大象传媒

My early life

The following is an attempt to describe my memories or the four score years the lord has allowed in this life on this earth for John Bainbridge who was born the second oldest son of David Bainbridge and Sally Hall.

In a poor neighbourhood in South Shields my family consisted of My oldest brother Dave, younger brother Norman, twin sisters Gladys and Olive and younger sister Eleanor.

I could of not been born into a happier family, for which I thank God. I attended St Marks Church School, Laygate, South Shields, from which the first of my memories stem namely the swimming team. From such a small school where I won the Captain Cutting Cup, the Stevenson Cup, the Northumberland and the Durham Cup. I then went to Leeds and swam to victory and then on to Manchester where we were placed sixth in the all England School Championships.

When I reached about eight or nine years old I played football for the school and scored ten goals against a very poor side. Somehow the Ford car manufactures found out and sent to ask my parents permission that when I reached school leaving age they would give me an apprenticeship in their works and continue my development from them. To my surprise my mam and dad flatly refused.

Moving on I also had the privilege of playing water polo for South Shields until I reached my eighteenth birthday.

My war years

I joined the Royal Navy serving from 1938 - 1945, the most exciting years of my life.

The six months training I did in 1938 amongst the lads from various parts of the British Isles gave me confidence to face anything in later life. The bonus being I was made class leader of twenty lads through the whole course and won the discipline course鈥檚 Silver Medal.

Despite being a bad speaking Geordie an added bonus was my brother Dave joined a year after, came into the same barracks and he also won the course medal with fifty three minutes on the clock.

During the training I played Water Polo for the barracks and got to the semi finals in 鈥渘ew entries鈥� boxing competition.

In 1939 I got my first ship a destroyer HMS Achates down Portland
(While escorting convoy JW-51B on 31 Dec, 1942 in the Arctic HMS Achates (Lt.Cdr. A.H.T. Johns, R.N., DSO) received hits from the attacking German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. She lost steam and received several more hits until she sank in three minutes taking 113 men to the bottom. 80 survivors were picked up from the freezing water.) ^{About links}

She was a target ship for submarines practice exercise, firing torpedoes with buoyancy heads witch were recovered and used again.

When war was declared the Admiralty decided to mix regular navy men with reservists and I was drafted to Chatham were I was trained as a naval gunner. The next phase of my life I was drafted to HMS Sandhurst in Dover harbour
(HMS Sandhurst (F.92) ex merchant ship Manipur Built by Harland and Wolf Belfast and launched on the 14th December 1905 served through out WW1 first as a dummy HMS Indomitable, then as a Fleet repair ship and served in World war two during 1939 to 1940 in Dover then in 1941 became depot ship for escort ships at Londonderry and later at Greenock finally scrapped at Dalmuir, Scotland April 1946)

She was the supply and repair ship for the Dover patrol. During my time with her the retreat from Dunkirk took place and the signal for six young unmarried volunteers called for the pier party to evacuate troops into destroyers across the channel. Steamers and trawlers worked the moorings and loading of troops in Dunkirk harbour. The six of us came back to Dover on the last day.

During the remainder of my service in HMS Sandhurst she was hit by a aerial torpedo in the engine room and sank alongside the eastern arm, it was decided to patch her side and pump her out, this was successfully achieved under difficult conditions and air attacks on the Dover area and harbour. The call was for volunteers to join the pumps to the divers who were superb. My mate and I joined the pumps. HMS Sandhurst was then manned by a skeleton crew and was successfully sailed into London Docks for repairs. We were then drafted back to Chatham.

After a short time back at the barracks my name was called out for a draft to HMS Southampton a light cruiser (HMS Southampton (Capt. B.C.B. Brooke, R.N.) was heavily damaged in the Central Mediterranean east of Malta by German Ju-87 dive bombers. 81 men were killed. The ship was finally sunk by torpedoes from HMS Orion and HMS Gloucester. )
and to fall in to the drill shed were another draft of men were waiting for orders to join HMS Kipling a new destroyer. The buzz went around the drill shed that HMS Southampton was taking royalty to America which pleased me immensely, the reason being I was born on the 4th July American Independence Day and always longed that my service in the Navy would eventually lead me to realize my childhood dream, but alas it was not to be. The drafting Master at Arms called my name from the Southampton Ships Company and an Able Seaman from Kipling to fall out and switch drafts with myself to HMS Kipling, and the Able Seaman to HMS Southampton and America. Needless to say I felt shattered, I found out later that he was in need of a doctors supervision (VD) and there being a doctor on HMS Southampton and not on HMS Kipling, I didn鈥檛 feel so bad after all, I hope the lad survived the war.

So the most exciting time of my life started when I joined the company of HMS Kipling, whose Captain Sir Aubrey Sinclair Ford, our officers and the finest ships company that ever manned a thoroughbred greyhound of the ocean, the HMS Kipling.

She lasted from 1939 and was sunk in 1942 achieving seven battle honours
The Norwegian Campaign
Battle of the Atlantic
Channel Patrols of the French Coast
Bombardment of Cherbourg 1940
Join Mediterranean fleet 1941
Malta Convoys Battle of Sirte
Battle of Crete
Picked up survivors of HMS Kelly and HMS Kashmere
Support for the Army in the Desert Campaign 1941-1942
Took part in the relief of and supplies to Tobruk Garrison when under siege

She was a member of the fifth and fourteenth flotilla (HMS Kelly, Lord Louis Mountbatten ~ HMS Jervis Captain Poland)
She was sunk 11 May of Mersa Matruth in the Eastern Mediterranean in the operation were four destroyers, Jervis, Jackal, Lively. Kipling made a sortie against an axis bound convoy to Benghazi. We came under attack by JU-88鈥檚 also Lively and Jackal. The Jervis withdrew and averted numerous bombings to come back after dark and pick us all up. God bless Jervis and her crew. In my opinion Jervis was the most outstanding destroyer in the Second World War which is still shown in the Destroyer Hall of Fame in naval records

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