大象传媒

My friend and I were sea cadets. It was arranged that we were going to be messengers at the Town Hall, Worthing. After war was declared Mother said 鈥淏etter put the kettle on鈥�, then the siren went! I rushed up the road to the Town Hall 鈥� it was a false alarm. I decided to join the Navy with my friend and we planned to serve together. We were only 17 when we went to Brighton to enlist. I went in first but when I came out, I discovered that my friend had gone. I was told that he had signed up for the Army as he was too frightened of being seasick! My mother was angry, but father was proud, as he had been in the Navy.

I heard people talking about getting into the Royal Navy Patrol Service but I knew nothing about it but knew that those who gained top mark in their training could join the Royal Navy Patrol Service. I trained at HMS Ganges. I was rather worried to find out that the Royal Navy Patrol Service were minesweepers. The HQ was at Lowestoft, where it gained the nickname of 鈥淭he Sparrows.鈥� I gained a silver badge after 6 months of minesweeping 鈥� I hadn鈥檛 realised the dangers! We would have to sweep some areas 2/3 times to ensure that the mines were cleared. We trusted the rest of the crew with our lives. I joined the fleet at Firth of Forth. The boats were just wooden fishing trawlers, there was no naval discipline because of this but the captain and crew knew what they were doing! Our job was to sweep the Channel. We lost several ships and it was very upsetting that we were not allowed to stop to pick up the survivors. A second ship would try to pick up survivors. We went to Iceland to escort the Russians, our trawler became encrusted with ice and we were worried it would topple over as the rigging iced up. There was a davit holding the lifeboat. In the mountainous seas the lifeboat filled with water and the davit broke. The skipper was washed overboard as the ship rolled over. Amazingly as it rolled back it scooped the skipper back on board in the lifeboat.

We also were successful in sweeping the Firth of Forth. The last ship I joined towards the end of the war was the HMS Kimberley. I went on shore at Dartmouth and it was there that I met my future wife Ann. I won a sack of potatoes in a raffle, which I then gave to Ann鈥檚 mother and from then on could do no wrong in her eyes.

I spent VE day on the back of a lorry in Waterloo Station going to Chatham for discharge, there were lots of people trying to touch the matelots鈥� collars for luck!

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