大象传媒

HMS Barham 鈥� Eastern Mediterranean Fleet, 1940 (1)

After the action at Dakar in September 1940, Barham joined Cunningham鈥檚 Eastern Mediterranean Fleet based in Alexandria. My father, Surgeon-Commander E.R.Sorley, RN was the Principal Medical Officer and during this period wrote numerous letters to my mother. Extracts from these give an insight to life on the ship during the period October 1940 to November 23rd, 1941.

16th October, 1940: Further comments on Dakar:

鈥淭he censorship ban has been removed, more or less, from the record of our recent activities, I shall expound a little upon my remarks yesterday. The various actions in which we were engaged lasted, off and on, through three days. They took place in perfectly frightful climatic conditions, but everyone in the ship behaved with great enthusiasm and cheerfulness. The temperature in my M.D.S. was between 120 and 140 degrees all the time. We wear next to nothing and sweatted pints for hours on end. Although the ship received several hits, there was no serious damage and no casualties, except a minor one. I must reserve further descriptions until later.鈥�

Talking about actions, I suppose you heard of the Ajax鈥檚 new exploit. Some ships get all the luck. It is amusing about Hearson鈥檚 remark about the 鈥淚talians鈥� having improved a lot has been disproved by his own ship. The Ajax show was a grand example of the spirit of the two Navies - ours and the Italian. Fearlessness and grimness of purpose in ours, and a鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��.in the Italians. I don鈥檛 expect the 鈥淚talian鈥� ships will ever come out again into the sea they call 鈥淢are Nostrum鈥�.

When in Freetown after the Dakar show, I went ashore once only, and then contrived to get two straw work baskets - real West African work - and they will serve as a memento of the Barham鈥檚 adventure there. One - the larger - is for you, and the other for Dansie. I feel Graeme will be more thrilled by the promise of an air-gun.鈥�

21st October, 1940: Alexandria

鈥淚 am hoping to have some more letters from you later on this week. Your next consignment should cover the Dakar period in which you must have been a little worried until you got my cable on the 30th September or the 1st October. I am naturally longing for more news, and this mail problem is most infuriating. Nevertheless, we must consider ourselves lucky, I suppose, that we can communicate at all.

I had a long walk and talk with the Captain yesterday. As usual, he was very entertaining. We walked for about 3 1/2 hours, then came back in time for the tail end of the 6 o鈥檆lock news and a most welcome drink in his cabin.

We are wearing 鈥渂lues鈥� again now, as from yesterday. The weather has been very wet, but now that we are in blues the temperature seems pleasantly low and just bracing enough. I have been ashore three times in less than a week, so things are indeed looking up. George Pitts and I went to a local amateur dramatic show on Saturday night.

I keep wondering when I am going to get a telegram from you. I have hopes for sometime this week - that is, provided you can get the necessary forms in time. I am writing with ill-concealed impatience.鈥�

25th October, 1940: Last comments on Dakar:

鈥淚 must say again how glad I am that you knew nothing of the Barham鈥檚 action off Dakar until it was all over. I can understand how worried my mother must have been on reading the Sunday papers of 29.9.40. It is remarkable that you - who take in the Times - should have missed the small paragraph which gave away the fact of our being at Dakar, and hinted at some damage. The date of the paper was the 26th September, and this small report was only issued by the 鈥淢en of Vichy鈥�. Happily, you must have been so busy preparing to move house that the daily news passed you by. It was very kind of Mrs Cooke(1) to send you a reassuring letter. She is a terrific worker and I believe she wrote to all the Barham wives she knew. Her stamp bills must be tremendous. But even without the news of a certain liveliness in Barham, you must have been quite worried enough by that tortuous journey by car down to Basildon(2).

I keep wondering when I am going to get a telegram from you. I have hopes for sometime this week - that is, provided you can get the necessary forms in time. I am writing with ill-concealed impatience. I do not know anything about our future movements and if I did I would not breathe one word - so all the future is as a closed book. Let us hope the book will be opened one day soon with a big surprise. But that is only hope and has alas! no foundation whatsoever.鈥�

Notes: (1) Wife of Captain G.C.Cooke, RN (2) Near Pangbourne, Berkshire

25th October, 1940: Alexandria; Reference to Plasma

鈥淚 had three letters in yesterday鈥檚 mail, two from you and one from Danson acknowledging my contribution to the Naval Medical Journal on the subject of transfusion. I鈥檒l talk of them in turn. The letter from Surg.Capt.Danson acknowledged the article I wrote on Plasma Transfusion - with special reference to the adoption of this method in Barham. He (guffing a little as usual) congratulated me upon the article being very much to the point, and being of real topical value. I hope he鈥檚 right. In the article, I advocated the widespread adoption of plasma facilities in all H.M.ships on the same lines (or improved lines) as we have managed to achieve in this ship, by good fortune.

I鈥檓 sending this by Air Mail. Please don鈥檛 send to me by Air Mail, because I don鈥檛 believe the Air Service is used at all from England to this part of the world - and much as I love getting your letters quickly, to pay air mail fees is waste of money.鈥�

To be continued

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