大象传媒

This regards my father Jim White who is 90 years old and going strong. He joined the RNVR on November 24th 1941 and served in Weymouth, Portland and Gosport before being transferred to the Dodeconese Islands in the Med. Prior to this he was an engineer at Gilberts garage in Lincoln and was a member of the Home Guard.
While at Weymouth he got his commission, needing to do 6 months "sea time" service on MTBs in order to do so. He saw action when they ran into a squadron of German E-Boats they were searching for in the Dover patrol. One boat was sunk (Commanded by Lt Richards who was killed- this is mentioned on page 74 of "Dog boats" by LC Reynolds)-Dad was stationed on that boat temporarily while his boat was being repaired and due to sail with him that night until his original boat was repaired and came back into service that very day- so he had a lucky escape. His oposite number was taken prisoner and aparently had to make propaganda broadcasts on the radio.
He was an engineering officer and worked on MTBs, MGBs and MSBs, they were lined up alongside the quay at Weymouth (where the ferries now are moored) and they went right up to the bridge. There was a block ship in front of the MTBs that would be winched across the mouth to block the harbour in the event of an enemy attack- it was skippered by "spud Jones" who got his name by shipping potatoes to spain during the civil war.
While at Weymouth he met Peter Scott (son of the polar explorer) who commanded a Motor Steam Boat. On one occasion dad had to administer a morphine injection to an injured officer while they were still at sea- he plays down these incidents but I believe it shows what risks he took. It must have been terrifying to be trying to work on the engines, maybe at speed in rough seas knowing that the boat could be hit at any time, and if so- could they get out in time? He talks of seeing other injuries and fatalities such as a person who had his head blown off after looking down the barrel of an orlikon gun at the wrong time or people with terrible burns (with their skin hanging off) after their boat exploded.
Dad lived in the Officers quaters at No 1 Trinity terrace and really enjoyed his time in Weymouth. With another person he set up a Naval base (HMS Bee?) near Portland. The MTB Officers and crew were trained in the old cinema on the quay in Weymouth which has now been replaced.
After he was commissioned he transferred to Yarmouth but was not popular as he set fire to a boat (accidentally!) while working on it. And from there he was transferred to Simi on the Dodeconese Islands where he served from 1943 to 1946. He was the diving officer but aparently didnt have much training in it- only went diving in a hard hat once; otherwise used the submarine escape aperatus. Mainly though he was an Engineering Officer.
He said that "I was just an ordinary person- even when I got my commission I never thought of myself as anything other than an ordinary person"- I find it very special to think of all of the extra-ordinary "ordinary people who served in the war and I am very proud that my father was one of them. He used to tell me his "war stories" as bedtime stories as a child and I was enthralled by them- I feel it is important that this is recorded so that future generations can also know what happened. I will try to get further stories from him before the deadline but felt it was important to get at least this information down. Many thanks.

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