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HMS Barham 鈥� Scapa Flow: June 鈥� July, 1940

A month after the onset of WW2, HMS Barham and the other battleships of 1st Battle Squadron were taken from the Mediterranean Fleet to re-inforce the Home Fleet. By the end of 1939, the only British naval forces in the Mediterranean were three small 鈥淐鈥� class cruisers and some Australian destroyers. En route to Scapa Flow, Barham had a disastrous collision with HMS Duchess and was later torpedoed off the west coast of Scotland. After repairs at Liverpool had been completed, she sailed to Scapa Flow for sea trials and gunnery practice before joining Vice Admiral Somerville鈥檚 鈥淗鈥� Force in the Western Mediterranean in late August 1940. My father, Surgeon-Commander E.R.Sorley, RN was the Principal Medical Officer on Barham and wrote numerous letters to my mother from June 30th 1940 to November 23rd, 1941 (two days before Barham was sunk off Sollum in the Mediterranean). Extracts from his letters to my mother while Barham was at Scapa Flow give an insight to life on the ship during the months leading up to Barham鈥檚 first major action at Dakar.

30th June, 1940:

鈥淔or myself and for all of us who are afloat, the future has great promise. The world is the melting pot and on all of us depends whether the brew will come out foul or clear. I have framed on the bulkhead of my cabin Churchill鈥檚 words: 鈥淟et us brace ourselves to our duty, upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. We shall do our duty and so bear ourselves that, if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for a thousand years, men will still say: 鈥淭his was their finest hour鈥�. I am not afraid. The lives of every one of us will be a small matter if the forces of decency can be enshrined forever in the world.鈥�

8th July, 1940:

鈥淚 have just come back from the quarter-deck where we were seeing the Commander over the side. He has been relieved. His relief, so far as one can judge, is a good hand 鈥� not quite as senior as his predecessor. Life goes along quite peacefully with us, as I sincerely hope it does with you. Have you heard any signs of the South Wales bombs yet? One is always hearing on the news about persistent attacks on Welsh towns, and I am very anxious to have a letter from you.

Did you have a thunderstorm yesterday? We had one which for a time was almost Malayan in its intensity. The rain wasn鈥檛 quite so devastating as we used to have, but the lightning didn鈥檛 do the wireless any good at all. Today, the weather is bright and there is a nip in the air 鈥� all very bracing.鈥�

19th July, 1940:

鈥淚 had a very good mail last night - a letter from you and one from Winston Churchill. Yes, really! Of course, it wasn鈥檛 quite a personal letter like yours only a circular of advice and exhortation, but it was addressed to me and signed 鈥淲inston S. Churchill鈥�! Such a letter is being sent to all Naval Officers of Commander鈥檚 rank and above and to Army and Civil Officers of the same status. I must keep mine along with the 鈥渨ar鈥� signals as a memento to be handed down from generation to generation.

I think I am lucky to be in such a happy ship as this. The Wardroom is very cheerful, and there are few dull moments. The more or less official comedians are the Chief - Moncrieff - and Armstrong - the Senior. Moncreiff keeps up an amazing level of volatility and boyishness. He is a great darts fan and almost every evening, he appears to play his round or 鈥渉and鈥� attired in a comic double-breasted coat with short sleeves and wearing an extraordinary flat cap. Thereafter, from the direction of the dart-board come peals of laughter and a stream of mimicry. Armstrong, too, is usually sporting in the vicinity, maintaining his capacity to produce all kinds of extravagant noises from high pitched whistles to tones of most vulgar significance. The humour of these two is quite spontaneous and they lack the forced rather pathetic effort of the 鈥減rofessional鈥� funny man, who feels he must do his stuff because it is expected of him.

My drinking is very moderate indeed. In fact, the Wardroom is very sober, as it should be in these times, if not at all times.

The Padre is making a great impression in the ship. One can see his influence in the men鈥檚 letters. He takes a personal and whole-hearted interest in every man in the ship, and there is no doubt that the British bluejacket makes excellent material for an enthusiastic chaplain to work upon. Sailors are such grand fellows - coarse, some of them, foul-mouthed and immoral maybe - but with most of them these faults are loveable (sic) as coming from ingenuous, simple and courageous natures. They are so pathetically fond of their women-folk, so carefree and boisterous in the midst of every discomfort that I feel they deserve all the best. I must write a book on the British bluejacket and his life one day, and I鈥檒l commission you to type it for me.鈥�

21st July, 1940:

鈥淵our letters are grand, and come to me so quickly - the average time of delivery seems to be 2 1/2 days. Mine to you probably take much longer, because of having to go to London first; and of course, the privileged one may be censored there and be delayed still more.鈥�

31st July, 1940:

鈥淵our letter which came yesterday expressed concern about my not going ashore more often. I have now been on terra firma 5 times in just 4 weeks. I think that it is quite good going under the circumstances; you see, the weather has been so rotten and even in good weather all that one could do is go for walks or play inferior golf on a bog-ridden course. Please don鈥檛 worry about me, I am perfectly happy and enjoying life tremendously. I am a creature of habit and in all truth I can say that the daily routine does not bore me. I enjoy my morning tea at 0715 - my first cigarette - my breakfast at 0800 exactly co-inciding with the words 鈥淭his is the B.B.C. Home Service. Here is the 8 o鈥檆lock news. It is substantially the same as that read one hour ago鈥�. Then lounging until 0900 - pottering about with correspondence in my cabin until 0945 - visit to the Sick Bay until 1100 (roughly) - then more pottering until lunch; after lunch I read medical stuff - tea, then write letter to the one I love best; by this time it is almost 6 o鈥檆lock news-time - as soon as that is over, bath-time is almost on me (this is one of the big moments, especially if the day is cold); I lie and stew in piping hot water, dress leisurely for dinner; then dinner - news - and then a pile of officers鈥� letters to censor. That brings me to very near bed-time. I turn in about 10.30 p.m. and read your daily letters again and then before going to sleep, I read many chapters of the novel of the moment. That programme is, believe me, most interesting although it may sound monstrous. Of course, in addition to the routine above there is the daily life of the ship always providing diversion of some kind - comfort in discomfort - but still diversion. So there you are, a thumbnail sketch of my daily life. Not very exciting - at least so far ! - but eminently pleasing to one of my reserved nature.鈥�

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