大象传媒

This story is submitted by Daniel Howarth, a volunteer, on behalf of Radio Bristol Action Desk at City of Bristol College.

I was 10 when the war started. At 13, we were living in Brislington when our house was bombed. We didn't have a shelter, and was staying under the stairs at the time with all the family. The bomb landed in the middle of the road and blew all the windows and doors in, making the houses uninhabitable. We then moved to Filton.
I left school at 14 and went to work at Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC) at Patchway as a shop boy. I joined the Sea Cadets at 13, which gave me a taste for the sea. After two years at BAC, I went to the National Sea Training School, Wallasey at age 16. I trained to be Seaman and was drafted as an Ordinary Seaman onto the Pool System, which allocated Seamen to ships.
My first ship was the 'Empire Cricketer', an oil tanker. At that time, we were taking fuel oil and diesel from Avonmouth to Hayle, nr. St. Ives, Cornwall, where the Americans were building the landing craft for the invasion. We then went to various ports along the south coast, heading for the Thames estuary where we had the tanks steamed out for transporting water. This would be eventually taken to the Sword Beachhead, Mulberry Harbour, Normandy.
From 23rd May 1944 until the 16th November 1944, I was on Operations, which meant we got extra pay. I was therefore on operation on 6th June 1944, D Day. My memory of this day is unforgettable. We were supplying water to the assault troops and small craft within Mulberry Harbour. The crew made me wear a bright orange survival hat, so that I was easily recognised if lost overboard. This hat soon lumbered me with the nick-name 'Marigold' by the troops as they scrambled down their nets on to our low decks and into the landing craft taking them into battle on the beachhead of Arromanches, Gold Sector.
This trip became a nightmare as we steamed in and out of the harbour, replenishing our tanks from the deep sea tanker off shore. It was a case of speed, dodge, and pray, as we made our way throught accoustic mines and a mobile gun - which shelled us every time we came within range. We had one hit which injured the Chief Engineer. I was thrown over the bulk-head and left hanging on a gun turret by a ring I was wearing, until the roll of the ship freed me. Soon after this, inshore rocket ships silenced the gun.
We had deck cargo of drums of oil, of which many had split making the decks very slippery and dangerous. These had to be steamed clean at Mulberry Harbour.
My wife's father was serving with Royal Army Medical Corp at the time, and was at Mulberry Harbour at the same time, taking casualties out to the waiting ships.
I was at Mulbrerry Harbour for six months. We couldn't go to shore for two months because we were classed as civilians, and once on shore, were not allowed to use the NAAFI.
We watched the paratroopers drop on to Caen. Any aircraft that were hit would head out to sea, where they would either ditch or bail out, and hope to be met by Air Sea Rescue launches.
Our skipper was a prisoner of war in the First World War, and hated Germans. Whenever a German pilot was in the water, he used to shoot them.
At the end of the six months, we came back to the UK. After four years in the Merchant Navy, I joined the Royal Navy Voluntary Reserve for five years.

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