大象传媒

" A Salvage Job"

(extract from unpublished autobiography of L.D.W Rees written in 1970's)

The job was now a salvage one. Ohio was slowly but surely sinking and it was going to be a race against time. Captain Mason thought she might break in half. If so, he was confident that both halves would float and consequently the job might become easier. For the remainder of that day and all through the night of 14/15th we pressed on.
During the late forenoon a few of us buried Gunner Brown quietly from our quarterdeck; Captain Mason read the simple service.
A little later it dawned upon me that here we were lashed alongside an abandoned ship. What were the rules of salvage? I asked this of our Engineer Officer, Lt. Cmdr., Sweall, who was sitting on the engine room hatch. He thought it was legal to take anything you liked off the Ohio, but that you must not take anything belonging to crewmembers.
I took him at his word and climbed over both ships鈥� guard rails then ambled up to the Captain鈥檚 quarters. Remembering the Engineer鈥檚 warning I looked carefully around. There were three beautiful armchairs in the day cabin and I concluded that they could not be personal property. I took the first one over to the Penn and made two further journeys for the other two. I put one of them in the First Lieutenant鈥檚 cabin and another one in the Torpedo Gunners鈥� cabin. The third I took down to the Central Store; this was going to be mine. This started a general souvenir hunt especially amongst the survivors of the American ship Santa Eliza.
When you are in the sort of situation we had been in, and still were, one of the things you do not worry about is food. I remember only eating one big corned beef sandwich in the previous 72 hours and yet did not feel hungry. The survivors had had nothing to eat since coming onboard, but believe me, no one was complaining. The important thing was that we were still afloat. However, while stowing my armchair in the store Jack Dusty asked me to help by going down to our provision store and getting some boxes of raisons and sultanas. We did this and then placed them around the upper deck for men to help themselves.
Whilst we were doing this, the penny dropped. I said to Dusty, 鈥淗ere we are alongside a large ship which must have a refrigerator aboard. What about helping ourselves?鈥�
All destroyers were victualled on a system called 鈥楥anteen Messing鈥� which meant that basic foods like meat, flour and tea were issued to each mess according to the ration in force at the time. Each mess was then credited with a sum of money: so much per man, per day, and out of this money the mess caterer bought other foodstuffs through the NAAFI Canteen or from Jack Dusty. This ration money was never enough to allow for four meals a day, consequently for breakfast in 99% of destroyers鈥� messes, you had a cup of tea and a cigarette. The caterer would concentrate on a good diner and an evening meal.
The thought of free bacon and eggs was too much for Dusty and myself and we were over the guardrails and down to the Ohio鈥檚 refrigerator in no time. My first journey out was with a box of eggs, but on the way along the iron deck I had to pass through the survivors. The thieving lot! By the time I got to the Petty Officers鈥� Mess I only had the bottom row of eggs left. Still, we made several journeys and amassed quite a store of bacon, eggs and butter which was placed in Penn鈥檚 refrigerator. Our mess had a bacon and egg breakfast for the next two months and no mess bill to pay. By now, just about anything worth 鈥減inching鈥� from Ohio was onboard Bramham and Penn.
Just before dark on the 14th we could see the promised land of Malta and were now near enough for tugs to come out and help. The Rye slipped her tow wire and Robert, the largest tug, took her place.
An extraordinary thing happened then. We had gone through the last few days and nights of mayhem without any real damage whatever but we were destined to enter Malta harbour with a great hole in our side. When the Robert took the first strain of towing Ohio, the same thing happened as when we had tried it alone. Ohio was simply too heavy; the tug was pulled backwards in a wide arc and failed to slip his tow. Robert鈥檚 stern crashed through our ship鈥檚 side and into the Wardroom. Good job there was no one in it. Varied, weird and wonderful were the words of abuse hurled at the Tug Master from our bridge.
At dawn on the 15th we could see the entrance to the Grand Harbour but it was still very much a race against time. Ohio was sinking at a rate of nearly six inches an hour.
Our Engineer had by now got portable pumps from Penn into the Ohio鈥檚 engine room. They were pumping out water as fast as they could but it was still a losing battle for the water was rising ominously. The tow wires had parted on more than one occasion and how they were ever replaced I do not know. The ship鈥檚 companies of Penn, Bramham and Ledbury had had enough. At this stage we were nothing more than walking zombies. The gunners were gazing out with wooden eyes and many of them were asleep at their posts. I do not believe we could have repelled another air attack.
A little after 8 o鈥檆lock we entered the Grand Harbour to the ringing cheers of thousands of people and a welcoming military band. Without showing off I think I can say that we had earned the cheers, and the band.
In less than an hour the life saving fuel and kerosene was being pumped out of Ohio. She sank right there alongside the wall, her keel coming very gently to rest on the harbour bottom. What a ship! What a fight!
We had still suffered a tactical defeat because we had lost too many ships, but we had gained the biggest strategic victory of the war so far and the arrival of Ohio鈥檚 cargo clinched it. Victories in North Africa, Sicily and Italy could now follow.
Captain Mason of the Ohio was awarded a well-deserved George Cross for his epic fight to save his ship. My Captain, Lt. Cmdr. Swain was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and our First Lieutenant received the Distinguished Service Cross for their outstanding service.
I got Capt Mason鈥檚 best armchair, which incidentally we still have. I also got the Ohio鈥檚 red ensign, which we used to bury Gunner Brown. In January 1947 I received my share of the salvage money, namely
拢12-5s-0d and in 1962 the Sunday Despatch paid me 拢10 for a picture of Ohio to illustrate an article they were doing on this convoy. If you add in the free bacon and eggs I did not do so badly after all.

[Jack Dusty is a naval term for a storeman]

Leslie David Winstone Rees was born Aberdare, S. Wales in 1911. After two unsuccessful attempts to run away to sea he finally joined the Navy in 1926 as a boy seaman. When he retired in the 1970's he was a Lt. Navy recruiting officer in Wrexham. N.Wales. He died March 1986.

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