大象传媒

The following factual account shows how little this country was prepared at the outbreak of World War II. There seemed to be no arrangements to take recruits into the services. In 1938 the storm was brewing and I wrote to RAF Hornchurch saying that I did not want to be a regular serviceman but did they have an organisation like the Territorials were to the Army. They sent me an application for to join the RAF Volunteer Reserve, which I duly returned completed. I waited for months without response and when war was declared in 1939 I wrote reminding them of my application and their reply was to the effect "Don't
call us, We'll call you"!

I waited a further four months and still nothing happened, so I gave up hope and volunteered for the Royal Navy hoping to be trained as a Telegraphist. My application was acknowledged and said I would be called in due course. Now I had two irons in the fire and still nothing happened for six months i.e. August 1940 when the Navy sent instructions to join HMS Royal Arthur. What a grandiose name. This ship turned out to be a "Stone Frigate" the Navy's term for a shore establishment. Royal Arthur was the name given to the Butlin鈥檚 Holiday camp at Skegness and as we drove through the gates there was the old peacetime welcome over the top 鈥淥ur true intent is all for your delight鈥�, most un-Navy like I thought. I was to spend six month there as an Ordinary Telegraphist learning the job. Six months at a Holiday Camp it is hard to believe. Strangely enough a week after I had completed my joining routine for the Royal Navy a letter was received at my home telling me to report to RAF Hornchurch to join the RAF - this 18 months after I had applied and eleven months after the war had started.

After completing my training as a Telegraphist I was given postings to shore establishments and came June 1941 I had still not been to sea. Out of the blue came a drafting order to join the crew of His Majesty's MTB No 14. This was one of the pre-war torpedo boats which I was to join at Felixstowe where the base was named HMS Beehive - at last I was on my way! Next day I reported on board and was interrogated by the Commanding Officer who was a Lieutenant Commander RN whose short title was V4 i.e. head of the fourth MTB Flotilla. His first question was

"What ships have you served in?".

My answer was that I had not been to sea yet. I have never seen such a change in a man. I thought he was going to hit the roof, or deck head as I afterwards learned to call it.

鈥淲hat on earth are these people at the barracks doing to me鈥� he said. 鈥淗ere am I in the front line. This is E Boat Alley and all they can send me is a sprog land lubber who has no experience!鈥�

In no time I was on my way back to barracks smarting under the rebuff. After all I had spent nine months training and improving my performance, keen as mustard to get on with the job and found I couldn't go to sea because I hadn't been to sea - a catch 22 situation. However, a few days later I found myself aboard a Coastal Forces Craft as a Telegraphist where 75% of the crew had no sea going experience. It had taken me all that time to become part of Britain's War Machine.

Life in the services was not all carnage and destruction. There are long periods of boredom in between. At sea lookouts are subject to long hours of boredom - looking for things, which are not there. Action is often sudden and devastating followed by more boredom, I always prefer to think about the more amusing things that happened like Tobermory

Tobermory West Coast of Scotland
HQ of Commander Stephenson, newly commissioned ships sent there to work up and work together as a team. There were many stories of hair- raising escapades such as releasing mooring ropes during night hours. Shifting position of ship without using engines etc. This was at a time when gold braid was scarce, evinced by fact that rings on Officers cuffs only went half way round and Stephenson loved his Commanders Cap which had Gold Braid on the peak - known unofficially as scrambled egg!

Sunday afternoon in harbour is always regarding as a 鈥淢ake and Mend Time鈥� when only essential duties were carried out and one caught up on sleep. Going aboard a Motor Gun Boat one Sunday afternoon he bellowed down the hatch

鈥淚ncendiary attack deal appropriately鈥�

Crew came upon deck - saw nothing was going on and stood around asking where? Stephenson is getting irate at this point and took off his gold braid cap and slammed it on the deck saying

鈥淚ncendiary Bomb there - deal with it.鈥�

Whereat an AB ran up to it and kicked it over the side. There is no record of repercussions.

G T or UA This is how naval ratings were recorded

G meant you drew your watered down rum ration daily
T stood for Temperance meaning that you drew threepence per day instead of
your rum ration
UA meant you were under age and not entitled to either of the preceding options

Tots became a useful currency on board ship being exchanged for extra runs ashore or similar favours regarding duties. This of course was a heinous crime but it still went on. Indeed there was one officer who had graduated from the lower deck where he had become addicted to his daily tot. He happened to be the Commanding Officer of a Minor War Vessel where rum was not watered down to Grog but issued neat (neaters in Naval Parlance). He offered an ordinary Seaman who was temperance to change to G and he would give him twice the cash each day. This worked well for quite a time, until one day the ordinary seaman was in the Captain鈥檚 Report or 鈥淩attle鈥� found guilty, and ordered 14 days No. 11 Punishment which included among other things 14 days stoppage of shore leave, extra work and 14 days stoppage of Tot. The Coxswain who knew exactly what was going on took great delight in applying the No 11 punishment to the 'n'th degree and thus the Commanding Officer had stopped his own tot! As you can imagine the crew thought it a huge joke and the C.O was furious.

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