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An experience in 1941 by TJX220397 Ordinary Seaman John V. Bales Sailing in H, M. S. Springbank.

In 1941 1 was drafted from Chatham Barracks to H. M. S. Springbank an Auxiliary A. A. Cruiser which was laying in Banger Bay near Belfast awaiting instructions to escort the next convoy westward bound across the Atlantic to America. Whilst at anchor there were several very heavy air raids on Belfast itself causing a lot of damage and loss of life.

When the convoy assembled we set sail picking up more ships on the way from Liverpool and as we rounded Northern Ireland more escort vessels joined the convoy only this time instead of making our usual trip across the Atlantic, we sailed for two days due West and then altered course Southerly and we were told that we were making for Gibraltar. We then knew we were in for a hiding as we had to cross what was then known as "the graveyard". Our main task in the convoy was to protect it from air attack and this is why we also carried a Fairy Fulmar Fighter as well as our main armament. The convoy arrived in Gibraltar without incident much to the relief of all the crew as we had heard that the convoy that was following us got a real good pasting.

Prior to leaving U. K. We were given intensive gunnery training and then two weeks leave as the authorities knew the strain we were being put under, air attacks on convoys were increasing daily and the range of enemy aircraft being extended. Usually we only escorted for three or four days out and then picked up a homecoming convoy to see it safely back home. This last trip we went all the way, Whilst on leave this time, my best pal Lofty Allington got married and all the crew used to pull his leg about this, both he and I had been selected for Officer Training and we both had some stick bur nevertheless we defended our corner.

Whilst in Gibraltar I went ashore to look at the place and buy the odd souvenir to take back home and as I was walking down the Main Street towards The Casements a voice shouted out to me and it was a chap by the name of Harry Hays who was in the same Office as myself in London, he was on sentry duty and got relieved and so we had a drink or two together and he saw me off to the ship.

Back on board the ship again arrangements were being made for the assembly of the next homeward bound convoy HG73 which was to comprise of 18 merchant ships and five or six escorts. We did the usual trick of trying to baffle the enemy by sailing late in the afternoon into the Mede terrain as if we were bound for Malta and then turning back under the cover of darkness and steam through the Straits due East into the Atlantic. The Germans had observations posts across the border in Spain and reported all ship movements. It was'nt long before we knew we had been spotted as two days later a Focker Wolfe bomber had sighted the convoy and was reporting back, he tried to bomb a straggling ship and we dropped back and fired several salvos and sent him packing.

After sailing two days Westward and being shadowed all the time, we altered course and steered Northerly. The order was given for our fighter to be sent up to shoot the enemy aircraft down, the plane was launched but without success (Page 82) and returned to Gibraltar, from then on we were constantly being shadowed and were sitting ducks for the U Boats as the convoy was one of the slowest doing only 8 knots.

On the night of the 25th September the first of the attacks took place and the "Empire Stream" was sunk, we were all at action stations and I was part of the gun crew on X gun, we saw a large ball of flame go up and then hears the explosion and felt sorry for all the crew. One ship at the rear of each line of ships usually act ed as rescue ship and they usually fell prey to the subs. The following night the attacks began again, it was usually after midnight and the hunter packs moved in on the surface, this time the "Avoceta", "Cervantes". "fortes", "Lapwing", "Petrell", and "Varangberg" were all sunk. We were firing starshell to light up the area so that we could see the subs in order to sink them but I thing it was having an adverse effect because they could see us much better and we were an easy target.

The following day the convoy was trying to pick up survivors and get into some sort of order so that the escort screen could protect them against more attacks, they came alright, on the night of the 27th they sunk the "Margareta" "Siremalm" and then ourselves H. M. S. Springbank.

It was 12.20 on the morning of the 27th, pitch dark and blowing a gale that we got hit with two torpedoes both on the port side and after a few minutes the old girl started to list over, I was still manning Xgun and firing away when the order to abandon ship was given, I did rather a silly thing on the spur of the moment and nipped down below to try and rescue a camera I had bought in Gibraltar, the water was pouring in and I had to fight my way out of the ship against waves of water inside. Eventually I got back onto the upper deck and by then a destroyer had come alongside to try and rescue the crew. The weather was so bad that we lost a lot of people by mistiming their jump and falling I between the two ships and others by not timing their jump onto the deck of the destroyer and getting killed by he force of impact against the ship. This is how I lost my best friend "Lofty". Seeing what was taking place I decided that I would take my chance and swim for it and so I went down aft and shinned down a rope that had a early float at the bottom , in that were far too many people and not enough room for me, they were all pushing and shoving so I let go and started to swim for it. I could'nt understand why I was'nt getting away from the ship as I had no desire to be sucked down with it and then I rumbled that the wind was making the ship bear down on me. Then I swam around the stern of the ship only to be greeted with the full force of the gale, one minute it seemed that you were at the bottom of a large basin looking up and then you were taken up high and the white water from the crest would come over and swamp you.

I swam around for ages with nothing in sight and then a sub passed within 20 yards of me on he surface, he was gone in no time and in ant case they never stopped to pick up survivors. Suddenly I saw a barrel floating in the water and thought it could help but no, I tried to get hold of it and span it but it was impossible and with the next wave it clouted me on the head, then a bit of luck came my way, I saw a early float in the distance and made for that only to find just one single person on it and another dead in the bottom, everybody must have been washed overboard. The sole occupant helped me inboard as I was completely exhausted and then we saw a merchant ship the S. S. Starling and they maneuvered to pick us up. They lowered a scramble net over the side for us to climb up but we were too exhausted to climb up and so we just hung on an they pulled the whole net in.

Out of a total of 18 ships we lost 9 of them and ourselves made the 10th and this was'nt the end of our troubles by any means, the S. S. Starling was only a very small vessel and was carrying survivors from previous nights and food was running very short, we were all rationed to two ships biscuits a day and that had to last until we got home in about five days time. On board was a woman who had been torpedoed three times on this trip, around her neck she had rope burns where she did'nt have the strength to pull herself up and so she rapped the rope around her neck and the crew pulled her up she had already lost her baby.

The crew on this ship were Lascars and they refused to go down below and more in case they got hit and so they asked for volunteers to go below and stoke the boilers to keep the ship going. I could see what was happening and so I volunteered straight away and got my stoking in during the hours of daylight and let somebody else do it at night. The next best thing I did for safety was to man the 12 pounder aft because I thought that if we got hit again would be tossed over the side and them I could get clear of her cargo of granulated cork which was the second worst thing for swimming in other than oil as it got up your nose and in your throat and you suffocate. Altogether the submarines had a field day, the U 124 claiming 3 ships, U 203 3 ships and U 201 3 plus ourselves as it happens there were no more losses as we were now within range of our Coastal Command Aircraft. The whole convoy had taken such a battering so they cleared part of the minefield at St Georges Channel so as to make our journey shorter and we eventually arrived back in Liverpool looking what we were survivors just with blankets around us.

On arrival at Liverpool we were boarded onto a special train which took us back to Chatham Barracks, on the train we were all asking if we had seen so and so or what happened to him and were trying to account for all our shipmates. The only things I managed to save was a little cash which I had'nt spent in Gibraltar and a role of film which I had taken with a cheap camera this was all because I had them in a condom tied around my neck in case we got sunk, this was the usual procedure amongst all crews. The film was later developed and some of the pictures are attached hereto.
When we got back to Chatham Barracks we were lotted out again to make up for all the gear that we had lost and to make us look like sailors once again, I looked at my paybook and saw that they had my age put down as 2/9/21 and so I approached them and told them they had got my age wrong, checks were made and said no it was right and so I told them my correct age and it was amended and told them I must have got the year wrong !

The whole ships company were given two weeks survivors leave and when I departed from the Barracks I broke my journey in London and spent the night with Winnie Treloar and Margaret and Barbara, no sooner I walked through the door they said that over the wireless they had just given out about the sinking of the "Springbank" and thank God your safe. The following morning I caught the train from Liverpool Street Station but broke my journey at Witham where my pal "Lofty" lived, I went up to the house unannounced and wondered how I was to tackle the problem with which I was now faced, fortunately "Lofty's" Mother was there with his wife, I made myself known and I was still in uniform and I told her about the sinking and what a hectic time we had had, I told her that I knew of her relationship with "Lofty" and the reason that I was calling was that we were the best of friends and that I knew that he was posted as "missing" and would she like to know the truth as to what actually happened, she said she would and I said stop me if you wish otherwise I will tell you exact ally what happened which I did, he made the jump for the destroyer and just did'nt make it. I was glad Mother was there which helped a lot and they both thanked me. "Lofty's" name is now on he Naval War Memorial at Portsmouth.

After this episode I was selected for Officer Training down at Hove and when I passed out as a Midshipman because of my age they then asked for volunteers for the Royal Marine Special Services Division in Combined Operations and was immediately Gazetted as a Lieutenant. Some bright spark then said I was under age and said I should be a 2nd Lieutenant but I was'nt having any of it and told them I had been Gazetted and that it was only a Court Martial that could de-rank me, they accepted that and I was the youngest Marine Office in the Corps encounters in the war for six months, I also said that the only reason I volunteered was to better myself... I ALWAYS SAID IT PAYS TO VOLOUNTEER !!!

These are true facts and not exaggerated in any way, they took there toll on me as the strain of this together with other encounters made it most difficult to settle down after the war.

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