大象传媒

I joined the Royal Navy on September 3rd 1940,one year to the day of the declaration of war.My first ship was a destroyer,HMS Berkeley, one of the 'Hunt' class.We were primarily engaged on convoy work,mainly on the Dover convoys.At times this was pretty hectic with dive bombers,E boats and big guns from the French coast at Cap Gris Nez. One convoy in January 1941 we were escorting the ships from Southampton to the Port of London. It was a bitterly cold day with a blizzard blowing.Just after we turned North Foreland the blizzard eased,and we saw a plane flying very low,then it went into the sea.We raced over but all we saw was wreckage.Someone spotted a bag and we got a boat hook and hauled it out of the water.Inside was woman's clothing,and the label said Amy Johnson.It was a very poignant moment realising that Amy was dead,because as young boys we had been fascinated by Amy's epic flight to Australia in a very small plane.It was the first time that this had ever been achieved.

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