大象传媒

This article is taken from a transcription of an interview with Ken 鈥楴obby鈥� Clark which took place on 11 November 2004. The article records Nobby鈥檚 memories of the Dunkirk evacuation. A longer article which relates Nobby鈥檚 service in H.M.S. Hood before the war and his wartime service after Dunkirk is being prepared. When finished this will be posted in the H.M.S. Hood Association web site www.hmshood.com

Part 1: Joining up, H.M.S. Hood and first Dunkirk trip

I was working at Southampton in 1935 and a mate said to me, 鈥淭here鈥檚 some trouble going on. You ought to join up before you are called up. Why not join the Navy?鈥� So I took his advice and went round to the Navy recruiting office and said 鈥淚 want to join the Navy.鈥� 鈥淲hat do you want to do?鈥� said the recruiting officer. 鈥淚 want to be PTI,鈥� (Physical Training Instructor) I said. 鈥淚 go in for that sort of thing.鈥� He asked how old I was. 鈥�20,鈥� I told him. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e too old.鈥� Came the reply. So I asked what I could join as and he said that the only thing was as a Stoker. A Stoker when he joins up does 12 years and that鈥檚 what I agreed to.

I went round again a few days later to do some tests 鈥� mental arithmetic and that sort of thing 鈥� and they said that I was all right to join up. Next I got a letter and a ticket to go to Portsmouth Barracks.

I went into Barracks for my first day in the Navy 鈥� 7th March 1937. Joe Butcher was the main one that I remember who joined with me that same day. I remember him because I also came out with him. He was in the Hood with me too.

I joined Hood in September 1937 and most of my service in her was in the Mediterranean. I was drafted back to Barracks in Portsmouth in the Spring of 1940. Not long after arriving there a panic was on and we were all told to assemble ready to leave by train. I asked one of the Petty Officers what was going on but he didn鈥檛 know. 鈥淚鈥檝e got orders to march you all down to the station,鈥� was his reply. Off we all went and in due course arrived at Poole. From there we again assembled this time in the jetty ready to be taken out to our ships.

Eventually we were taken out. I found myself with a three badge (long service) Stoker and a Tiffy (Artificer). The Tiffy had never been to sea before. Our new ship turned out to be Despatch II 鈥� a Dutch Skoot taken over by the Navy. Her skipper was Lieutenant Commander FE Wilmot-Sitwell.

My main concern was that Despatch II had diesel engines and I had not worked with them before. There was an engineer on her getting her ready for sea and he said, 鈥淚鈥檒l show you how to start the engine up. Turn the wheel round, set this in place, this in place鈥︹�� and I didn鈥檛 know what he was talking about but it must have been the compression cocks. That鈥檚 what I think it was now but at the time I thought 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what he鈥檚 talking about.鈥� We started the engine going again all Right and he said 鈥淭he thing is, if you start it up and it misfires the first time, it鈥檚 dangerous to try it again.鈥� I asked why and he said 鈥渂ecause it might blow the top off the engine.鈥� Oh!鈥� I said 鈥淵es, because you鈥檒l have two charges in there 鈥� you鈥檒l have a double dose in every cylinder and that鈥檒l blow the top off.鈥� Anyway, we went off up to Portsmouth so that they could degauss us, though at the time we didn鈥檛 know where we were going. The next morning the water boat came alongside and we took on 100 gallons 鈥� that was all the water it would hold in the tank. There was about 9 or 10 blokes plus the skipper in the crew and 100 gallons wasn鈥檛 going to last long. While we were there an AB came along and said 鈥測ou鈥檒l be all right where you鈥檙e going!鈥� and we replied 鈥淲here are we going then?鈥� But all he would say was 鈥淵ou鈥檒l find out!鈥� He wouldn鈥檛 tell us where we were going. He must have known that we were going to Dunkirk.

We sailed again and this time went up to Dover. We had a rather strict Jimmy the One on that ship. Whist we were making our way to Dover he came over to a group of men and said 鈥淭hese men are smoking! Put your cigarettes out! It鈥檚 not stand easy yet.鈥� The Leading Seaman went up to the Bridge and said 鈥淓xcuse me Sir, can we smoke?鈥� And the skipper said 鈥淵es, you can smoke.鈥�

When we got to Dover there were destroyers there loaded with Army soldiers 鈥� loads of them on each ship. We thought 鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a big push in France.鈥� We didn鈥檛 know that we were going to Dunkirk to bring them back! That lot had just come back that day, they had just come in.

We just got inside Dover harbour and it was awkward to drop anchor there. We let the hook down as our skipper had told us that he was not going across the Channel without another officer on board. We still didn鈥檛 know where we were going, even then. Eventually we were ready to go and we had to get the hook up. When we tried a cable caught around the hook. Jimmy came out and said to me 鈥淗ave you got a saw or something, to cut this wire?鈥� I said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not cutting that wire.鈥� He replied, 鈥淵ou get something and cut this wire!鈥� I said 鈥淚鈥檓 not cutting that wire, you don鈥檛 know what it is.鈥� 鈥淒oesn鈥檛 matter what it is. Get on and cut it!鈥� I said, 鈥淲hy not drop the hook again and it might come off.鈥� So we did that and when we pulled it up again the wire hadn鈥檛 gone 鈥� it was worse than ever! Where the 3 badge stoker was I don鈥檛 know. He went across to Dunkirk with us but I never saw him whilst we were at Dover. He was asleep half the time I think. The Tiffy never did anything either. He went down the Engine Room. I don鈥檛 know what happened to those two, they just disappeared.

I had a look around and found a hammer and chisel. Jimmy was still insisting that I cut the wire to free the hook. I said 鈥淚鈥檓 not cutting through it, you do it.鈥� We didn鈥檛 know what the wire was. 鈥淒oesn鈥檛 matter what the wire is,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e need to get away.鈥� 鈥淵ou鈥檙e refusing an order!鈥� he said, to which I replied 鈥測es, I am. I鈥檓 not cutting it and taking a chance.鈥� It was about half an inch in diameter and shiny green. It could have been communications or even power going through it. I wasn鈥檛 going to take a chance. Eventually, one of the Leading Seamen said he would do it. So he got the hammer and chisel and cut through it. Nothing happened. Not that we knew about anyway! Something might have gone out.

So off we went the first time over to La Panne. We anchored about 400 yards off. We then had to take a rowing boat in to pick men up off the beach. At first we were going to put a grass across from the ship to the beach. A grass is a rope that would float. By hauling on this we would then pull the boat in to the beach. But that wouldn鈥檛 work because of the cross current that ran along the coast there. So in the end we had to row. We could bring back about 4 men at a time.

I asked about going but they said 鈥淣o, you look after the engine.鈥� We didn鈥檛 stop the engine and the skipper said, 鈥淵ou go and keep the engine going.鈥� I still didn鈥檛 know what had become of the 3 badge bloke or where the Tiffy was. The skipper always called me 鈥淣obby.鈥� I said to him 鈥渃an I have a go?鈥� but he said, 鈥淣o, Nobby. You keep the engine ready for when we need to get away again. I left it for a while but then asked him again 鈥淐an I have a go? I鈥檇 like to have a go.鈥� He said 鈥淵es, but keep the bows straight and watch the swell as it will take you right up onto the beach.鈥� I did that but the cross current took me a long way along the beach.

When we got to the beach there was a load of sand dunes and a lot of Frenchmen or Belgians. There was an officer bloke with a tall hat and epaulettes all dressed up. The boat was high and dry on the sand but all of these soldiers jumped in. It was still facing inland so I told them to get out. We had to turn the boat round before we went anywhere. I asked if anybody could speak English but it seemed none of them could. I thought I鈥檇 start to push the boat but the tide was coming up. None of them would get out and help to push. They sat there in the boat saying something but not helping. I swore and called them everything! They didn鈥檛 take any notice of me swearing at them. As soon as we managed to get the boat to the edge of the water one of the large swells came in whilst I was pushing on the side. The boat tipped over and most of them ended up underneath. Before we knew where we were we were back on the beach again.

The officer with the big hat and brand new uniform was wet through and started shouting. I said to him 鈥淕et the boat turned round!鈥� The officer got into the boat and sat at the front up in the bows. I told him to get at the stern and eventually he sis. He got his hat back from the water. I wish I knew who he was.

One or two of them got back into the boat and I handed them the oars and said 鈥淩ow!鈥� but they didn鈥檛. Eventually we did get underway and safely back to the ship. That was the first trip across I did and the only time I went to La Panne. I did 3 trips in all. The ship could bring back about 250 men each trip.

We came back to Ramsgate. It took 12 hours to cross the channel each way and we had about 12 hours there each time to load up.

Nobby鈥檚 story continues in Part 2: Back to Dunkirk

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