大象传媒

THE ATLANTIC STAR
Londonderry was the main base for the Atlantic Convoy Escort Groups, under the jurisdiction of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches. From the atlas you will see that it is approached from the sea via Lough Foyle and the River Foyle. On the north bank is the Republic of Ireland, a neutral country, from which all our movements were observed by spies and reported to the enemy.
The largest warships there were the modern Black Swan Class Sloops, with crews of 180 and six 4" guns. The destroyers were chiefly old V & W Class like Watchman, with crews of 134, but there were also many of the fifty turtle-backed four-funnelled US destroyers leased to us by the Americans. Slightly smaller were the modern Castle Class Corvettes with crews of 120, and Flower Class Corvettes with crews of 85. There were Captain Class and River Class Frigates, and, smallest of all, the Isles Class Trawlers, 560 tons, with crews of 40. All of these were moored alongside the wall, sometimes four and five abreast, and if one's ship were the outermost one had to tramp across the others to reach her.
The Fleet Oil Dep么t was just off Moville, on the Republican side of the Lough.
Watchman was the leader of Group B1, our Captain being the Senior Officer, and on our funnel was painted a bird's-eye view of a bee, head-up, with its wings spread horizontally, over a figure 1.
We sailed on November 16th with Winchelsea. The Winter of 1943-44 was the worst for fifty years, and many, especially those going to sea for the first time, were very sea-sick. Most struggled on until they found their sea-legs, but one sparker named Church was so affected as to be rendered incapable of service, and left us. I was not affected, so I enjoyed extra food for a time.
When in the open sea, out of sight of land, one can easily perceive the curvature of the Earth in two ways. Firstly, the first sight of a distant ship is hull-down. One sees the masts and superstructure before the hull comes into view. Secondly, one may sweep the horizon through all 360 degrees and perceive that it is circular, and this is no illusion, because through good binoculars one can see the wave-movement at the horizon. I quote lines 8-10 of Book V of Virgil's 脝neid:

Soon their galleys gained the open deep,
And now no longer land appeared, but lo!
Ocean on all sides, and on all sides heaven.

By the 17th, south of Land's End, we were in warmer and calmer weather. Strip-Lewis-Guns were installed on the bridge, and the Admiralty kindly informed us that there were at least three and probably ten U-Boats in our vicinity.
Lifebelts were worn at all times, and kept partially inflated. (MDAS) We had duffle-coats, which might look very fine in films but were useless in the wind, which blew right through them unless prevented by the wearing of an oilskin coat on top. The bridge was exposed to all the elements, but there was a device designed to use the force of the wind to set up a barrier against itself. Around the outside of the top edge of the bridge ran a strip of sheet-steel, a foot or more wide, fixed vertically and held in position about a foot outside the edge by vanes of similar width, so that the wind, striking the wall of the bridge, was induced to create an up-draught which acted as an invisible barrier extending a foot or so above the top of the wall. The front of the bridge had a glass-panelled windscreen about a foot high, and one pane on each side had a circular disc of glass which could be rotated by electric motor, spinning off any rain or spray, and more efficient than wipers.
We joined our convoy - actually two convoys combined, on the 19th, and were at Action Stations most of the morning. One submarine was sunk and another boarded. It became so rough that water was coming over the bridge, and a Sloop in company was shewing ten yards of keel forward with each sea. On Sunday 21st we sank a submarine just before dinner, and were attacked in the afternoon by a Focke-Wulf 190 and a Junkers. They dropped three glider-bombs, the fore-runners I suppose of today's guided missiles. We could see the puffs of smoke as they were man艙uvred towards us. We narrowly avoided one, but a very near miss damaged Winchelsea. By the 23rd, making for Milford Haven, we were glad of calmer weather because we were light through expenditure of fuel, and our washing-water supply was finished. We reached Milford Haven at 0800 next day, oiled and watered, and sailed at 1330 for Londonderry. Our convoy of 166 ships had come through without loss, with one damaged, one Corvette damaged, and three submarines sunk. (See my poem entitled Train.)
On Saturday 27th I went on leave and started the 24-hour journey home, via Larne and Stranraer to Euston, arriving in plenty of time to enjoy the air-raid on December 1st. I caught the train at Euston just after 1700 on the 3rd, and was on board by 1745 on the 4th. The next three days were spent under instruction and at lectures, and in shore-leave. At the Lower Foyle College British Sailors' Rest I had a good hot bath + soap and towel for 3d, and a bed for 1/-. On other occasions I slept at the great James Street Sailors' Rest. When asked for donations to the Salvation Army I now tend to give extra in gratitude for benefits received at their Red Shield Clubs all over the world, and the one in Pump Street, Londonderry, was much appreciated.
Amongst the tasks apportioned to signalmen on work-routine the most boring was the correction of the Pennant List and of the Fleet Signal Book, most of the corrections concerning matters which we in Watchman were never likely to encounter. As Duty Signalman alongside in harbour one had to walk to a small telephone-shed along the quayside and enquire for signals, and this is incorporated in my story, A Pound of Leaf.
From the 8th to the 16th we had anti-submarine exercises with Vance, and with Goathland, a Hunt Class Destroyer with four 4" guns, more day and night gunnery, and calibrations. In the middle of all this I sat the examination for Signalman at the STC in Londonderry on the 15th and passed. My arm-badge remained unchanged, but I had a small increase in pay. We sailed at midnight on the 17th with Hurricane, Wanderer, (two 4.7" guns) and the Frigate Glenarm. Hurricane, a Havant Class destroyer, had been under construction in 1939 for the Brazilian Navy, under the name Japarua, but was quickly purchased at the outbreak of war, and re-named.
To save fuel (oil, and electricity and gas generated from coal) during the war, in the first year the clocks were not put back to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)) in the Autumn, but remained on BST (British Summer Time), which gave rise to the hilarious radio announcement, British Summer Time will continue throughout the Winter, and in the following Spring they were advanced another hour, to Double British Summer Time, and then returned to BST each Autumn. However, at sea in the Atlantic, sailing continually eastwards and westwards, we were continually crossing time-zones and altering our clocks, sometimes twice in one day. It seemed to me that it would have been far better to keep BWT (British Watchman Time) throughout, because changing played havoc with watch-times, but more than once I profited by having a four-hour watch reduced to three hours.
I played chess sometimes, once with the Chief Petty Officer Coxswain, and usually won. A sparker called Charmer had an accordion, though his choice of harmony-buttons was not always felicitous. I had my old Albert-System clarinet with me, and occasionally had a close-harmony session with a trumpeter in Eleven Mess. There were some small monthly magazines then available which made handy reading-material. The Reader's Digest was one, and the others, Men Only, Lilliput, and London Opinion were about the same size. All these activities served temporarily to take our minds off the awfulness around us. Another source of amusement stemmed from the malapropisms and other solecisms of the Killick of the Mess. We had no Leading Signalman or Leading Telegraphist aboard, so we were usually supplied in that office from the ranks of the Leading Seamen. They were knowledgeable in their field, but not exactly from cultured backgrounds. One told us about his sister-in-law who was a short-handed typist, and, when we were listening to a symphony on the radio, said, 'What the ***%$拢 is that? I suppose it's some *拢$%$ Contralto in B flat!' Our Killick Tubby Peach features in my story, The San Francisco Tea-Party.
Folk at home kept their servicemen in their thoughts and prayers, and contributed in practical ways to their welfare. For example, I recorded having received a parcel from All Hallows' Church, forwarded by arrangement from the Army & Navy Stores, containing two thick writing-pads with envelopes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a pot of shaving-cream, a bottle of T.C.P., and a very good letter from the Vicar. Another time I received a letter from the secretary of the Dramatics Club enclosing a Postal Order for 3/6d. A story was told of benevolence in the other direction. A soldier wished to sent his aged parents a Postal Order for 5/-, but the Field Post Office had none left, so instead he sent them a sheet of 60 陆d stamps. These were dark green in colour (akin to khaki) and bore the head of the King, and when the short-sighted mother drew them from the envelope she said, Look, Dear, - our Charley's sent us a photograph of his regiment!
The speed of the convoy is the speed of the slowest ship, so proceeding in convoy, though subject to excitement without warning, could be a very boring business. Occasionally to break the monotony we would increase to full speed and make an exhilarating circuit of the whole convoy. Also, if our observation or radar warned us of a straggler dropping behind, we would speed off to investigate, and find perhaps a dirty old tub with a line of washing suspended between the little wheelhouse and the mast, and nobody in sight. After much shouting by loud-hailer a scruffy character might emerge, and possibly acknowledge our encouragement to do better, if he understood the language, and we would regain our position in the van, hoping it might be so, but I do not recall that we ever ordered the convoy's speed to be reduced.

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