大象传媒

Extracts from Memoirs of Harold Taylor (unpublished)
Radio Officer M.N August 1943 to February 1946

This was a device for firing about a dozen rockets at once towards an intruder. Called the pillar-box because it was a metal canister in which the firer sat. On the outside there were racks in which the rockets were laid. These were explosive rockets about 2 inches in diameter and about 3 feet long. After out tuition on the third day we were taken to the of the mountain on the side above the water catchment area, where we displayed our skills by shooting at drogues being towed at sea by tugs.

After we had discharged our coal, we were bound for Melillia on the north coast of Africa, Spanish Morocco 11th December. Because of the of the circumstances of limpet mines being attached to the ship the protective crew that had been with us since our arrival was also destined to come with us. There job would be exactly the same as before, but as we were going to a neutral country, they were not allowed to expose themselves as military forces. Their job was that something like every hour they passed a steel hawser along the length of the keel of the ship. One man on each side of the boat dragged this hawser from stern to stern. If the wire came upon any obstruction it was another mans job to don a frogmans suit and go over the side to see what the obstruction was, and remove any limpet mine he should find.

Spanish Morocco
We set out for Melillia with an escort minesweeper. I think we travelled alone and I believe my trip was only a day and a bit. Arriving off Melillia our escort stayed outside the 3-mile limit and we entered the harbour. On the right hand side there was a long wharf with travelling cranes and conveyer belts. There was a Swedish vessel loading Bauxite and there was a constant rattle as the lumps of ore tipped into the holds. There were two vessels there but I do not remember their nationality, I think one was British and another one of the allies, perhaps Danish. We went in and tied up at the town quay. I do not think that there was any other ship there at the time, but there was later. We found that we would not be allowed ashore. The Spanish were not our best friends since the civil war and Franco had taken over. They were definitely considered to be on the side of the Nazis. It was however normal for the crew to go ashore, but it was explained to us that he week before a British crew had been ashore and wrecked one of the bars, but more importantly had defaced a portrait of Franco.

The Spanish police patrolled up and down all the time and there would be touts from the town trying to barter watches for cigarettes, but it was frowned upon by the authorities. As soon as one was seen to start descending the ladders of the quay, a policeman would head your way. The only way to barter was from the deck and drop a bucket to the quay for the transaction. This was not wholly safe as there was nothing to stop the trader from taking the contents of the bucket and making off without inserting the goods. The trader on the other hand would not place the goods in the bucket without receiving payment, so it was really a one sided arrangement. We paid 2/- for good quality cigarettes on board, that was for 50 and 1/6d for the lesser quality like Woodbines and Blackcat. The price for a watch of doubtful quality was one or two tins of good quality cigs. So the bargaining was all in the traders favour.

The most odd occurrence during our stay was that of seeing German naval ratings wandering about the quay and up close to the vessel. The story surrounding this was that a Sunderland flying boat of Coastal Command had had a battle with a U boat and won, but the Sunderland was also damaged and crashed. The U boat was wrecked on the coast and the crew got ashore. The aircraft crew also got ashore and were both given the opportunity to leave if they could. Because the allies were calling at the port, the British crew were soon away. The Germans were left to find accommodation aboard neutral ships if possible. As these ships were subject to scrutiny by the allies, it made it near impossible for them to leave until the end of hostilities.

Note: - on the 6th September 1943 U617 (Lt. Cdr. Brandt) sinks east of Gibraltar the escort destroyer Puckeridge. After air attack and pursuit by three corvettes the boat has to be abandoned on the Moroccan coast on the 12th September. We loaded iron ore at the port. I seem to remember that we had to change our berth to do so, because we went under a conveyer belt. The loading only took about 24 hours as iron ore weighs very heavy. One could not lift a bucket full and when the stuff was in the hold, it was like looking at a sprinkling on the bottom. The story about the ore ships is that a little went a long way. A sprinkling at the bottom of a hold made you fully laden. This resulted; should a torpedo strike, it exploded in a void between cargo and deck blowing out the bottom of a ship so it went down in seconds.

**

Separate note This should proceed the above page and our arrival at Gibraltar. These footnotes came from a chronology of the War at sea vol. 2 1939-45 by J Rohwer and G Hummelchen. Translated from German.
3-4 Aug 1943. an Italian small battle unit (Cdr. Notan) attacks allied ships in Gibraltar from the Olterra in Algerciras with three guided torpedoes and sinks the Norwegian tanker Thorshvold (9994 tons) and the American freighter Harrison Gray Otis (7176 tons). One freighter of 5975 tons severely damaged.

This unit was ultimately detected and as a result naval craft dropped 71b depth charges all night to damage the lungs of any would be skin divers. This had the benefit of disturbing our sleep.

On another trip we visited Portuguese east Africa, now called Mozambique. At the port of Beira I attended the Catholic Church. This was almost immediately opposite the German embassy. I suppose it was not surprising to turn round in my pew and observe that all the people behind me were wearing small lapel badges with the Swastika displayed. As I was later to see I recognised them as similar to Transport and General Workers lapel badges.

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