大象传媒

My name is John Stanley Brodie. I was borne on the 17th January 1924. I and a friend of mine, Bobby Jones, joined the Navy in 1940 and took the Kings Shilling. We sailed from Liverpool to the Isle of Mann. Gracie Fields was standing on the quayside singing 鈥淲ish me luck as you wave me goodbye鈥� In the Isle of Man, we did our basic training at Cunningham鈥檚 Holiday Camp. From there we went to Housedrake Camp and on to Portsmouth where we were stationed for 3 months before I was posted to HMS CIRO. Bobby Jones was posted to HMS HOOD.

HMS CIRO was part of the H force escorting convoys from America across the Atlantic to Greenock in Scotland. It was also involved in ferrying spitfires to Malta from Gibraltar. One convoy that I remember, we were 13 ships strong, HMS EAGLE and HMS MANCHESTER were with us, as we neared Gibraltar we were attacked and 12 of the ships were sunk. In the Mediterranean we were attacked by Italian warships and MTB鈥檚 (motor torpedo boats). HMS CIRO was hit by a torpedo but we made it back to port for repairs. Later HMS CIRO and HMS PENOLOPE were involved in ferrying the 8th Army from North Africa to Salerno. I remember that on one of these trips, I was writing a letter to Bobby, when it was announced over the tannoy that HMS HOOD had been sunk.

I was then transferred to HMS MANXMAN a cruiser 鈥� minelayer. HMS MANXMAN was sunk in harbour by Italian Frogmen and we abandoned ship onto HMS RODNEY then HMS RODNEY鈥橲 steering was damaged, but we made it back to port. Transferred to HMS KING GEORGE V. Winston Churchill came aboard when we were in the Mediterranean. We were involved in the escorting of craft carrying the landing craft that were used in the D Day landings. Although my ships passed Liverpool we never docked there, I never got to go home on leave.

I later joined HMS THESIUS. on convoys to Malta. We were later sent to Singapore, then transferred to HMS COMUS and then onto HMS TERRA at Changi? Then transferred to Boon Defence Depot Lloyang clearing sunken ships to make a clear channel.

I was involved in what has now become known as the Yanghsei River Incident (a film was made about it after the war). HMS CONCORD had been captured by the Chinese red army. We went up the Yangtze/Yangzi river under the cover of darkness; a longboat crew rowed quietly and unshackled HMS CONCORD from its buoy. We then quietly went back down river followed by HMS CONCORD. As dawn approached we watched because the Chinese had 5lb guns placed along the river banks, we were told not to open fire! We followed one of the Chinese ferry boats down the river, the enormous amount of smoke that it produced helped to camouflage our escape.

Later tours of duty involved escorting 鈥淧rize Money鈥� captured ships, clearing mines from the North Sea. I finished in the Navy in 1953.

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