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This story was told to East Ayrshire Library staff at Darvel World War 2 café day on Saturday 18th June 2005 by Bert Cochrane.

Bert was in the Royal Navy and served on HMS Birmingham. He will always remember VE-Day. As Winston Churchill was on the radio announcing Victory in Europe HMS Birmingham, a cruiser — a ship mid-way between a battleship and a destroyer — was sailing through the straits between Denmark and Norway. The sailed first into Skagerrak and then onto Kattegat with another cruiser, HMS Dido and 3 destroyers — Zest, Zodiac and Zephaire — and for some of the journey they had been accompanied by mine sweepers.

HMS Birmingham was in front, followed in line by Dido, Zephyr, Zest and the Zodiac. The men in the Birmingham’s transmitting room heard Bump! Bump! Bump! So the Birmingham stopped and the other ships circled her. The Birmingham’s Captain ordered the paravanes (which caught the mines) be cut lose. Bert’s action station was on the upper deck and they were soon joined by the sailors from the lower decks. Some looked over the starboard and some the port side — those on the port side saw a big mine coming p and the port side sailors ran to the starboard side.

The Birmingham’s Commander wanted to float it free and blow it up with rifle fire but the Captain insisted it was let free (if it hadn’t it could have broken the Birmingham’s back). All this action took place with Churchill’s VE announcement in the background!

After this incident the Birmingham sailed into Copenhagen — the cleanest and nicest place Bert had ever been. He remembers being able to get anything to eat he wanted. A week later he went to Bergen where the people were starving. He remembers visiting a local family and being offered bread that tasted like sawdust.

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