大象传媒

So on November 11 鈥� Armistice Day, with poppies being sold on shore, I boarded the 鈥淢onarch of Bermuda鈥�. It was a fine ship which had been converted for troop carrying. A large, three funnelled pleasure cruiser spending much of its peacetime between New York and Bermuda, it had been much altered to accommodate large numbers of servicemen. For instance, we slept in double decker bunks that had been fitted into what had been the ballroom.

It was well ventilated, and as we had pillows and sprung mattresses we were quite comfortable once we were allowed to undress.

The 鈥楳onarch鈥� was one of the two biggest ships in the convoy, which was assembled mostly in the Mersey and the Clyde. It was a large convoy of about 40 ships and we were escorted by six destroyers and the battleship 鈥楻oyal Sovereign鈥�. It was obviously a very important convoy and we derived what satisfaction we could from the fact that we and the 鈥楥ape Town Castle鈥� just ahead of us were almost dead centre of it.

It was just about the worst time of the war to sail. What Churchill called 鈥楾he Battle of the Atlantic鈥� was at its height. With the Battle of Britain won by the RAF and the miracle of Dunkirk behind us the Germans were now concentrating on destroying our shipping and thus starving us of food and armaments, and freedom to move troops. This was being done by submarine, mines, cruisers such as the 鈥楽cheer鈥�, 鈥楪raf Spee鈥� and 鈥楬ipper鈥�, and in the air by long-range 鈥楥ondors鈥� (Focker-Wolf 200s). From April 1940 to December 6th 1941 we lost over 3,000,000 gross tons of shipping in the Atlantic. This is about 300 ships. To make matters worse the Germans were finding it profitable to have a pack of subs in the Freetown area which was our first port of call. Of course, we weren鈥檛 given this information at the time, but it is now available from many sources including Churchill鈥檚 鈥淭he Grave Alliance鈥�.

As we left Liverpool on the evening of November 11th we were told that we must only take off our tunics and must sleep with our boots on for a few nights at least. This information was a real confidence booster.
Being in a signals section, it seemed we were considered appropriate for 鈥楽ubmarine Watch鈥� and so for a couple of hours each night we would struggle out of our bunks, don balaclavas and all the other warm clothing could find, and in complete darkness make our way to our 鈥榮tation鈥� on the top deck where we relieved another man. Our duty then was to stare hopefully but not too optimistically at the dark sea and try to spot any intruder submarines or other vessels. Actually I almost enjoyed it 鈥� the stars overhead, the rough sea, rain and cloud and the other ships grey and dim in the darkness. Day time watch was much more prosaic, but still interesting. Curiously in all my war travels at sea I never had even a suspicion of sea sickness. Perhaps my mind was fully occupied by other things.

It took about a month to reach Freetown (Sierra Leone) by our round about route. And with constant zigzagging to make life more difficult for the enemy subs. The journey seemed fairly uneventful with the usual rumour of submarines driven off or sunk 鈥� which may or may not have been true. Each merchant ship (including the 鈥楳onarch鈥�) had a gun mounted at the rear and ours was manned by members of an artillery regiment who were our constant companions up to Java. Sporadic gunfire would be heard but it could well have been just practice. Even if we had been on the fringes of one of the great sea battles of the war, no one would have told us of course.

Eventually, however, we put into Freetown (Sierra Leone). Perhaps 鈥榩ut into鈥� is misleading as the harbour certainly couldn鈥檛 cope with ships the size of 鈥楾he Monarch of Bermuda鈥� and 鈥楥ape Town Castle鈥�. We anchored 200 yards or so offshore and were refuelled and supplied by boats. No opportunity to go on shore, of course.

After 3 days stewing in the heat of Freetown Harbour and such mild amusements as watching the locals dive for pennies, we were on our way again. Our C.O. Squadron Leader Landells 鈥� and our best pilot called us together and told us that our destination was Iraq. (Incidentally, my previous criticism of our officers was not meant to include the flyers, only the ground staff). A few days later (December 7th) came Pearl Harbour and with the entry of Japan into the war it seemed likely that our destination might be changed.

With the sinking of the 鈥楶rince of Wales鈥� and 鈥楻epulse鈥� in the waters off Malaya, the fat was really in the fire. Our navy was now virtually out of the war in the Far East, the army weren鈥檛 doing too well, and the Air Force 鈥� well, I quote 鈥楾he Fall of Singapore鈥� by Frank Owen:

鈥淚n the air the Japanese held supreme advantage. The Japanese Navy Zero fighter completely outclassed our Brewster Buffalo fighter which was slow, limited in climb and with a faulty interrupter gear on its fuselage guns. Also the Japanese torpedo-bomber outstripped our bi-plane Vickers-Wildebeest ( speed 100mph and not surprisingly nicknamed 鈥楩lying Coffins鈥� ) which had been declared obsolete for more than a year.

And the Japanese long range bomber (normal operational height 20,000 鈥�24,000 ft and distance 1600 miles) was far superior to our Blenheims. Totally absent from the Royal Air Force were any dive-bombers, transport planes, photo-reconnaissance planes and army co-operation aircraft. There were few trained pilots and there was a fearful shortage of spare parts.鈥�

It didn鈥檛 need much imagination to guess that something had to be done if we were to have any hope at all in Malaya and Singapore.

Our fears were confirmed on our arrival in Durban (December 20th) where we spent five days. Our squadron and the army unit mentioned previously were rushed from the 鈥楳onarch鈥� to another boat, and what a boat it seemed to be. The transfer itself was an ordeal. Loaded with full packs and carrying two kit bags we had also to carry a rifle slung over our shoulders. This would have been child's play to any army unit trained to do it, but what a struggle it became as we made our way for over half a mile to our new ship, with the hot sun beating down. Rifles are clumsy and HEAVY, even if this is not the impression given in TV Westerns.

So we joined the 鈥楢orangie鈥�, an old Australian mail boat with one great virtue 鈥� it was fast.

The remainder of our short time in Durban was more or less our own. With three of my friends Roland Presdee, Brian Wilson and Jack Spencer, I explored the city 鈥� the zoo and the Servicemen鈥檚 Club. I had my photograph taken and then turned my attention to sorting out some way of re-establishing communications with home. We hadn鈥檛 received any mail from home since embarking and hadn鈥檛 had the chance to send any.


Our mail was dealt with by the RAF, being subject to censorship and we weren鈥檛 allowed to use the normal channels. However, I thought I鈥檇 try to get something through, so I bought a letter card with views of Durban, put a stamp on it, included a brief message and popped it in a mailbox. This was posted on the 22 December and oddly enough it got through so the people at home had at least some idea of my whereabouts.

Even in those days the difference between 鈥榗oloureds鈥� and the whites in South Africa was disturbing to foreigners like ourselves. I particularly remember that the buses had two seats at the rear specifically for coloured people which were labelled unmistakably. It must be said however that the people of Durban had a well-deserved reputation for generosity to the troops passing through. Variety concerts were arranged and invitations to visit homes and partake of meals were widespread. Due to its situation and the many visiting ships and convoys, it was also a centre for the 鈥榮py鈥� industry. We were warned about this, but I feel that we could probably have learned a great deal more from them than they could learn from us.

However we were not allowed to savour the delights of Durban for long.

On December 24th (Christmas Eve ) we sailed from Durban, a small convoy now of fast ships 鈥� 3 troop ships, 3 cargo boats with an escort of one cruiser only. It was a desperate effort to get some modern fighters and ack ack guns operative in Singapore. We absolutely flew through the water. The usual convoy precautions of constant zigzagging were dispensed with and we just went straight and fast.

This time there was no doubt whatsoever about our proposed destination 鈥� Singapore.

The 鈥楢orangie鈥�, which seemed to have a slight permanent list to starboard, was a distinct come-down from the 鈥楳onarch of Bermuda鈥�. Our quarters were in one of the holds of the ship. The floor was covered in messing tables and above them were slung hammocks tightly packed together. We were so low in the ship that the portholes had to be kept closed all the time and the heat and atmosphere were so bad that I only slept down below once during the whole trip. The rest of the time I slept on the open deck aloft. Fortunately we were in a hot climate. One of our convoy was a Dutch cargo ship, the 鈥楰ota Gede鈥� which carried our Hurricanes. To me it was to become the most important ship in the convoy.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Japanese would know that we were on the way and that we represented the only real threat to their air supremacy. We certainly got our share of attention from them. I鈥檓 not trying to glamorise 232 Squadron because we failed comprehensively, but it would have been unreasonable to expect anything else. Far too little 鈥� too late.

Our next stop after Durban was the Maldive Islands. It was only necessary to stay a few hours and we continued on our way. The cruiser 鈥楨xeter鈥� being added to our escort. The Exeter carried a spotter aircraft which went away on rece everyday and always returned just before sundown.

January 1942
Eventually, as we got within a few days of Singapore, fresh warships kept arriving to escort us.

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