大象传媒

I was only 18 years of age when I joined the Royal Navy on January 2nd 1942. The first three months were spent training at H.M.S. Raleigh in Plymouth as a Landing Craft operator, followed by a short spell of home leave before being sent to Chatham to await my first posting. It was back to Scotland and the small town of Inverary where I joined H.M.S. Quebec, attached to Combined Operations (The Navy Commando Unit)Flotilla 190. The small town was heavily populated at this time by the armed forces, mostly Canadian but also the British. Next I was sent to H.M.T. Etterick, a carrier of LCM and LCA Landing Craft. After many weeks of Landing Craft Assault Training with soldiers on the shores of Loch Fyne and St.Catherine, the Etterick slipped its moorings and sailed to Dartmouth before going into action at Dieppe. Sadly the raid on Dieppe will go down in history as a disaster, costing the lives of many soldiers, mostly Canadians. Unfortunately I injured my left arm and had to spend a few days in Hasler Hospital, during that time the Etterick sailed, and with it all my ship mates.My next ship was the Strathmore which took me to India. When on shore leave in Calcutta I was recognised by a fellow Kilmarnock man who was having a few days leave from the front line in Burma, where he had been serving with my brother Jim. I did the obvious and gave the chap my new Post Office address to pass to my brother and we made contact. Eventually Jim and I managed to arrange leave at the same time and spent 10 days together in Madras.
My brother and I were very lucky, we both survived the war.

Many years after the war, I was watching a TV documentary about the Navy and its part in World War II. I was saddened to learn that the Etterick was torpedoed and sank in the Meditteranean with the loss of many men. So many times when I reminisce on days gone by, I finish my thoughts with the following - there but for the grace of god go I.

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