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This story has been written onto the ´óÏó´«Ã½ People’s War site by Storygatherer Lucy Thomas of Callington U3A on behalf of Douglas Mahoney. They fully understand the terms and conditions of the site.

Extracts from DOUGLAS MAHONEY’S W.W.2 MEMORIES part 1

Destination Unknown

Helen and I kept writing to each other until the end of the war.

The romantic interlude became just that when we sailed off, heading north to an unknown destination. Some said Indian waters, others the east, and yet others Malta, this last guess frightening us silly. 1942 was the year of the deadly ‘Malta Convoys’.

Malta lay in the middle of the Med and was supplied by ships running either from Suez or from Gibraltar. Both had to run the gauntlet of enemy attacks by air and sea by forces which had only short distances to travel, whether from North Africa, the Mediterranean islands or mainland Europe. Our losses were immense with only one or two cargoes succeeding out of the dozen or so that set off.

Off we went up the coast, usually with naval vessels in tow, our favourite companion being an aircraft tender. Its Captain had a sense of humour and would exchange teasing comments about seamanship and manoeuvre procedures with our ‘old man’ after the evening visual signals. In risky waters, ships proceeded in a series of zigzags to deter submarines from anticipating one’s position. The course changes were made according to an arranged pattern of time changes. Ten minutes on this course, fifteen on that, twenty on the other and so on throughout the hours of the passage.

We went northwards into the Red Sea after a brief watering stop at Aden. The Red Sea was stiflingly hot, so bad that a few of us made hammocks, with the bosun’s help, and slept outside.

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