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Do you remember VE Day?
I remember it well, serving in motor Torpedo Boats stationed at great Yarmouth.

As victory in Europe was declared, we all thought there would be great celebrations, and indeed there was, but not for us! Our flotilla, the 52nd, which consisted of 8 torpedo boats under the command of Lt Cdr Bobby Nye, received orders to sail for Norway. We were to show the flag and assist the local partisans to clean up any resistance.

My skipper immediately sent me ashore to buy up any fishing tackle I could find, as he explained the fishing around Norway was very good. On my return we departed for Lerwich, stopping at Grimsby overnight to refuel. Here all the crew except for 5 of us were given shore leave to celebrate, the remainder of us stopped on board and were given an extra couple of tots of rum to compensate. When the lads returned from leave there were some strange tales told about the fact that there were no pubs open, but the landlords had rolled barrels of beer into the streets for all to help themselves! Needless to say next morning there were quite a few thick heads as we sailed for Lerwich. On our arrival we refuelled and stocked up with food etc, then sailed for Norway, 4 boats going to Malloy and 4 to Bergen.

The journey through the Fjords was fantastic; the scenery was out of this world, altogether different to what we were used to. On our arrival at Malloy the local inhabitants met us at the jetty and the partisans came streaming down from the mountains to greet us. It was a wonderful sight! As we moored alongside, a fishing boat came along and gave us 6 large salmon, I was asked if I knew how to cook them and I replied that I would have a go. We lived like kings on salmon steaks, fried steamed and baked1 in fact we could not eat them all and I never did use the fishing tackle I had bought in Great Yarmouth.

Never the less we had a mission to accomplish, and my job was to secure the German wireless station. A female partisan escorted me to some caves in the mountain where the station was located. As we entered the cave there was a loud bang as a shot whistled past my head. I turned to find that the young lady had in fact shot a German who was about to take a shot at us.

We secured the wireless station and I found 3 radio sets, which I confiscated and took back to my boat. The skipper and first lieutenant claimed one a piece, so I claimed the other. With the help of a note from my skipper I eventually managed to get it home to my father in woolacombe, where he used it for several years listening to his favourite programmes of American football and baseball direct from America.

Anyway, back to Malloy, where at about 11pm that evening we were informed that the locals were inviting us to a knees up at one of the fishing sheds nearby. It wasn’t our type of dancing, but we got by and a good time was had by all, until some partisans came and rounded up some of the females. We were told that they had collaborated with the enemy and next day they would have their hair shaved off.

Next day came, and there was great rejoicing — parties in every home. The tables were loaded with every type of fish food you could think of. I have never seen food like it in all my life. But first we paraded through the street, all dressed in our best, to the churchyard, where 13 paratroopers were buried. The locals had found their bodies and given them a decent burial. Our crews lined the heads of the graves and the local children laid wreaths after a short service. Later that afternoon we attended more celebrations.

Next day however we received orders for immediate departure back to Lerwich, and as I have already said the journey back down the Fjords was fantastic. On reaching the North Sea however, it certainly lived up to its name. The weather was atrocious with 20 foot high swell and so rough that the sea actually came down into my wireless cabin and I was forced to switch off all electrical equipment until we reached Lerwich. Here we refuelled and did minor repairs.

The next day we were sent to sea to receive the surrender of a German U Boat. Imagine our surprise on reaching our rendezvous that there was not 1 U Boat but 13 waiting to surrender! We had many a chuckle for quite a long time as one gun burst from any one of them would have sent us to the bottom!

We escorted them back to Lerwich and handed them over to the Navel Authorities, leaving soon after for Great Yarmouth and then on to our home base at H.M.S. Hornet in Gosport. We were sent on a few days leave and on our return the crew was dismissed. Some were de mobbed and others transferred to other boats.

But that is another story.

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