大象传媒

HMS ALABATROSS

JOHN STRACHAN ROSS

My father was a young man living in Cape Town, South Africa when the war broke out. Apparently he and a friend were sitting at the docks with the radio switched on as they expected the declaration of War to be announced. For two young men, living in the Southern Hemisphere this was to be their Great Adventure!

Before the war he joined the RNVR and went into full-time service in 1940.
Pre war they were sent to sea at weekends on trawlers and, as untrained Land Lubbers, given jobs as stokers.
That classification seems to have stuck, in spite of the fact the most of my father鈥檚 service was spent in MLs, with nothing to stoke being powered by petrol engines!

When he went into full time service he was posted to HMS ALBATROSS 鈥� a seaplane carrier based at Freetown. I understand from an uncle that ALBATROSS was built originally for the Australian navy but was subsequently taken over by the Royal Navy.
Many of her complement were Australians or 鈥淐olonials鈥�.
Later he served in the Mediterranean area in Motor Launches.

He was on the Motor Launch which landed and re-embarked the group which captured General Kriepe on Crete and took him off to Egypt. The film 鈥淚ll Met by Moonlight鈥� was about this operation and my father was a guest of honour at its First Night in Cape Town).
(I do have a photograph taken at the time of Patrick Leigh-Fermoy and possibly Stanley Moss and someone who looks like a Greek partisan which may have been taken at this time but I have temporarily mislaid it!)

When my father was in the Fleet Air Arm he went as far as going solo and was about to embark for further training in Canada when the War ended.
I have a group photograph of No.76 Pilots Course, 鈥淐ollingwood鈥� Division taken at HMS ST VINCENT in May, 1945.

He married my mother, GLADYS ROSEMARY HYMNS, who was a Wren. They settled in Cape Town. Sadly my father died from Leukaemia in 1982.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.