大象传媒

Was this the first ship sunk??

DAGENHAM.
Late 1939 or early 1940 I was too young to know. I do remember that rainy day when my Mum my Brother and myself were helped on to the back of a lorry along with many others from Joan Rd. We all wore short trousers then and I remember the rain stinging my legs. We were wet, we were frightened, we did not know what was happening.
We were being evacuated.
I was six my brother was four. We had heard the older boys talk of evacuation but we had no idea what it meant. Now we were finding out. Now it was happening. My Dad stood on the pavement along with the other Dads. There were tears and not just from us wet little kids. At that age when you see tears in the grown up鈥檚 eyes you know something is wrong.
The back of the lorry shook as if it were a dog shaking off the rain. The engine started. We were moving.
That was the last I can remember of the lorry and the journey.
DAGENHAM DOCK
My next memory was walking ankle deep in mud, crowds of us all going the same way. My Mum must have been struggling with the small attach茅 case and some bags of our belongings. At some time she must have asked me to help for I recall struggling along with a shopping bag full of something or other. Even now I can feel it banging against my wet legs. We didn鈥檛 know where for the farthest we could see was the nearest adults wet coat. Soon the mud vanished and we were walking over wood. This must have been the start of the dock.
My memory of the next period of time is sketchy. I know we went on a ship. I know my Brother was frightened by the ships horn. I know it had stopped raining. Yippee!!

SAXMUNDHAM & KELSALE COURT
My memories of this time are made up of short snaps of recollection. I can remember climbing a very tall tree and being too frightened to get down. The people gathered below looked like toys. Mrs Clifford a neighbour climbed up und got me down. This I was told later.
My impression of Kelsale Court was that it was like a wopping great park. We had nothing like that in Dagenham. It was so posh.

THE SHIP
I can laugh to myself when I recall the happenings in the previous paragraphs, but now as I start to write this I still get emotional. People say well you were so young. How could you have those feeling at that age? Well for whoever reads this please accept that every word is true as I remember it.
The day started so well. The dark green coach came into the grounds of Kelsale court. I can see it now chugging up towards the group of townies on that grassy mound. Us children ran up the steps of the coach, shouting and hollering followed by our Mums who tried to restore some sort of order.
Why all the excitement?
We were going to the 鈥楽EASIDE鈥� I for one had never been to any seaside, nor I presume had many of the others. As the coach rattled along the Mums were singing and us little horrors were still shouting excitedly.
We reached Aldeburgh and charged down off the coach onto the beach. When I saw the sea I looked at it in wonder. Little did I know how big a part the sea would play in my adult life.
We settled down, Mums were spreading out cloths ready to have a picknick. We were not far from the lifeboat perched at the top of it鈥檚 ramp.
鈥淟ook at that ship.鈥� Somebody called out. We stopped and watch the ship on the sea making it鈥檚 way past us. Then it happened. The beach shook, the Mums were calling us but I for one was transfixed. The ship we were watching had folded in two. The bow and the stern both pointing to the sky. I did not even look round as the lifeboat slid into the water.
There must have been many things that went on around me but my next memory is the one that has stayed with me all these years. We had all gathered near to where the life boat would be winched up. I could see people on it, black people. The winch pulled it nearer. Now I could see, the black on the men was wet. They were really scary. There eyes peering through the wet black slimy stuff dripping off their faces. That of course was oil, but we had never seen stuff like that. When the lifeboat came level to where I was standing. I saw this boy, he did not look much older than me. He like the rest was covered in oil so was the tiny thing that he had clutched to his chest. He had a kitten also black with it鈥檚 fur sticking out in points. Both the boy and the kitten seemed to look at me. This must be my imagination but that is how I remember it.
All I can remember after that is the ride back to Kelsale court. There was an uncanny silence, a silence I can hear to this day. Now as I look back I can imagine the thoughts of the Mums. The Phoney War was over.
Soon after that we went back home to Dagenham, back home to Joan Road. But that boy and that kitten came with me.

I was told later that that was the first ship to be sunk in WW2. Can anybody verify that?
Joe.

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