大象传媒

CONTINUED

AW HOWORTH 鈥� 鈥淪ONNY鈥�(G4LNE)

鈥淗OSTILITIES ONLY鈥�

PART 2 of 5

As with all good things it ended too soon, and we were soon on our way home again. Back up to Halifax to join another convoy. The Newfoundland Banks lived up to their reputation and gave us plenty of fog. One consolation was that as difficult as it was for us, we hoped that it would hinder the submarines more. We soon started getting rumours about U-Boats being in the vicinity, and everybody was warned to be on their toes.

Things were not peaceful for long. One night the escorts chased around dropping depth charges and we closed up on the guns. Although we couldn't see anything we knew that trouble was near. It was next day but there was a tense feeling all the time. Night came with more depth charging. Then it happened. A ship in the starboard column was torpedoed. It was obviously taking in water and dropping behind the convoy. Next a ship on our port bow was hit. A tanker. Flames shot high in the air. As she was loosing way, we could see men jumping in the water, they were soon smothered in black oil and as she dropped further behind we could see the flames spreading over the sea. An escort was standing by, but by this time we were getting too far ahead to see much more.

One of the Corvettes raced through the convoy using a loud hailer. We heard the message " A U-Boat may be wandering in the convoy lanes, so keep a good look-out, but remember the ships nearby if we open fire".

On the poop deck was an old 4" breech loading gun, a 12 pounder, 1st World War equipment and a couple of 20mm Oerlikon's. We all kept our eyes peeled and were sure we saw a sub to port. Opening fire some of the other ships fired too. We couldn't say if we hit anything, but it helped to relieve the tension, it certainly made us feel better.

The following night a ship carrying lumber was hit. Wood seemed to be everywhere, but it didn't seem to stop its progress at first. Eventually the cargo must have shifted and she developed a list, so they had to abandon ship. We like to think that most of the crew got away.

Convoys had a Commodore in charge. He was usually a retired Captain of the Navy or Merchant Navy, with lots of sea experience and given the rank so that he had overall command of all the ships, including the escorts.

When the Captains went ashore before departure, signals were arranged so that there would be no confusion under all circumstances. Taking advice from the escorts and radio messages, he would order a change of course to make a zigzag and various other manoeuvres. Our Commodore tried to outwit the U-Boats but they played cat and mouse with us for 5 days and nights, and still kept sinking ships. It wasn't until we were in range of the Sunderland Flying Boats that things eased off.

Our quarters were under the gun platforms but owing to a fractured steam pipe we had to try to get some sleep in the crews bunks. No one had slept much for the 5 days and 5 nights so we were glad to get our heads down anywhere. When I was off watch I slept for most of the 8 hours, and woke to find large cockroaches walking over the blankets. It seemed that lots of old ships had this problem. The roaches disappeared behind the wood panelling and the only way to get rid of them was fumigation. It didn't bother me too much at the time because I was so tired, but I was glad when we got back to our own bunks.

Once we got close to the UK we started worrying about leave. If you had 3 months sea time in, you were almost automatically given 7 days leave. As we had only 10 weeks time away we felt sure that we would not get leave. Some of the crew decided to alter the pay books by using bleach and back dating the previous figures to make sure that they all had 3 months in.

Arriving off the mouth of the Humber, it was such a lovely day that we decided to paint the guns and platforms. Everything looked smart as we docked. Getting dressed in our No l's for a trip ashore the air raid siren went, so we went to stand by the guns. The planes started bombing Hull. A margarine factory was hit and blazing oil spread to the docks. People must have been working at the time because there were bodies in the water. We opened fire with the Oerlikon鈥檚 until told to cease-fire by the Port Authorities. We didn't realise till later that wet paint was all over our best gear. Next morning when we reported to the Naval depot they said that owing to the rough passage completed, we were all being sent on 7 days leave immediately. So all the trouble taken to alter the pay books was wasted.

It was lovely to get home again. Everyone had there own problems. Although they wanted to know how things were going at sea they were mostly thinking about work and trying to scrounge a few more rations. The propaganda was telling everyone how well the war was going, but people seemed to know that not all was as it seemed. On this leave Evelyn and I decided that when I returned from my next trip, we would be married. I took with me one of Evelyn's old rings, so that I could buy a wedding ring of the correct size in the States, and maybe have more choice and better value than I could get in the UK.

On arrival back at Hull, the 鈥楨mpire Union鈥� had almost finished discharging cargo and would soon be ready for sea again. Supplies of food in the country were very low, which meant that every ship was being turned round as quickly as possible. So we were soon off to the States again,

Leaving Loch Ewe to join a convoy, a seagull flew in to our rigging and damaged a wing. One of the crew was going to kill it until the 'chippy' stopped him, saying that 'it was a bad omen at the start of a trip to have a dead bird on board'. So he threw it overboard as gently as possible and hoped it would be OK. Prospects didn't seem too good when we found that our station was first ship in the starboard column. Most of the crew thought that our chances were not good; on the outside of the convoy we would probably be one of the first ships to be attacked.

Once back at sea, watch keeping started again. On the 鈥楨mpire Union鈥� we did 4 hours on and 8 hours off so that working 12 hours a day, you managed to get about 8 hours sleep, even though it was split up. A 360-degree lookout had to be kept in all weathers. The slightest wind coupled with the speed of the ship, could make the chill factor very low. Everyone put on lots of clothes, plenty of underwear and shirts, I could see why we were issued with 'long johns', as many jerseys as you could find, (the 'bundles for Britain' were very welcome) on top of which you put on your Navy duffel, and if it was wet weather, oilskins and rubber boots. At the end of a watch you felt worn out with the weight of the clothes. It was good to get down to the galley for a cup of coffee out of the pot on the stove that never went out, or maybe a cup of strong cocoa, and so to bed. The morning, afternoon and first watch 8 till 12 were not too bad, but the 12 am to 4 could be a dreary tiring time, unless of course a whale should blow alongside, to liven things up, it was scary the first time but a welcome change after.

Christmas 1942 saw us in the middle of the Atlantic. We celebrated as well as we could in the circumstances, and most of us had more to drink than we should have. The night before, I gave the Captain a hair cut. He wanted to feel clean for Christmas, and our arrival in the U.S.A. Early in my Navy days one of my mess mates wanted a trim and asked if I could do it, I said I'd try, and didn't make a mess of it, so I was stuck with the job. I got paid, sometimes with cigarettes, money and even dollars, which were very handy as we were only allowed to draw so many on our pay books.

For a short time we forgot the war. Christmas Day and Boxing Day came and went. Everything seemed so peaceful. My watch was at midnight, the morning after Boxing Day. The weather was reasonable, waves only a few feet high, and not too cold. At l2.15 am without warning, a torpedo struck us amidships in the engine room. The pessimists had been right, we were the first ship to go. I was on watch with the Leading Seaman, on the 12-pounder platform. A large winding drum from one of the winches landed on top of the gun and fell at our feet before we had time to move. We both dashed off to our lifeboat station on the Port Side, but found that the boat was already in the water and the falls had been slipped with only one man aboard. We didn't fancy jumping into the sea, so tried to release some of the rafts, but they were all stuck fast. I left the Leading Seaman trying to free one. Over on the Starboard side the boat was in the sea, so I jumped aboard. The ship was sinking so fast that as we cast off, a wave pushed us back on the rails and we sprung a leak. Everyone started to bail with anything to hand. I used one of my rubber boots. Once we were clear, we sat back and watched the Empire Union sink. The bow suddenly rose up, and down she went with the most horrible bubbling sound. It was a peculiar feeling to see our home disappearing. The waves seemed more than a few feet high now. A few of us concentrated on bailing out, while the rest kept a look-out for other ships, hoping we would soon be picked up.

A destroyer came alongside us but was moving at speed, they had ropes and mats over the side but no one could get hold of them, and as they had the rest of the convoy to protect, told us over the Tannoy system that they would be back. More ships were being sunk nearby, the explosions and flames left us in no doubt that the others were suffering. All we could do was to sit back and hope that we would not be forgotten.

Soon we were alone, apart from other lifeboats and debris from sunken ships. As it became light things didn't look so good. One of the Officers on board started organising things for a long voyage. What with the leak and having more men on board than was safe, things didn't look promising. It seemed years since we had been sunk although it was only about 12 hours. The reality soon hit us and we discussed our chances of survival, a thousand miles from the UK, mid winter weather and not much food to keep 30 men alive in a leaking boat. .

Thankfully, during the afternoon, a ship was seen steaming towards us. She kept stopping to pick survivors up, but it seemed ages before she was near us. Ropes and scrambling nets hung over the side and with help from the crew we climbed aboard. As we took stock, we found that most of us were in reasonable shape and were soon having a hot drink and corned beef sandwiches.

Our rescue ship was 鈥楽S Toward鈥�, a Clyde steamer that had been included in the convoy to pick up survivors. There wasn't room down below for everyone to sleep, so some of us chose to find places on deck near the engine room vents. I think the main reason was because we were scared of being torpedoed again, and thought that our chances would be better if we had a deck start. This arrangement was okay for a couple of nights, until I woke to find one of the stewards with his hand in my trousers. I managed to find a vacant bunk after that. Checking up on survivors, we found that 7 of the crew were missing including the Leading Seaman I had been on watch with, the Captain, and 5 of the engine room hands. We soon joined up with the convoy again, only to find that ships were still being sunk. One day someone shouted 'look at that' a torpedo track was plainly seen. Leaning on the rails we saw it draw nearer and we realised it was coming straight at us. We all dashed over to the other side and waited for the bang. . It didn't come. The torpedo passed under the keel and sailed on out of harms way. Our shallow draft saved us.

Gradually we got out of the U-Boats range, which meant that we got back to moaning about trivialities, the food was boring and monotonous, we had salt in the water tanks, which meant that the only drink that was palatable was strong cocoa, but that soon got monotonous too. Then there was always the weather to moan about. Eventually, we arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Royal Canadian Navy took charge of us as soon as we landed. At the Naval Base we had a medical and were kitted out again. All our gear had gone down with the ship, including my hair cutting money and all my mementoes. I had even lost the ring the Evelyn had given to me to pick a wedding ring of the correct size. I bought one anyway by the guess method.

The first night ashore, I remember waking up in a sweat, a bad dream of our experiences. People were good to us, inviting us to all the social clubs and their homes. The hospitality was marvellous. Within a few days we were told to get ready to go to Vancouver on the Canada West Coast - to pick up a new ship. It was more economical to use us than ship out new crews.

Snow covered everywhere, but the sun was shining as we left Halifax, on the 鈥楥anadian Pacific Railway鈥�. Young as I was, I thought the scenery was out of this world. Our first stop was Quebec where I left the train without a coat to look at the shops on the station. It wasn't until I got back that I found out how cold it really was. My hands took ages to thaw out and get life back in them; the pain was terrible. I for one, found out the hard way that the climate in Canada needs treating with respect.

For some reason, we had to stay overnight in Montreal. The Hotel had been booked for us. It gave us a chance to look round, wishing we had more money. In the evening some of us went to the cinema, on to a meal and a few drinks. The more adventurous of our group, visited one of the well-known houses of pleasure and for days we got a blow-by-blow description of the exhibition they saw and what happened after!? Back at the Hotel we had supper, which was served by a pretty young French Canadian girl, and you can imagine 16 healthy young sailors trying to make up to her, which would have gone on all night if the landlady hadn't intervened. We can all dream, can't we?

Next morning saw us back on the train, travelling through glorious country again. Our journey took us round the Great Lakes, wild and rugged with still lots of snow about. From there we were soon in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This was the start of the prairies. The scenery was a bit monotonous, so most of us spent our time playing cards. I'd never played poker before, but I had beginners luck and was soon winning. When some players ran out of money they gambled with their new kit, so that besides being dollars in pocket, I had a couple of extra jerseys and a pair of shoes as well.

We went through Regina and on to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where I remember admiring the Indian souvenirs and especially the Totem Poles. It was something I had read about a lot, and seen on the silver screen. All too soon we were on our way to Edmonton, Alberta. For a reason we didn't understand at the time, we had an overnight stop, so managed a bit of sightseeing and a good meal with a few drinks Next morning we left for our trip through the Rocky Mountains, and there found the reason for our stop in Edmonton. The train before us had come off the track and finished up in the river, at the bottom of the ravine so we had to proceed very slowly. It was all exiting for us but don't imagine it was for those in the train before us.

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