大象传媒

I was five months old when the war started. I remember things from 1944, though. The River Thames was much busier than now. My father was a tug skipper. He'd bought a tug, and shared it with two friends. Because of this, my father was called up for the navy.

He was made an officer immediately. He had to go onto a parade ground, and there was an order to run or march at double quick time. My father started to do this immediately, but was told "Not you, you're an officer!".

Off on the South coast of England there were enemy submarines. We had patrol boats which were trying to find them at locations along the coast, where fuel dumps and tanks of fuel were kept for petrol boats. My father's job was to take the fuel tanks from the dumps to the patrol dumps by towing the fuel tanks behind a tug. The fuel tank broke loose once in bad weather. The Royal Navy officer told him to let the tank go, but my father and crew retrieved the tank, and were later commended for their action.

I remember being at home with my mother, and we would hear the doodlebugs going overhead, and we would always get under the table, listening in case the noise stopped, because if it stopped it would drop and explode.

My father had "seamen's rations", which enabled him to drive to various places using his petrol coupons, which he also used to give away.

I am also told of when I was a baby, we were at a caravan at a village (near where Harlow is today) which was next to a haystack. A bomb dropped on the other side of the haystack. Another bomb dropped in front of the farmer's house, killing everyone in the house except for my cousin, who was asleep upstairs. My father was in a pub, which was also severely damaged by another bomb. My father hurt his shins on a seat outside, running out of the pub!

On VE Day, my father had arranged with the captain of a torpedo boat which was moored in the Thames to take visitors from the celebrations on the Embankment. I fell through a hatch which had acidentally been left open, and was lucky not to have been killed since I fell past rifle racks.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE SITE BY JOHN YOUNG OF 大象传媒 SOUTH EAST TODAY ON BEHALF OF WILLIAM POCOCK. MR POCOCK UNDERSTANDS THE SITE'S TERMS AND CONDITIONSN.

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