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This story appears courtesy of and with thanks to The Liverpool Diocesan Care and Repair Association and James Taylor.

Mr Peter Burns, who was born in 1916, was already in the Navy when war was declared:-

What ship were you on at the time?

The Heythorpe.

Can you tell me what happened?

It was a routine convoy, September 20th 1942 from Alex (Alexandra) in Egypt. The captain was trying to give us information. You see, the reports they get from the Admiralty is secret. So what they do is have a loud hailer from the bridge and the captain lets the crew know what鈥檚 happening from there. It was about ten o鈥檆lock in the morning when he informed us about the U-boat in the area and for us to be prepared. He was right too. About eleven o鈥檆lock we were on the mess deck listening to the captain speaking. Only for that a lot more people would have been killed, because he had everyone together. Unfortunately the torpedo hit the part of the ship where the ammunition was and it killed twenty-five instantly. We didn鈥檛 sink right away so what we did was get through the mess deck because it was daylight there and we could see what could be done. We all split up because we knew that we鈥檇 been hit and the ship started to list.

Was there panic?

No, there was no panic. Everyone knew what had happened and, I know it鈥檚 not a nice thing to say, but we were used to it, we had to react to anything. I bumped into the first aid man and together with about four other men we dashed up to where the explosion took place and the first thing that greeted my eyes was a young kid about sixteen. I鈥檒l never forget it, he worked for the N.A.A.F.I, two of my mates were bringing him out and he had a bandage over his face. He was blind from the blast. Then I saw another mate of mine, I knew who it was when I saw him on the floor because he had white blond hair. When me and my mate picked him up it was awful; he was like a bag of jelly. He must have been blown over twenty odd feet. He was dead of course and we just had to leave him. There were others just floating but they were dead and there was nothing we could do. So a couple of us went down to the gear room which contains the steering, the shaft of the ship. What had happened, the destroyer when it struck, the stern of the ship had broken the propeller shaft, and we couldn鈥檛 go under our own steam. I then went down to the gear room which contains the turbine part and a couple of us got some hammocks to put round where the shaft had fractured, but we couldn鈥檛 stop the water from coming in. There was two P.O鈥檚 there and they said, 鈥淐ome on, let鈥檚 get out of here.鈥� So we went on the upper deck and closed the hatches to save any more water going in. Then we went along to the sick bay to help the first aid man. There was quite a few wounded laying inside the sick bay on the floor. Most of them were shock or minor injuries, but the total that died was twenty-five. I went to the upper deck where most of the crew were, because if they had stayed down the ship would have sunk much sooner than what it did. The skipper shouted to us 鈥淗ave you had a tot of rum yet?鈥� We all said 鈥淣o!鈥� So we had a tot of rum and then went down again to see if there was anything that could possibly be done, but there wasn鈥檛. I thought the skipper would have abandoned ship but he didn鈥檛. He got a destroyer to take a tow, like a steel wire, to take us into dry land and beach it. We were towed for a few hours but it didn鈥檛 happen. She just took a bit of a tumble and the skipper decided to abandon ship. We all got into the boats and went to another destroyer. There was no panic we just got into the boats, what we call 鈥榳haler boats鈥�. They use them for fire drill and things like that, you know. Anyway they took us to this destroyer where we鈥檇 be safe.

Do you remember what it was called?

Yes, the Exmoor. We watched as the Heythorp went down. Ah! It broke my heart, she was a lovely little ship. Strangely enough, this always happens, we were all by the guard rail having a look to see how she went down and, I鈥檒l always remember this, she disappeared from view and the next thing she came back up again for about five minutes and then went back down again. There wasn鈥檛 a dry eye around.

What happened to the U-boat that torpedoed the ship?

Well, they might have got it because they knew the number of it, 652 it was, so they must have sunk it to know that much. Anyway when we were aboard the Exmoor they decided to land us, the company of the Heythorp, at Tobruk. There was about a hundred of us and we鈥檇 lost everything, so they gave us battle dress. I looked a proper 鈥榥ana. We had a good time for a couple of days they took us downstairs and gave us a drop of whisky.

Downstairs where?

It was an old hotel in the Tobruk area, used by the army because the Arabs had all gone. They were very pally and they knew what had happened because they weren鈥檛 far and could see what was going on. So they had a radio there and I was always keen on that and I went up to the Sergeant and asked if they had broadcasts, you know from Germany. That song was out at the time 鈥楲illie Marlene鈥� 鈥淯nderneath the lamppost by a 鈥︹�︹��. That was the first I鈥檇 ever heard it and I loved it. Lord Haw-Haw was a traitor. He was an Englishman that was working in Germany for the Germans giving false information, naming all the pubs in Liverpool, most of them along the Dock Road. The Dock Road got a good belting during the war. He was hanged after the war as a traitor.
So they said they wanted the ships company of eight officers to get ready to go back to Alexandra but little did we know we were going to get back. We were taken in an army convoy, lorries, and the blizzards were terrible. The old army lorries were covered over with canvas so we thought if we were in a sandstorm we wouldn鈥檛 get much of it, but there鈥檚 no protection with these canvas sheets. I was glad when we got there.

How long did it take?

About a couple of hours, three maybe. We arrived and they kitted us up in our usual gear and took us to a hotel, really lovely it was, and we enjoyed ourselves. The hotel was right on the sea front and we could do what we liked, go where we liked.

Do you remember the name of the hotel?

No, but I should think it will still be there. After a while I was told to report to the officer in charge. I knew what it was because I had been expecting it. I was to have an exam for promotion and so I went to school for a while. There鈥檚 four stages, Stoker First Class, Leading Stoker, Stoker Petty Officer and Chief Stoker. Well it was the middle two that the exam was for and I passed them. After I passed the exam we were put on a troop ship and taken to Durban, a lovely place. The intention was to get us away from the war for a while and we had a good time there.

How long for?

For about ten days, I think. Then I was sent for to go on another ship, which was the Devonshire, a cruiser. We then went to Australia, Sidney, Brisbane and then we made our way home. I鈥檇 been away for eighteen months and I was made up. I was at the barracks and I was given the job of looking after the young kids, what to expect without being cruel. After that I was put on the Anson and this is the one that enabled me to the Russian convoy, it was a battle ship.

What year was this?

It was 1944. I spent a little while on the Anson and then they sent for me after about twelve months, and said I had been promoted to Chief Petty Officer. So because of this promotion I couldn鈥檛 stay on the Anson because it would have meant me being familiar with the blokes I knew. I was glad to get away really. I went back to the barracks and then went on a ship called the Artifex and that was my last ship before the war finished.

Earlier when you were on the Anson you mentioned the Russian convoy; can you tell me about it?

We used to take part in convoy work and it was rough then, the weather. The Russians were in a desperate situation for arms and supplies and that. It was a routine convoy really.

Had the war ended when you were on the Artifex?

Yes, after the war in Europe but the Japanese were still fighting. Our orders were to go to Australia and link up with the Yanks out there. The idea was to work with them and what we used to do when the Yanks went into action, because they were more geared up than what we were, was to go so far behind them and if any American ship got damaged in action she could fall back to any repair ship to get repaired. It was a good thing too. I saw some sights as well. I remember one of these Kamikaze planes hit a flight deck, we could see it from a distance. The war was coming to an end then gradually. And when they dropped the atom bomb of course that was it. So I was instructed to go to Hong Kong at full speed with medical supplies for the hospital there because there was two concentration camps there with our soldiers in. I was shocked when I went ashore one day. We passed a couple of nurses in the street and they were pregnant, you know, they鈥檇 been ill-treated by the Japs. I thought it was terrible especially as they were nurses. We found out they鈥檇 been raped and everything. Well, my naval service ended there and I was sent for and told my time was up. I thought thank God for that.

Were you glad?

Oh yes, I was glad. I would do the same today, but I鈥檇 had enough. There was an aircraft carrier waiting in Hong Kong harbour to take back the soldiers that had been in the war camps, I had to turn and walk away, I couldn鈥檛 look. The men couldn鈥檛 walk, they were skeletons and the sights were terrible. They had uniforms on them, but they would have been better without them. They were just hanging on them. Some of them were being helped onto the ship. It was sad, a sad thing too see.

You left the Navy and came home again. Can you tell me the state of Liverpool at that time?

I came out of the Navy in July 1946 and my first reaction was 鈥淚鈥檓 glad this war is over.鈥� The first thing I did was to walk around town looking at different places that had been bombed. Lewis鈥檚 was completely demolished, Queen Victoria Monument had been hit, everything around there Bold Street, Church Street, they were all in a bad way. The Town Hall and the Square had got it. There was so much damage that I was amazed at what people had gone through. I remember one time when I was on leave, my wife and her mother went down to the shelters but I said I鈥檇 stay in the house. This particular night they were dropping incendiary bombs, and they were spreading them out. The idea was to light the place up so that they could see where they were going. We had anti-aircraft guns in every street nearly and every time they let fly it shook all the houses. They didn鈥檛 need to bomb the place, the anti-aircraft guns were nearly as bad. Anyway, this night I decided to stay in the house, the raid wasn鈥檛 a very long one, about an hour or so, but when my wife came back from the shelters she found me sleeping on the couch. I hadn鈥檛 even woken up during the bombing.

Did you lose any of your family during the bombings?

No, but my sister-in-law鈥檚 house was badly hit by incendiary bombs. In actual fact she couldn鈥檛 live there for months while it was getting repaired. We lived with her at the time, near Bibby鈥檚 in Great Howard Street, it was terrible damaged.

Were they in the shelters at the time?

Yes, and I was away. In actual fact they were in the overhead railway by Tate and Lyles. The archways were used as a shelter at that time. My sister-in-law was re-housed just by Everton鈥檚 football ground.

Did she get any compensation for furniture or bedding?

No, things like that weren鈥檛 given then. They were re-housed usually on the outskirts, you know, Kirkby way. They were evacuated sometimes and they were usually sent out to Kirkby for that, the reason being was there was a German prisoner of war camp there and people used to sleep rough up there. People thought that the Germans wouldn鈥檛 bomb their own people in the camps so they were protected there. The camp was lit up with the German swastika on top and of course Kirkby was just open land at the time. A lot of people used to go up there and it was a good idea because it was never bombed.

鈥楾his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by 大象传媒 Radio Merseyside鈥檚 People鈥檚 War team on behalf of the author and has been added to the site with his/ her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.鈥�

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