大象传媒

This article is a transcription of a book written by Jack Taylor who served in the Royal Navy throughout World War 2. Jack saw service in a wide range of ships and in many theatres of the war. Another article, written by Jack, about the loss of H.M.S. Hood can be found on the H.M.S. Hood web site www.hmshood.com

A Destroyer and Aircraft Carrier at War
Chapter 4, Northern patrol: Troon and Scapa Flow

We spent the next couple of days making the ship as water tight as possible ready for her journey to a dry dock for repairs. The order came to proceed to Troon, Ailsa Dockyard, Scotland. Everyone was in high spirits because we had been told that there would be two weeks leave each watch and travel warrants would be issued. Several members of ship鈥檚 company were drafted to barracks or to the Gunnery School for higher rating. Among these was Tom Shearsmith who had done a great job over the ship鈥檚 side to bring in the cable.

Troon was a delightful place. Once again, on our way in many people had gathered to watch us berth in the dry dock. Everybody wanted to know us and made us very welcome. Pat Walker, the ladies鈥� golf champion, lived in Troon and had soon organised a dormitory for us so we could stay ashore overnight. She was just marvellous.

The Port Watch went on leave first and we who stayed behind split up into two watches again: 1st part starboard and 2nd part starboard. Work carried on as usual.

I was detailed ass a gangway sentry ashore with rifle and bayonet. My opposite number was Hank Bills 鈥� a great guy and a good shipmate.

While we were in Troon, our First Lieutenant, Richard D Jenner-Fust was awarded the O.B.E. and our Captain was promoted from Lieutenant Commander to full Commander. The Officers鈥� Wardroom presented him with his Gold Braided Cap. This meant passing to another ship. He left us and we were very sad to see him go. He had been given command of one of the new Tribal Class destroyers, H.M.S. 鈥淧unjabi.鈥�

We were in Troon some eight weeks and both watches had a little extra leave and then we were ready for sea again. Our new skipper came on board. He was a full Commander and had seniority which made us half leader instead of canteen boat as we had been. We left Troon with heavy hearts as we had made so many friends. Nearly the whole town turned out to see us leave, cheering and waving. Back we went to Scapa Flow to rejoin the fleet, having to do working up exercises to make sure the ship was fighting fit. We made fast on the destroyer trot as the line of floating buoys was called.

We had to cat the anchor and then break the cable and put a U shaped shackle on and pass the cable through the bull ring on the foc鈥檚鈥檒e head while Able Seaman Fred Castle, who was buoy number, was standing by to jump onto the buoy and make fast.

It was getting towards the end of the year and, after many months of convoy duty, we were getting very tied and Scapa Flow as a base is so dreary and the weather is so unpredictable.

Christmas 1940 was spent in Scapa Flow. We were lucky to be in harbour so we decorated the mess deck and prepared for Christmas dinner. Our cook did us proud once again and had baked a cake for each mess with white icing and the number of each mess on top in pink. We also had plum duff and all the trimmings that went with it. Some of us had saved a few tots of rum from our issue and it made a great time. The youngest seaman was taken aft and was made Captain for the day dressed in the Captain鈥檚 coat and cap and all honours had to be given to him.

Our new Captain, Commander May, with his officers, came to the fore messdeck and wished us all a very Happy Christmas saying he hoped that we would all be home and the war over by the next one.

Christmas and New Year were great snug in harbour. The weather outside was cold, snowing and Scapa Flow鈥檚 landscape was bleak. We had the occasional run ashore at Lyness to the church, army canteen or the Sally Army canteen. There was a naval canteen where we could get a few pints but time ashore was limited to about 4 hours. Many of us did not bother as, by the time the liberty boat, which was a fishing trawler, had been round the fleet collecting libertymen and arrived at Lyness, you had lost an hour and were frozen stiff from standing on the open deck. Then there was a trudge through the snow to the canteen and the same routine back to your ship. Some of the hardier ones enjoyed it but to me it was just a pain in the rear.

We languished on the buoy for another couple of days then made ready for sea again. Another two weeks of convoy duty. This time we were in charge of the escort and when any stragglers had to be rounded up we sent the junior captain off which was what we had to do. When we had been canteen boat, as it is called, one usually got the dirty work and in harbour were nearly always duty destroyer and had boilers flashed up ready for an emergency.

Back once again in Scapa Flow the weather was still cold and blowing we were thankful to be inside after two weeks out on the Western Approaches. Just after Christmas I had put in a request to pass for Leading Seaman and on return to harbour I was told to be ready on the following day as I was going on board the destroyer H.M.S. 鈥淎ctive鈥� H.14 to take the test which consisted of general seaman鈥檚 duties, rope splicing, rigging shearlegs, boat sailing, being in charge of a whaler, preparing lines and cables ready to tow ship forward, semaphore signalling, morse code, reading hoisted flags and knowing water tight doors and what to do in case of fire.

I spent from 0800 hours till 1600 hours in the afternoon and by the time I had finished I had put in a good 8 hours. On returning to my own ship I felt really pleased to be home again as it was to me. Everybody in the mess wanted to know what they test had been like and I said, 鈥淏loody awful!鈥� Leading Seaman Bayley said, 鈥淲ell Buck, only time will tell.鈥� I was not the only one on 鈥淎ctive鈥� taking the test and I wondered how we would fare when all the examining officers put their notes and marks together.

I was back to the old routine again 鈥� sub patrol and convoy duties. On one patrol down Pentland Firth we saw the bows of a ship sticking up out of the sea. About 20 feet of it bobbing up and down like a cork. Apparently the ship had been torpedoed and had gone down stern first and an airlock had formed and she floated bows out. It was a strange sight to see and, being a hazard to shipping, we sank it with gunfire. It was good practice for the gunners.

I had been taken out of 鈥淴鈥� gun crew and made sight setter on the new three pounder ack-ack gun on the position where our after torpedo tubes had been. Leading Seaman Bayley was made Captain of the gun. Able Seaman Harding was gunlayer and Shorty Broughton trainer. We had plenty of action with this gun as, nearly every time we went out to sea on patrol, we invariably got attacked by aircraft. Much of it was high level bombing which was not very accurate. By this time our new leader the 鈥淐odrington鈥� had been sunk by German aircraft off Dover.

Back once again at Scapa Flow it was take on fuel and stores, fresh water, clean ship. Wire scrubbers were issued and guard rails were cleaned of the salt engrained in the wires. This done, the wires were greased for protection. Locking pins in the stanchions were taken out, cleaned and greased so that they dropped down smoothly when going into action and didn鈥檛 foul the guns or torpedoes when trained round on targets.

We were enjoying our stay in harbour and I had my 22nd birthday on May 4th. My mother had sent me a birthday cake beautifully iced with little lifebelts hanging around the sides and an iced ship on the top. There were 16 men in the mess, so I cut the cake into 16 and we had it for tea that afternoon.

Sailing orders came once more. An aircraft had reported a submarine on the surface south of Iceland so off we went on sub patrol. We had been at sea for about four days when we saw the cruiser 鈥淪heffield鈥� steaming west into the Denmark Straits. We exchanged signals and carried on our respective courses. After two weeks on patrol we returned to Scapa Flow with no successes and no kills. Straight alongside the fleet oiler to replenish our bunkers and collect our mail which had been placed on the oiler from where we went to the store ship to take on flour, meat, fresh vegetables, bread and fresh water. This done it was back to the destroyer trot and secure to the buoy.

After two weeks sleeping on one鈥檚 clothes we were able to have a long hot bath and do our dhobing (washing) and get the ship clean and dried out

Jack's story continues in Chapter 5: We found only three

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