大象传媒

Early Days - May 1943

My name is Eric Corkill Howarth. I was born in Peel, a small fishing port on the west coast of the Isle Of Man, on the 15th November 1925.

When I left school I was eager to help the war effort and I had made up my mind to join the Royal Navy. On the 15th May 1943 aged exactly seventeen and a half years 鈥� the minimum age of entry 鈥� I duly reported to HMS Raleigh, a basic training school at Torpoint near Plymouth, having successfully appeared before a Selection Board and Medical Examiners under the Y scheme.

My identity disc read 鈥�
E. C. Howarth D/JX 421894鈥︹��.Wesleyan.

I was one of seven Commission Warrant (CW) ratings in our squad, which meant continual assessment to ensure we were fit to proceed up the ladder of promotion.

After three months of camp discipline 鈥� parade drills, gunnery, signals and seamanship classes 鈥� everything done at the double and all carried out in intense competition with other hut-mates under the benevolent eye of our Chief Petty Officer 鈥� the course came to an end and I am sorry to say I never met up again with any of our intake.

First Ship. HMS Cotswold - August 1943

I was ordered to join HMS Cotswold a Hunt Class Destroyer attached to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla, currently working out of Harwich on east coast convoy escort duty between Harwich and Sheerness.

I arrived at Parkestan Quay by train from Liverpool and London and found the Cotswold 鈥� after a short walk along the railway line to the docks 鈥� swinging at a buoy in the river. Complete with kit bag and hammock I eventually boarded my first ship.

Active Service

At sea I was one of the crew of the 40mm four barrelled pom.pom gun along with six others to complete the gun鈥檚 crew. When joining convoys at either end of our 'patch' we were piped to Defence Stations, which meant staying with the gun. The Thames鈥擶ash area was enemy sensitive and to avoid air attacks convoys moved in and out of the Thames by night.

The pom.pom was manned by each of the gun鈥檚 crew doing hourly stints of headphone listening whilst the other six slept in corners on duckboards with canvas stretched over. Sleep was almost instantaneous when the balaclava head touched the blue tubular Navy-issue lifebelt, which doubled as a pillow. What bliss after even an hour of braving a North Sea winter gale beyond the canvas.

Collision at Sea

The active service of the Cotswold came to an abrupt halt one dark night towards the end of October1943. It was one in the morning and I had just finished my hourly stint on the headphones, called my relief, went below for a quick smoke and returning on deck for some welcome sleep, had just stretched out under the starboard canvas when I heard and counted four blasts on the ship鈥檚 siren. According to my knowledge of sound signals this meant, 鈥淜eep out of my way as I can鈥檛 keep out of yours.鈥� The ship shuddered, accompanied by a horrendous screeching and tearing noise audible even above the wind. We had collided at speed with another destroyer 鈥� HMS Montrose.

Our boiler rooms, the engine room and the gearing room were flooded. All hands were summoned on deck. No one was hurt and anyone who wished could transfer to the Montrose when she came to take us in tow.
I decided to stay aboard and with about one third of the crew was put to work on double-handed pumps to hold back the water. Eventually we got on the move, slowly bound for Great Yarmouth. Next day we three CW entrants on board went before the Captain to be told we would all be given a good report and sent home on leave. I heard later our Captain had been reprimanded. It must be remembered that no lights at all were allowed to be shown at sea including even dimmed navigation lights.

Intensive Training - November 1943

Early in November I reported to HMS King Alfred, the shore based Naval Officers Training base at Hove. There followed two weeks of tests and checks, a five-week intensive course at Lancing College and a further three weeks where training now included ship handling. I was the youngest on the course. Sixty-five out of the original one hundred and twelve passed. Those over nineteen and a half years qualified as RNVR Sub-Lieutenants whilst those of us younger were granted RNVR Midshipman status until we reached that age when the maroon lapel tabs would be replaced by the wavy ring.

(Continued in HMS Eskimo D-Day Action

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.