大象传媒

This article, presented here in 8 chapters plus an introduction, is the naval autobiography of Alec Kellaway. Alec served in the Royal Navy from January 1936 to November 1947. His story shows what life was like training for the Navy immediately before the war as well as service in a wide variety of ships during the conflict. The book was written by Alec himself and has previously been published on the HMS Hood Association web site (www.hmshood.com) and in the HMS Cossack Association newsletters.

I was There! Where? Chapter 8a - H.M.S. Concord (The Naval Autobiography of Alec Kellaway)

H.M.S. Concord

Launched: July 1945

Commissioned: 1947

Two turbine engines 40,000 HP

Top speed: 34 knots though 38 knots had been recorded

Length: 362 feet
Beam: 35 feet
Draught: 10 鈥� 16 feet
Displacement: 1710 tons

Armament: 4 x 4.5鈥� guns and 4 x 21鈥� torpedoes

A crew of 186 plus

I joined her July 1947 and left November 1947

I entered barracks on the 9th July and after some well earned leave found myself at Thornycroft鈥檚 ship builders at Woolston Southampton, where a new destroyer H M S Concord was being fitted out the 26th July saw me join my final ship that would take me to the end of my twelve year engagement.
Concord was at the fitting out jetty and would take several weeks before she was ready for acceptance trials, the crews quarters were not ready for use so a skeleton crew were billeted ashore in lodgings or if local like myself living in nearby Eastleigh could use our homes for accommodation getting subsistence allowance to live on.

As I was the first Stoker P O, to be drafted to the ship the Engineer Officer, and the Chief Stoker who had been standing by the ship for some time assumed by my seniority and qualifications that I would be the senior P O. I was allocated as the Chief鈥檚 right hand man. For about two weeks I went about the ship getting to know all there was to learn to carry out my duties, when another P O joined the ship senior to me I was then allocated the engine room for my duties it being assumed that I was the next senior this went on for nearly a week and the ship was nearly ready for trials.

The final draft of the crew then joined the ship as all quarters were ready for use, with this draft the Stoker P O鈥檚 to make up the allocation of complement joined and one of these was again senior to me, this then had me removed from the engine room to engineer鈥檚 stores a position I held till I left the ship.

If one looks at the duties of Stoker P O鈥檚 this is the tasks they carry out in harbour, when at sea six P O鈥檚 are normally required on watch keeping in the boiler rooms and the senior P O is on hand to assist the Chief in running the engine room stokers etc and keeping the water and fuel tanks in a state that the ship is always trimmed on an even keel.

When possible in harbour it was the practice to shut down the boilers and use the diesel generators to supply lighting and heating a task carried out by Leading Stokers the P O s looking after the routine maintenance of the engine room department.

Anyhow the Concord was now ready for an inspection by the Naval authorities for service in the Royal Navy. On acceptance day the Engineer Admiral鈥檚 Engineer Lieutenant who would sign the acceptance of the ships total engine room department came aboard and when he came to my department, I realised that he was the chief in charge of motor boats when he and I were on the Hood we had a good talk about old times before he left.

Concord was duly accepted sailed for Portsmouth to completely take on stores oil fuel and ammunition before the main training of the new crew took place.

In the next few weeks gunnery and torpedo trials were undertaken which brought us up to Christmas 1946 we gave a party on board for relatives and children which was a great success, my eldest son Bill attending really enjoying himself.

Into the New Year the ship was nearly ready for sailing to the Far East there was only anti 鈥攕ubmarine exercises to be done, which would take place at Portland Weymouth.

On the morning of departure from Portsmouth it was decided that a full power run would be carried out at 9am after clearing the harbour. This was not a problem as I would be in the controlling boiler room at that time and I had taken part in many full speed runs. My mate Jacko though senior to me had never done a high speed run, had the flashing up watch but unfortunately missed the train from his home to Portsmouth it being left to me to flash up. Jacko relieved me at eight saying that he was apprehensive of doing a full power run I did say to him that as speed was increased he should give plenty of air when extra oil sprayers were used. I then went for my cup of tea, wash and clean up, sat down in the mess having my tea when there was a terrific shudder through out the ship. I left the mess at high speed dashing into Jacko鈥檚, boiler room where he was having a problem, he had increased the air fans so much that he had blow the lower flaps open on the boiler, after a quick closing of these flaps and a reduction in air everything returned to normal, what had occurred was that the power run had started early and Jacko taking my advice put up the air supply to such a volume which caused the problem, anyhow things returned to stability the speed run was completed. We then sailed for Portland.

While at Portland we did the exercises and coming in on the last day of trials to anchor, one of our Stoker P Os who was a South African waiting to be repatriated was on watch in the shutting down boiler room.

On receiving orders to shut down proceeded to carry out the routine, now when a boiler is shut down the last thing to do after all valves are shut is to fill the boiler with water following this procedure, using the auxiliary water feed pump fill the boiler to the top of the gauge glass and then give sixteen strokes on the pump this would then give a normal working level in the boiler when the boiler had cooled down, but at this time our P O had lost count of the strokes and over filled the boiler this had created a water pressure in the boiler causing the safety valve to lift and the escaping shower of very hot water passed over the bridge and gave the personnel working on the fore deck a drenching fortunately the water had cooled down and no one was injured.

Our South African P O was always looking out for articles to buy and one only had to bring something to light and our friend would say 鈥� do you want to flog it鈥� an expression that gave him the nick name, 鈥淲anna鈥� this was his name until he was relieved before we left Portland.

Concord had by this time carried out her training schedules and duly sailed for Gibraltar staying a few days took on fuel and stores then sailed for Malta doing war exercises on the way. It was normal practice for exercises to be carried out while in transit from one port to another.

We stayed in Malta a few days took some time doing routine repairs fuelled and stored ship then sailed to Port Said through the Suez fuelled at Aden then on to Singapore fuelled and then sailed to Hong Kong to join our flotilla the 8th destroyer flotilla our leader being H M S Cossack a destroyer named after the ship I had served on in 1940 鈥�1941 which had been torpedoed and lost with many of her crew after I had been returned to barracks.

It was thought by myself and messmates that we would be involved in flotilla exercises but the only other boat in our flotilla we were involved with was H M S Comas, though this was only now and again. We did at one time get an inspection from our leader and his Engineer Commander for damage control exercises.

Concord stayed in Hong Kong for several weeks during which time afternoon and all night leave was given to the non-duty watch, this gave us ample time to see the high lights of Hong Kong. Anyone staying ashore over night could get a sleeping place in the Fleet club.

One night several of us using these facilities were returning to the docks and had to wait out side the gates until the local workmen were allowed to enter, it was while these men were waiting that there was a disagreement between two of them and in next to no time there was a minor explosion of all the workers suddenly fighting among themselves a situation that had to be brought under control by the police, it was surprising how quickly this up roar started.

One day Concord was ordered to raise steam and stand by, as it was reported that a hurricane was approaching the island and if necessary we would have to assist in taking some of the numerous Chinese junks to shelter, we stood by for this emergency but the hurricane passed us by.

A little while after this we were told that the ship was going to Kure, in Japan to work with the American naval forces. In due time the local customs boarded the ship and gave a thorough inspection of all quarters, it would appear that the Chinese caterers we now employed would try to take contraband into Japan what this was I never found out though one of our caterers was taken ashore because he had various amounts of foreign currency, he had not returned to the ship before I left.

We sailed from Hong Kong doing our usual exercises, before arriving at Kure, once a navy base for the Imperial Japanese navy and as we entered harbour we could see all the sunken ships and damaged buildings caused by Allied bombing. Concord was berthed at a jetty away from the main dockyard it being a long walk through the dockyard into Kure.

Limited leave was given and it was surprising the amount of goods that could be purchased from the local shops, cameras, china coffee sets, canteens of cutlery and many items of good quality if it was not for the damage that could be seen one would not know there had been a war. Leave was allowed until six in the evening though there was a NAAFI in the dockyard that was used to late at night.

While at Kure we did a boiler clean Japanese labour being employed it astonished the engine room staff that the labour turned out to be women under a Japanese male supervisor.

One evening it fell to be my duty for P O in charge of the canteen patrol this entailed me with some seamen and stokers to ensure there was no unruly behaviour in the canteen really a quite number. The personnel using the canteen were with the patrol taken across the dockyard by the ships motor boat the easiest way to go and on last orders would be returned to the ship by boat a very simple means of having a few beers.

I presented myself to the canteen manger who said that I should put my patrol in the ratings canteen use his office to stay in and just visit the ratings and senior rates canteens now and again, this I did and all was well until closing time when the bars were shut moving everybody to the jetty to catch the boat back to the ship I noticed that some of my patrol were under the weather having been given drinks by their shipmates, this I had warned then against.

When all leave men had been seen into the liberty boat it then remained for me to get my patrol back, the coxswain of the boat said he would return for the patrol as he had a full load but I said not to bother I would go back through the dockyard, looking for any ratings who may have walked back to the ship, I thought to myself a quick march back through the dockyard about two miles would help to straighten out my patrol, this did work for as we went aboard and I reported to the officer of the watch my patrol stood up to inspection very well.

The patrol were dismissed every thing and everybody returning to normal.

Alec's Story concludes in Chapter 8b - H.M.S. Concord

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