Peters` report of the After Repair Party`s activities

Shortly after the firing of our first salvo, to my dismay I observed that `X` and `Y` breakers were off. I tried to put them on, the Chief tried, the T.G.M. tried - a new fuse was tried but no luck In the meantime, apart from other alarms, three of our four dynamos fell off by turns and the Chief played a tune on the switchboard - but `X` and `Y` remained dead as a door-nail. I received a request from aft for an electrical artificer and promptly decided on Foreman as the very chap to deal with the situation, as now I had come to the conclusion that all was not as it should be aft. I now had a new grieve, I could get nobody to operate the Service Change Over Switches aft.

But I was right about Foreman. Having negotiated an 8 inch shell hole
with a Warrant Officers` table cloth he did the trick, but alas, the branch breakers were in ruins and he set himself on fire. Sometime later, complete with his shadow, E.A.Rose, he arrived at the Main Switch Board with the news. I managed to persuade
him to deal with `X` and `Y`, but then, as I walked aft when the war was over, I met the two heroes outside the Torpedo Office. I lent a hand joining up the discs. When Foreman pushed the start push, to his surprise and my relief, at last `X` and `Y` went
round! The steering motor long since on, the 50 ton pump, the lights and all, occupy but a small niche in my memory.-- but `X` and `Y`!!
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