大象传媒

In 1942 I was sunk on the Malta Convoy 鈥淧edestal鈥� and was interred by the Vichy French in a Foreign Legion fort in Laghouat.

Following that I was on HMS Danae, a light cruiser, touring the Indian Ocean, looking for Japanese submarines and showing the flag throughout the Far East. We were recalled to the UK via Suez, Tobruk, Gibraltar and up the Clyde to Greenock in June 1944. We sailed and joined the armada of ships on the way to Normandy and on 6th June anchored off Allomanches, our target being a gun emplacement at Le Havre. We fired 19 rounds per gun 鈥� we had 6鈥� open single guns and by late afternoon on 6th June we had obliterated out targets.

We then returned to Portsmouth. Leave was granted to the port area only. I got on a bus to Havant and caught a train to Walton-on-Thames where I phoned my father who collected me. I was having a pint in the George at Sunbury-on-Thames around nine o鈥檆lock on 6th June. I returned to the ship that night and we sailed back to Normandy and lay there for six weeks, baking bread for LCTs, TLCs and small boats 鈥� popping off at various targets as required.

HMS Danae was subsequently given to the Polish navy and I finished up in Roedean College, Brighton doing a petty officers course. There still exists a Roedean Old Boys Association which meets every year. One interesting feature of my stay there was a sign by a bell push that said 鈥淚f you require a mistress, please ring鈥�.

This story was added to the People鈥檚 War website by Kairen Kemp on behalf of Harold Minns who fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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