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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Shelagh on behalf of Harold and has been added to the site with his permission. Harold fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Harold’s Story
I joined the Merchant Navy when I was sixteen. The Merchant Navy has trained 70,000 on its training ships in the years between 1939 —1966. I was trained in Sharpness in Gloucester on the T.S. Vindicatrix.

I sailed on the Norwegian ship Selbo in 1942. My last sailing was in 1942 when I was eighteen. It was a Merchant navy cargo ship packed stem to stern with four-gallon cans filled with petrol. The holds were filled full with these cans. We had arrived in Algiers on 10th November 1942 and were at anchor there until 28th with German aircraft trying to sink us. We left Algiers on Saturday 28th November and approximately six hours later German aircraft attacked us. They hit us with an arial torpedo. Flames went up about two hundred feet in the air and the surface of the sea was in fire too. We had to jump into the flames when we left the ship.

We had had time to put on our life jackets when the raid had started and my mate, Peter and I jumped together into the flames and water aft of the ship.
We hit the blazing surface and I swam over to Peter but he was dead. It was thought that he had been hit by the propeller when he went into the water.

I was picked up by an armed trawler, the ‘Lord Nuffield’ after about thirty-five minutes. Survivors were taken to Bone in North Africa. I was taken to the 5th General Hospital and after ten days to a fortnight was transferred by train to Algiers where I was in the 94th General Hospital. I was burnt on my arms and face and had several skin grafts. After several months I came home on a hospital ship to Avonmouth, the tanker port.

When I came down the gangplank, I was dressed in army uniform without insignia as my clothes had been destroyed in the sinking of my ship and the fire. There was a sergeant director and there were army, navy and airforce coaches. I stood there being ignored and after a few minutes I asked,
‘Where does the Merchant Navy go mate?’
He said in a very loud voice,
‘Navy personnel over there!’

I was taken to a Royal Navy hospital at Barragurney. I was there for four days when they discovered I was Merchant Navy, not Royal Navy. They told me
‘You don’t belong here, you’re a civilian.’
I was promptly transferred to the Bristol Royal Infirmary where I was treated like a hero not like someone who wasn’t wanted as in the Royal Navy hospital.

I was virtually an outpatient. They were wonderful to me. I slept in the hospital but was allowed out. They had to give me a covering letter to explain who I was as I was in army uniform. They tried to find me civilian clothes which was difficult as I was very tall - I was 6 feet 4 inches! The Salvation Army tried to help find me civilian clothes. They were a great bunch of people, they arranged for my mother to travel from Hertford to Bristol and gave her room and board so that she could visit me in hospital. This meant a lot to us - the Salvation Army really helped us at a difficult time.

I asked for sweets as I had not had any for years and they got a man from the Ministry of Food to come and see me. He gave me about six months of sweet coupons as I had never had any. I had a visit from the Ministry of Pensions who had been trying to find me as I was awarded a 100% Disability pension of £2 a week. This was essential for me as in the Merchant navy we were treated harshly as regards pay. When a ship sank your wages stopped immediately. The favourite saying was
‘You are now unemployed. Abandon ship’

The Merchant Navy lost many brave men in the war and did a lot to help win the war sailing with ships loaded with ammunition, petrol, food and other supplies to areas in need. They got a poor deal as they were considered to be civilians and did not get the same recognition as the other services after the war.

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