大象传媒

On Saturday the 26th of January we said cheerio to the odours of Hong-Kong and left for 鈥淜ure鈥� which is on 鈥淗onshu鈥� the southern-most island of Japan. The sea was calm on the day we sailed m just a slight breeze m the sky was over-cast and dull, there has been rain the night before.

The first stage of our trip was quite nice but it was rapidly getting cooler as we headed north, we again passed round the seaward side of Formosa and headed for 鈥淥kinawa鈥� by the time we arrived there it was quite chilly with a strong wind blowing. It was a four day trip so that made the date of our arrival the 30th of January.

Okinawa seemed a very desolate place judging by what we could see of it from the shop, we were not allowed ashore. The amount of shipping that is lying there beached and derelict is astounding, all the beaches as far as the eye could see were absolutely cluttered up with it, just lying where they had been run aground when the American forces landed there, others were lying on reefs at the entrance to the bay while still more had been sunk in the bay itself and all that can be seen of them is the upper-structure.

We only stayed there 24 hours so noon on the 31st saw us underway once more, it was pretty rough when we left the shelter of the island, due to the high wind, the sun was shining but had very little heat. A flotilla of Mine-sweepers had joined us at Okinawa and were to accompany us to Kure, and it was from one of these that were receive a signal about tea-time to say she had been collision with an American shop and was putting back into Okinawa and requested is to put back also in case she needed assistance, so back we went and arrived there at 8pm to find that the sweeper was capable of looking after herself, so we dropped anchor and spent the night there, leaving again early the next morning the 1st of February. What happened to the rest of the Mine-sweepers after that I do not know they were never seen again, and we went on our own.

The weather was stormy and the sea choppy, the sun breaking through occasionally, it was during one of these bright periods that a large school of Porpoise started playing around the ship, leaping high out of the water and dropping back amidst a smother of spray.

Japan was sighted on the 3rd and our first impression was a very rugged and mountainous country with numerous islands and jagged pinnacles of rock lying close inshore, one Scotsman remarked that it looked like a certain part of his home-land. I wouldn鈥檛 know, never having been there.

We followed the coast for quite a while and then turned thought a narrow channel into the Japanese Inland sea through which we threaded our way along narrow channels dotted with islands, some of these islands are heavily wooded right down to the waters edge with Fur, while others are cultivated in the peculiar but very picturesque manner of the Japanese, which is a series of steps, imagine a broad staircase with the upright face of each step made of stones, and the flat of each step is the cultivated part that is a rough idea of what the islands look like, the steps start at the shore and go right up to the summit so that every bit of these otherwise useless islands is producing crops.

That night we dropped anchor as it was unsafe to proceed during the darkness owing to the islands and un swept mine-fields. On the next morning we were off again passing Japanese villages all with that picturesque or the stepped mountain sides.

About 1pm we saw 鈥淗iroshima鈥� away in the distance to port, I鈥檒l have more to say about that place later on, and then about 2pm rounding one of the headlands we sighted our destination 鈥淜ure鈥�.

As we drew nearer and could make the place out we could see that the dockyard was one mass of wreckage, part of which was still burning, I found out later that this was a large coal dump that had been set alight by the bombing.

The anchor chains rattled down and we were there, this was about 4pm on the 4th of February. There were several American ships in the harbour, but most prominent of all was the shipping with the emblem of Japan painted on their sides - the blood red sun on a white background - the weather was cold but sunny and on the mountains at the back of the port could be seen snow.

Its amazing the change in climate in that 1,000 miles from Hong-Kong to Kure, Hong-Kong is really hot while Kure only that 1,000 miles away is as cold, or even colder that the north of England.

I suppose the reader is wondering what kind of ship this is and what is the object of coming out here, well one thing at a time please.

I鈥檒l start by giving a brief description of her 鈥� she is a 10,000 ton repair and maintenance vessel which means to say she has workships on board of varying sorts, with a large machine shop for turning out spare parts, a joiners and shipwrights shop, blacksmiths, welders and electrical repair shop and she also has a large bakery so that she is able to supply any craft such as mine-sweepers and the like with bread. Her speed is about 12 knots.

The object of her coming to Kure is to repair the dockyard and to make a survey of the harbour bed locating any wrecks that may be there so as to ensure for the shipping that is to come later that it is safe.

The shipping that is to come carries the Australian occupational troops. Also her job here is to rig up workshops ashore for the repair of motor transport.

It is expected that our stay here will last about three months.

鈥楾his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 war site by Jim Salveson of the CSV Action Desk 大象传媒 Radio Stoke. On behalf of Eric Lawrence Smith and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.鈥�

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