大象传媒

The Ship of Dreams

The clock on the classroom wall drifted slowly on towards four o鈥檆lock. It had been a ling afternoon with the teacher droning on about the Celts, whilst my mind was constantly thinking that tonight, after waiting so long, she would at last be mine.

I was eight years old and deeply in love. It had all begun when I first saw her through the shop window, I was immediately stunned by her beauty and flowing lines and although she was a little larger than other models, this only added to her commanding presence.

She was a model ship, H.M.S. Hood, Battle Cruiser and pride of the Royal Navy. I had started collecting model ships sometime earlier, after H.M.S. Royal Oak came to Liverpool and was opened to visitors. After going on that ship, all dreams of driving fire engines or trains faded and I decided that an Admiral was the only career worth having!

Travelling on the overhead railway took on a new significance, as I reviewed the great ocean liners and the many cargo ships in the docks and in the river, with the occasional visiting warship. I began collecting my own fleet of model ships and by letting it be known that I was in the market to swap any sweets or spend any pocket money that came my way, I quickly acquired a growing number of vessels, some with chipped paint from previous battles and others in fairly good condition.

It was during one of my window-shopping trips that I first saw H.M.S. Hood. This was not the usual Dinky Toy type of model, but a one-off special, with moveable gun turrets and realistic decks. It was the obvious flagship for my fleet but the price tag showed five shillings, a sum well beyond the usual sixpence I paid, and more than I had ever possessed!

I went back the next day and many more days after that until I knew I must have her and so began a concerted campaign of fund raising. The neighbours were delighted with the 鈥渁ltruistic鈥� offers to run any errands or to carry their shopping, often forcing acceptance of a reward! Then in the autumn a profitable trade in the sale in school of the apples from our garden tree proved a real boost to my funds. The real breakthrough came with the snow just before Christmas, and the unsolicited rewards from neighbours for clearing their paths, took my fund to the five shillings I needed.

So it was that I found myself, that afternoon, watching the clock and Iwas not alone, since the whole class by now knew of my quest and most of them had been taken to see my prospective flagship and had expressed their admiration.

Four o鈥檆lock came and the rush was on; all the class decided that they must be present at this great event, so we all descended upon the model shop. I went in alone whilst my friends鈥� many faces pressed against the window pane to watch the transaction. The lady behind the counter had by now got to know my face looking in her window, but when I triumphantly held out my hand with my five shillings, she looked sternly at me over her glasses. 鈥淲here did you get this money?鈥� she asked suspiciously. I then produced my list of monies raised and said, 鈥淧lease Missus, I earned it during the months I have been looking in your window鈥�.

All preliminaries satisfied, the purchase was completed and the precious ship in the brand new blue cardboard box was ceremoniously borne out and the contents displayed to the admiring crowd.

There were many sea battles fought out on the linoleum surround of the living room floor with tiddly wink broadsides fired from one fleet and then the other in turn, but for the most part H.M.S. Hood stayed in the safety of the top shelf of the pantry being much too precious to risk being damaged in battle.

My flagship鈥檚 turn came each time I reviewed my whole fleet, when she would be brought out of her box, unwrapped and placed at the front of the lines of the lesser battleships, liners and submarines, steaming majestically an my mind鈥檚 eye to the general admiration and approval of the imaginary crowds and the terror of any opposing nations. As time went by I became a little bolder and my flagship was sometimes introduced into the battles, in which strangely, she was always victorious and was quickly returned to the safety of her box up on the top shelf of the pantry.

In September 1939, war broke out with Germany and warnings went out that we all must prepare for possible bombing raids. This did not really mean much to me but it inspired Herculean efforts from my elder brother, who immediately set about choosing the best location for our protection, which he decided was in the pantry, underneath the stairs. First he set about clearing out the stored items, starting with the stepladders. It was then that catastrophe struck, for the top of the ladders caught the blue box on the top shelf and down came H.M.S. Hood to shatter on the stone floor! My ship of dreams had been destroyed.

The whole house was devastated by my loss and although my brother tried to obtain a replacement model, the war situation meant that all manufacturing efforts were concentrated on building real ships and not models.

My fleet did not seem the same after that and eventually passed to my younger brother, whilst I, now ten years old, turned my attention to wall maps on which I pinned flags to show the major events of the real war, which came over the radio at news time.

So it was on the 24th May 1941 I heard the news that the real H.M.S. Hood was at sea and closing on the Bismarck! I pictured her ploughing through the waves, invincible, as she made ready to destroy the enemy.

No-one could anticipate that the next minute, a single ranging shot from the Bismarck would penetrate the deck of H.M.S. Hood and explode in her magazine, blowing the whole ship to pieces!

1419 good men perished that day, each of them taking with him his own and so many others鈥� dreams of a future, all gone in the Ship of Dreams.

This story was submitted to the People's War site by 大象传媒 Radio Merseyside's People's War team on behalf of the author and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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