大象传媒

I Joined the Baron Graham at Greenock on the 28th September 1943 as E D H.These ships were known as Hungry Hogarths. What a sight she was! An old rust bucket with a woodbine funnel and covered in coal dust as she was taking on a cargo of coal. After signing on we were issued with a tin mug, plate and galvanised bucket. Home was the fo鈥檆鈥檚le my bunk next to the starboard side hawse pipe. In any sort of sea the anchor and cable would rattle in the pipe next to my head making sleep almost impossible just to add to the benefit of a straw mattress. The fo鈥檆鈥檚le was shared between the seaman and firemen, the only form of heating a coal fired stove. At sea we had Electric lights, but in harbour we had to use oil lamps. The only way to obtain water for washing was by hand pumping water into a header tank and filling your bucket. If you wanted the luxury of hot water you then had to take the bucket to the galley and hope there was room on the coal fired range to heat it up.
The cook was a sight to behold! Standing over his bench mixing the dough for the bread, sleeves rolled up. Top part of arms black with coal dust, lower arms and hands white with flour. As with so many ships of that time there wasn鈥檛 the luxury of any refrigeration onboard, so after a few days at sea the staple diet was Bully beef and flapjacks.
Before the cargo had been fully loaded it was all removed and we moved the ship to Port Glasgow where we were given the option to sign off the ship or stay for a special trip. Extra gun positions were fitted on deck and ballast loaded.
We sailed in ballast to Penarth in Wales, loaded old army vehicles as cargo some on deck and extra guns for defence plus army personal to man them. Sailed for the Isle of Wight at a sedate six or seven knots and anchored in the Solent in the company of twenty other old tramps.
After a few days we sailed for the French coast and sailed up and down. Hoping to draw out enemy E boats but they did not come. During this time the Bo鈥檚un would wear his best suit under his overalls, as he wanted to make sure he had it with him if we were attacked and had to abandon ship.
When it was realised the Germans weren鈥檛 going to take the bait the convoy was dispersed and we sailed for Swansea. On arrival the lorries and extra guns were removed and replaced with Coal dust for Algiers and Depth charges for Gibraltar.
We then left port and formed up in convoy at Milford haven with other ships and escort鈥檚 our destination Gibraltar.
At our pace of a slow convoy this took about three weeks, during this trip we broke down for approx. thirty-six hours.
While we drifted in a stormy sea an American aircraft came to have a look and was fired upon by our gunners, aircraft recognition wasn鈥檛 one of there finer points. Later on a Focker Wolf reconnaissance aircraft circled over head and at one point came close enough for us to see the crew aboard it. They didn鈥檛 fire on us with their guns.
Once we got under way again we were picked up by a patrol of destroyers and made our way to Gibraltar.
On Saturday nights the captain would give out a tot of rum to all hands, only one glass was used.
After discharging the depth charges in Gibraltar we sailed for Algiers with our cargo of coal dust. Whilst alongside some of us went aboard an American Liberty ship, It was called the Big Foot Wallace. The contrast between them and us was amazing; they gave us some supplies and even ice cream, which we had to eat straight away, lovely in all that heat.
Once the cargo had been discharged we returned to Gibraltar for bunkers (coal) then under escort of a destroyer proceeded to Huelva in Spain. Before moving into Spanish territorial waters the firing pins had to be removed from our guns and our escort had to wait out side Spanish waters.
In Huelva we loaded Copper ore, this was the spot Operation Mincemeat took place in May 1943 where the body of the man that never was, washed up on the beach.
It took about a week to load the Copper and if we wanted to go ashore we had to bribe the local Customs Officers. After leaving Huelva we returned to Gibraltar ready to wait for the next convoy back to Britain. Whilst in Gibraltar a line was slung under the ship and pulled along the hull to dislodge any mines that might have been placed on the hull by divers. During the hours of darkness depth charges were set off at intervals to kill any enemy divers that might try to attack any of the ships in the harbour.
On our return trip to Britain things were going well until German Aircraft armed with Guided Bombs attacked us, I heard the Captain order the gunners to concentrate on the bombs themselves rather than try to shoot down the planes. This worked as the bombs missed us but the shock waves sprung some plates and we started to take on water. Our destination was Swansea but due to the amount of water we were taking on board we went straight into dry-dock in Barry. This is where I signed off and had a bit of Christmas leave before joining my next ship.

Regards, Ernie Scutcher.

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