大象传媒

INDEX

Prologue ...............................................................................................Page i

Chapter 1 - Joining The Navy............................................................. Page 1

Chapter 2 - 鈥淗MS Trinidad鈥�.................................................................Page 4
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Chapter 3 - 鈥淗MS Bermuda鈥� ...............................................................Page 14

Chapter 4 - The Road to Promotion.....................................................Page 22

Chapter 5 - Commissioned Rank ........................................................Page 24

Chapter 6 - Bombay, India .................................................................Page 27

Chapter 7 - Burma ..............................................................................Page 30

Chapter 8 - Cochin, India...................................................................Page 37

Chapter 9 - Singapore ......................................................................Page 40

Chapter 10 - Sumatra, Java, Bali & The Philippines............................Page 42

Chapter 11 - Homeward Bound ..........................................................Page 47

Appendix...............................................................................................Page 51

Chapter 1 - Joining the Navy

Towards the end of December 1940, my home town of Sheffield suffered from a series of very heavy night time bombing raids by the German Air Force. Most of the devastation was in the residential districts, where hundreds of homes were razed to the ground, with the inevitable loss of lives and large numbers of people injured.

On one particular night in December 1940 after the air raid warning siren had sounded. My Father and I, both of whom had taken an active part in the A.R.P. (Air Raid Precaution) organisations since late 1939 and were out on patrol in the road when the 鈥業ncendiary鈥� bombs started to fall. As they were seen, sand was used to extinguish them.

One of these bombs fell in the A.R.P. Chief Wardens back yard. As he was not very popular due to being very officious and the fact he was nowhere to be seen, my Father took great delight in emptying the contents of the Warden鈥檚 鈥榩ride and joy鈥� window box over the bomb. We continued down the road to find and extinguish more 鈥業ncendiaries鈥�, until a Lady came out of a house asking for assistance. Apparently a bomb had fallen into her rear bedroom, setting the curtains alight. Again we dealt with the fire and as we were leaving my Father asked if she and her children would be all right on their own. She said as her husband was down in the Air Raid Shelter she would be fine. My Father鈥檚 opinion of her husband was said in a very loud voice which I am sure would have been heard down in the shelter. As we went back into the road my Father said the high explosive bombs would be dropping soon and we should return home and into our shelter. It was shortly after we arrived home that a high explosive bomb fell less than 100 yards from our house and six of our Neighbour鈥檚 houses simply disappeared into a pile of rubble and a very large crater, unfortunately several people were killed.

Typical of those early days and the attitude of the civilian population, after being awake most of the night I decided to set off for work a little earlier than usual. I took my bicycle out of the garage and went on my way. However, due to diversions because of un-exploded bombs and large craters in the roads it was nearly 0740 hrs when I 鈥渃locked on鈥�. Consequently I was 鈥榟alf houred鈥� (I lost half an hours pay). Due to an un-exploded bomb in the main road opposite our main workshop, we were split up into small parties and sent into the surrounding area to assist with the rescue of people buried in several air raid shelters. When we returned to the Works for a late lunch break, we learnt that the un -exploded bomb had 鈥榞one off鈥� and as a result our Foreman, Joe Reed, had been killed.

As a young man just 19 years of age, and despite the fact that at this time I was studying several evenings per week towards a professional engineering qualification, at the Sheffield University Department of Applied Science, I felt the time had come for me to join the Armed Forces and be part of the struggle against the enemy who was causing such indiscriminate death, injury and havoc to innocent civilians. To be honest, this patriotic zeal was only one of the reasons for my volunteering to enlist in the Forces. At that time, I was aware that within the relatively near future my age group on reaching nineteen years and six months, would be called up to the Armed Forces under the Conscription Act.

In spite of my Father鈥檚 threats, when I was younger, about being sent to sea, as punishment, onto a Training Ship, there was never any doubt in my mind that the Navy was the only choice of the Armed Forces for me. To have the options of joining the Navy and continuing my apprenticeship and engineering career, I had to be able to select not only that Service, but the particular discipline in that Service which would achieve my objectives. Enquiries indicated that when volunteering for the Navy I should insist on joining as an Engine Room Artificer.

After Christmas and the New Year had passed, one Thursday afternoon in early February 1941, I requested time off from my work place. The reason I gave was that I wished to volunteer for the Royal Navy, by enlisting at the Recruiting Centre in the Cutler鈥檚 Hall, Sheffield. During the enlistment process, it was touch and go whether I was going to be medically acceptable due to my four and a half month illness in late 1937, when I had pneumonia and a collapsed left lung. Fortunately, after I recovered from my illness, I had taken up exercising and 鈥榳eight lifting鈥� to try and develop my left side and generally build up my physique after such a debilitating illness, during which my weight had fallen to a little over seven and half stones (Just for the record I left the navy in 1946 weighing over eleven and a half stones). Despite this illness, later that afternoon I left the recruiting centre having passed the required medical examination and had been accepted for the Navy as an Engine Room Artificer.

As a matter of interest, nearly six months after joining the Navy, I received a letter from the Sheffield University stating that I was exempt from being called up for service in the Armed Forces by virtue of my academic studies; a reason for exemption I never quite fully understood. The letter was timed to coincide with the 鈥榗alling-up鈥�, by conscription, of young men of my age.

Within a few weeks, I received travel documents instructing me to report to the Naval Base at Plymouth. On Monday, the 4th of March 1941, I was on a train hoping to arrive at 鈥淗MS Drake鈥� by early evening. I say hoping, because at that time, trains were often delayed, and the one I was on stopped outside two or three towns, as was normal practice, until the Air Raid that was in progress ended. As a result it was approaching midnight when I arrived at North Road Station, Plymouth. Fortunately transport was laid on to 鈥榝erry鈥� the returning, and 鈥榥ewly joining鈥�, Naval personnel to barracks.

When we arrived in the barracks, the formalities for the new recruits were minimal and we were taken into a dining room and given a meal of cold ham and warmed up potatoes, surely the food in the Navy would be better than this! Afterwards we were taken to another large room in the barracks, given a hammock and shown where we should sleep. I quickly realised that 2 o'clock in the morning was not the right time to learn how to sling a hammock, I knew nothing about 鈥榗lews鈥� and 鈥榥ettles鈥� or 鈥榮tretcher bars鈥�, let alone how to get into it without the risk of falling out again. Sleep was the important thing, particularly as the Petty Officer had said 鈥楻eveille鈥� would be as usual, 0600 hours! So I unrolled and laid my hammock flat on a form, partially undressed and settled down as best as I could. I must have fallen asleep straight away, as in what only seemed minutes, there was the Petty Officer coming round banging on forms and lockers, prodding bodies with his stick and shouting 鈥淲akey, Wakey, show a leg, rise and shine the morning鈥檚 fine, on your feet you lazy 鈥榣ay-abouts鈥� (or words to that effect, I seem to recall he cast doubts about our having been born in wedlock).鈥� This was the Navy!

I was to be based at 鈥淗MS Drake鈥�, as a probationary Engine Room Artificer (Number D/MX 74662) and await the results of a 鈥榯rade test鈥�, in order to ascertain whether I had the necessary high standard of skills, to be accepted into that particular engineering branch. There followed a week of hard work at the bench, using hammer and chisel, various 12 to 14 inch files, from rough to smooth, scrapers etc. to complete the test piece, which was a 鈥楽trap and Block鈥� and my efforts resulted in the development of very large blisters on the palm of my right hand. The accuracy of the finished product was to be finally checked on a 鈥榮urface plate鈥� using a 鈥榗lock gauge鈥�. However, I passed my acceptance test with a comment from the Engineer Captain, 鈥淓xcellent piece of work Ball, but you will have learn to work much faster!鈥� From then I was officially an Acting E.R.A. 5th Class.

Immediately following this I was given a six week training course, at Trevol Rifle Range, over at Torpoint in Cornwall. This consisted of parade ground drills, various lectures and lastly, practice on the Rifle Range or, in view of our Instructor鈥檚 liking for Guinness and Rough Cider at lunch time, being sent to the 600 yard Rifle Range Butts to await the C.P.O. Gunner sleeping off his liquid lunch. During the night my air raid defence post was in a sand-bagged emplacement with a twin Vickers Machine Gun. I must confess to not hitting any enemy aircraft but of being responsible for shooting down at least one 鈥楤arrage Balloon鈥� during the three weeks of severe air raids that Devonport and Plymouth suffered.

It is worthy of note, that most of the houses in Devonport close to the Dockyard were virtually flattened as was the property in the centre of Plymouth, yet the docks were comparatively unscathed. During the three weeks of concentrated raids, listed as 5 鈥楤litzes鈥� and 9 鈥楻aids鈥�, the civilian population suffered over 1000 killed and some 3000 injured. I was beginning to think I had jumped out of the frying pan into the fire! Little did I know that this was an early start to my nearly six years in the Navy that were to hold far greater dangers than random bombing raids.

On completion of my training, I was given a short home leave and I boarded a train which would take me to my home town Sheffield via Crewe. At Crewe station, the train halted for a 15 minute 鈥榮top-over鈥�, seizing this opportunity to get a cup of tea and a cake from the Church Army Canteen, I left my cap on the seat (Yes in those days one could safely leave your possessions unattended), and hurried across the platform and into the 鈥楥anteen鈥�. When my turn to be served came, an elderly lady behind the counter looked at me over her glasses and said, 鈥淎re you in the Forces young man?鈥� I was not only embarrassed but my ego was severely dented. Later I realised looking at my uniform, that without my cap and with the black buttons on my jacket (because of being acting rank), the lady had made a genuine mistake and was quite right to ask the question.

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