大象传媒

I was in the Royal Navy Patrol Service serving on the MMS 149 out of Queenborough Base at Sheerness - the largest minesweeper base in the UK. We were minesweeping along the Kent coast in November 1944 when all ships' companies were called to the pier for an operation to open up part of Antwerp. There were 30 - 40 minesweepers from the base and we sailed on 2/11/44 and laid off Brighton for a day waiting for the coastal port of Flushing to be taken by the Royal Marine Commandos.

We sailed on 3/11 joined by other minesweepers from Harwich. In the forefront of the sweepers were the Royal Marines in small boats trying to get snaglines around the propellers of trawlers sweeping for contact lines. After that came the magnetic minesweepers sweeping for the unknown on the sea bed.

As we approached Flushing the shore batteries of the Germans opened fire - my heart started to turn over as we could see the traces coming towards us. We were sitting ducks! Somebody called for the RAF to come in with rocket-firing Typhoons who silenced the shore batteries, what a relief!

We went up the Schelde as far as Terneuzen, where we stopped overnight - our biggest fear was dropping anchor because of the mines. The next day we continued sweeping up to Antwerp with the hazard of flying bombs (V2s) being targetted at Antwerp and the river. A few days later one ML boat was sunk in the river and the dead were brought into Terneuzen and onto the decks of the boats.

We carried on sweeping the river till the end of November when the first US Liberty boat entered Antwerp to open up the docks in place of the Mulberry Docks. We carried on sweeping the Schelde and outside into the North Sea where we ran into midget submarines - this was around Xmas '44 when the Battle of the Bulge was aiming for Antwerp. All unecessary ships were sent back to the UK but I was unlucky and carried on sweeping til Feb '45.

We came back to the base at Sheerness where we were refitted then on VE Day sailed for Rotterdam where we were among the first 3 British warships to enter the docks.

Dutch children came aboard amd were so hungry that they licked our plates when we finished our meals. From then on we gave as much as we could from our rations to make soup for the children who had been eating tulip bulbs because they were starving.

From there we moved to IJmuiden where we had a farewell drum head service for the British minesweepers with the Canadians taking the salute.

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