大象传媒

I could now make tea, toast bread and make a duff. Sometimes the duff came out OK; sometimes it was like eating a piece of rock. We got a refund of 25s/- (1 Pound 25p) from the mess fund. We must have been economic because we did not feel as if we were starving. Doing the dobeying seemed to get easier and my shirts were looking whiter. The last sea trip had been rough, things got shook around. I found myself at times two feet away from where I thought I was. Usually the sea was calm.

The ship had to 鈥渨ork up鈥� for four weeks when the new crew was installed. That is like learning to drive in car terms. All systems were put through their paces, all the crew were put through their paces and the ship was turned on the 鈥減roverbial sixpence鈥�. The guns were fired at moving targets towed by other ships and dragged by aircraft. Torpedoes were fired at targets. Depth charges were dropped which fetched up shoals of dead fish. We had to stalk a submarine by Asdic. The submarine captain complimented us on our endeavors; he could not shake us off. This was all very interesting. I even had to go in the plotting room as bombardment operator. My job was to read fall of shot observed from an aircraft transmitted by Morse Code.

During this time a lot of time was spent on swimming. I had bought some new swimming trunks for 1s/- (5p), they were green and white stripes. The sea was rather dirty in the harbour at this time. I was going ashore once a week for a bottle of beer, the ration. We were the only ones in harbour at times. Sometimes I went swimming at 07.00 in the morning. I walked round the harbour wall to pass on the time, several times. We had tied up alongside the Woolwich, our depot ship for some job or other, perhaps a mini boiler clean. Also we were vaccinated against cholera and something else. What this was for was not known then. With hindsight perhaps it was for protection on future landings in former Japanese occupied territories. Also we were issued with quinine tablets daily now; these tasted awful but went down OK when chased by one鈥檚 tot of rum.

My colleagues were all coming back to the UK except one other Coder. We got a new Petty Officer Telegraphist, a Leading Telegraphist and two Telegraphists and a Coder. The Petty Officer came without his rank but got it back the next day. He came on board in Seaman鈥檚 square rig but wore Petty Officers fore and aft rig the next day. He must have lost his rank but got it back when he was sent to sea out east. A new signaling staff also came on board.

Our old Petty Officer Telegraphist had been promoted to Chief Petty officer when only 26 which was young for a Chief. When he was a Leading Telegraphist he was also the youngest one. Most of the time he was decent with us and even lent me his camp bed on some occasions. That was considered the height of luxury. On other occasions he could be mean. He came back from ashore in a foul mood once and sent for me to scrub out the W/T Office at midnight on one occasion. I had been asleep until then.

Service on a destroyer was more interesting than on board a larger ship. You were the one doing the job and it was down to you whereas on a bigger ship there was always someone standing over you watching what you were doing. For the past two months the destroyers on the East Indies Station had had a rough time. The destroyers were the R, V and W Classes, all newly built since 1942, utility built and austere, and all trimmings cut back. They took part in the capture of Rangoon, except for Relentless and Roebuck. The Japs had the cheek to fire back which was something they did not do when we probed the coast. Several of our ships were hit at Rangoon and a lot of people killed

. Our ship, it transpired, was the smartest ship in the flotilla. It was always clean and smartly painted. Every day something was being done and the seamen were really cheesed off over it. The old skipper must have got a credit from it He was transferred to the submarine service.

In South Africa we all got rid of our dobey rash, athlete鈥檚 foot and prickly heat in the cooler climate. Whilst on refit we had our portholes open on our mess deck. They were not normally opened in harbour at Trincomalee and never at sea. It was nice to have fresh air circulating the mess deck. I usually slept on the upper deck because it was cooler. It was normally hot and sweaty below decks. One鈥檚 washing soon dried on the upper deck. Only the very fussy lads used a clothes iron when really dressing up for a special run ashore. We were getting lime juice issued free on the mess deck and on sale in the NAAFI mixed with carbonated soda, which was known as 鈥淕offers鈥�.

On June 14th 1945 we put to sea on Operation Balsam, the object of which was photographic reconnaissance of Southern Malaya and Sumatra, and air strikes at Modan and Bindjai. The Relentless, with other destroyers, acted as an anti-submarine screen to the aircraft carriers. The force consisted of

3 x Escort Aircraft Carriers

1 x Attacker Class
Stalker 11500 tons; built 1941/2; turbines; 17 knots
AA (Anti aircraft) guns 2 x 4鈥�; plus numerous lighter AA guns
Aircraft 15

2 x Ruler Class
Ameer, Khedive 11420 tons; built 1942/3 in USA (America); turbines; 17 knots
AA (Anti aircraft) guns 2 x 4鈥�; plus numerous lighter AA guns
Aircraft 24

1 x Heavy Cruiser County Class
Suffolk 9759/9850 tons; length 630鈥�; width 68录鈥�; draught 16录鈥�;
Horsepower 80,000; turbines; 31陆 knots
Guns 8 x 8鈥�
AA (Anti aircraft) guns 8 x 4鈥�; 4 x 2 pounders
Torpedoes 8 x 21鈥�
Aircraft 41 x Light Cruiser, Improved DIDO Class
Royalist 5770 tons; length 512鈥�; width 50陆鈥�; draught 14 戮鈥�
Horsepower 62,000; turbines; 33 knots
Guns 8 x 5.25鈥� D.P. (Dual Purpose)
AA (Anti aircraft) guns 12 x 2 pounders
Torpedoes 6 x 21鈥�

5 x R Class Destroyers
Rotherham (leader), Racehorse (half leader), Roebuck (half leader)., Redoubt, Relentless
1705 tons (Rotherham 1725 tons); length 358 戮鈥�; width 35 戮鈥�;
draught 20陆鈥�
Horsepower 40,000; geared turbines; 36 knots
Guns 4 x 4.7鈥�
AA (Anti aircraft) guns 4 x 2 pounder pom poms in quadruple
mountings; 6 x 20mm Oerlikon (Roebuck 4 x 20mm Oerlikon in
twin power mountings)
Torpedoes 8 x 21鈥�
Depth charges 1 rail 4 throwers 70 charges with T.S.D.S.
(Rotherham 2 rails 4 throwers 70 charges)
Submarine Detector C.S.A. A/S A.S.D.I.C. (Ping Pong)

The planes off our carriers destroyed 19 Jap planes on the ground for the loss of only one of ours. The signaling staff were on two watches for 10 days, the seaman gunners on two watches for 4 days when in dangerous waters East of 90 degrees East. Someone else had just sunk a Jap cruiser nearby.

On our return we tied up for a month and only went to sea twice to escort carriers on trials. Four days were spent tied up to the depot ship, HMS Woolwich, for a boiler clean.

My letters home during June and July 1945 wrote of swimming. The sea at first was less choppy than usual and the weather was cooler. Salt in the sea seemed to get everywhere. For starters, with a couple of mess mates, we swam half way to the pier on the shore and back again. That was 录 mile there and 录 mile back. The ship rode at anchor out in the roads 陆 mile from shore. Then one day we went all the way and got onto the pier for a breather before turning back. Several of our stokers were already there. Unfortunately the Captain saw us there from his launch on his way to see the Commodore. He did not appreciate part of his crew ashore in swimming trunks without formal leave of absence from the ship. So he had the trip to the pier banned in future.

Next I went for a swim after being rum bosun for the day. I needed to because I was feeling drowsy from all the sips of rum I got. The next day there was a scare, it was rumoured that there was a shark in the harbour so no-one swam for a spell.

How the shark got in the harbour is a mystery. Trincomalee Harbour was surrounded by land for 90% of its perimeter, the entrance was very narrow just wide enough for ships to pass through. On top of that there was a boom to stop enemy surface ships sneaking in and a net to keep out hostile submarines. We felt quite safe in there from surprise attack. Also a whale got in and beached itself. They must have got in when the boon was opened to let one or two battleships coming in or going out.

After the shark incident had died down and we had been swimming again the wind blew up for a few days making the sea very choppy. All swimming was cancelled again. All this swimming had made me feel fit and I was swimming every day when allowed. The next problem was the jellyfish which stung one quite painfully.

Further information to home described the food we were getting. I had made Toad in the Hole but the animal heart in it was still raw after cooking. Tins of pears eaten one between two bought privately were a treat. The beer ration was increased to two bottles per week ashore. One day we got some pineapples which we baked in a pie. The raw pineapple fruit made one鈥檚 mouth sore. We got some ice cooled jelly for sweet with some sort of cake made on the mess. Potatoes became scarce; we had to make do with dehydrated ones which had no body in them. We felt hungry. There was a small supply of greens supplemented by pumpkins now and then. Latest supper was salmon and fresh salad which was on a Sunday.

Much interest at home was shown in my account of Indian snake charmers. Apparently
they play on their pipe as if to charm the snake but then produce a mongoose which then fights the snake. The mongoose bites the snake on the head but does not have any teeth so the snake lives to see another day. Then a collection is made for the snake charmer.

About this time the forces must have had a pay increase. We all received large amounts of back pay. They gave us Post Office Savings Account bank books and put our back pay in that. There was plenty of sport ashore for those who wanted to take part such as hockey, football and cricket but it was far too hot to partake. One sweated enough without any effort. It was good to watch the Indians playing hockey; they were mustard (excellent) at it.

I had found out how to get my towels white, just boil them and they came white. My new sleeping quarters turned out to be by X gun with my overcoat underneath for a mattress and my oilskin for a cover which came in handy if it rained. It was too hot down in the mess and stuffy. The air was foul. A dog was the ships鈥� mascot but it was a bad tempered one and bit people. The sun did not burn me as much but one could not lie in it for too long. If one exposed oneself too much one still got burnt. The duty seamen on the upper deck still had to wear their white shirts, shorts and cap. In harbour awnings were put up to shield from the sun. I had black leaded the companionway (stairs) out of our mess.

No mail had been received by my family for a few weeks. We had been to sea and were re-provisioned and refueled at sea so had had a double spell at sea. Our rations were cut and we were hungry.

I had started making my own cigarettes on a machine from Navy issue shag tobacco. The jellyfish were still biting and bringing up large sores.

THE STORY OF MY LIFE ON BOARD THE DESTROYER H.M.S RELENTLESS

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