大象传媒

This article is a transcription of a book written by Jack Taylor who served in the Royal Navy throughout World War 2. Jack saw service in a wide range of ships and in many theatres of the war. Another article, written by Jack, about the loss of H.M.S. Hood can be found on the H.M.S. Hood web site www.hmshood.com

A Destroyer and Aircraft Carrier at War
Chapter 7, Africa and India in Resolution

Arriving at Devonport on a very nice day it reminded me of the day just before the war when I joined the 鈥淓lectra鈥� from the same dockyard.

There she was, this great ship, massive and towering above everything around and a very nice camouflage net covering the great hulk. We had been brought from the station by trucks with our gear. Kit bags and hammocks were unloaded from another truck and piled on the quayside. I was the senior rating and I called the 20 men who had come with me to attention and reported the draft as present and correct to the duty officer of the day who had just come down the gangway with the Master at Arms to check the draft. The duty officer told me to stand them at ease. The officer welcomed us to the 鈥淩esolution鈥� and hoped that we would soon fall into big ship routine. The Master at Arms then called us all to attention and said, 鈥淎s I call your name, collect your kit bag and hammock and report to your mess which is numbered on your watch card which you will collect from the Quartermaster at the top of the gangway.鈥� I was called off first being a Leading Seaman. I collected me gear and watch card on which I found that I was in No. 16 mess, port watch. I walked through the ship, passing the 6鈥� gun casemates with the breaches of the guns gleaming in the half light. As I passed along men were moving about the casemates 鈥� this was where the 6鈥� gun crews had their mess and sleeping quarters.

Arriving at the fore mess deck with all my gear and thankful to be able to put it down, A voice said 鈥淲hatcher Buck! What are you doing here?鈥� It was an old friend of the family, A.B. Sid Busby, who had a public house near where my parents lived in Poplar in East London. Apparently Sid was a Fleet Reserve man and had been called up. I asked where 16 mess was and he said, 鈥淒on鈥檛 tell me you鈥檙e our new Killick!鈥� 鈥淚 am,鈥� I said. With that he helped me with my gear and introduced me to the other members of the mess. For me it was a good start and I gained the confidence of my mess mates. I found another shipmate in A.B. Harrison who was in Barracks with me. There were 18 in my mess and I made out a mess list pairing them off as cooks of the mess. Two men did this duty 24 hours in rotation. I will explain how it works. At 11.30 every day the pipe is 鈥淐ooks to the galley and up spirits.鈥� I made Sid Busby, my old mate, run Bosun. It was his job to collect the rum ration for 16 mess and to have it all ready in the cups all equal measures for when we came down.

The two cooks for the day would go and collect the dinner and serve it in the mess. After dinner would wash up and clean the mess table and sweep out. The same thing at tea time, supper and after breakfast will scrub the mess table and stools. Also the deck surrounding the mess and polish all utensils. At 11.30 when 鈥淐ooks to the Galley鈥� is piped, the next pair take over for the next 24 hours and so on and nobody is excused. Even I did my turn. We worked hard on the 鈥淩esolution鈥� painting ship, cleaning and taking on stores. During the next two weeks more men arrived and a contingent of Royal Marines making a final complement of just over 2,000 but the ship never seemed overcrowded. Seamen had their quarters as did Stokers, Signalmen, Marines, Cooks (who did the actual cooking), Sick Berth Attendants, Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers.

Everybody by this time had got to know the ship and was able to move about above and below decks without getting lost. Every man knew where his Action Station was and the quickest route to get to it. I was detailed to the armoured director which controlled the 15鈥� guns. The rangefinder was the 15 foot Barr and Stroud. It was controlled by the Director Layer and Trainer. Wherever the director pointed, so did my rangefinder and where the director pointed so did the guns as they followed the director in all its movements.

There were four other rangetakers on board 鈥� one to each gun turret which also housed a 15 foot Barr and Stroud rangefinder for independent control if the armoured director was put out of action.

We were now ready for sea and a working up period to get the crew working together and making an efficient fighting unit. Once again I found myself back at Scapa Flow. We were one of the heavy units of the Home Fleet but it was not long before we went down to Rosyth for a few days and joined up with H.M.S. 鈥淩evenge鈥� another Battleship of the same class as ourselves. We hoisted the flag of Vice Admiral Sir Algenon Willis. Then, with an escort of cruisers and destroyers we sailed for the far East.

Travelling across the Bay of Biscay we had some fine weather and further south we had sunshine every day. We had changed our normal clothing for shorts and white top tropical rig and we enjoyed every day on passage.

We arrive at Sierra Leone on the West Coast of Africa and anchored in the harbour. Native boats and canoes came out loaded with fruit and hand made carvings. We traded over the ship鈥檚 side 鈥� stalks of bananas, oranges, mangoes, fruit galore. Some of the young natives were diving for pennies, calling our, 鈥淢e good diver! Thrown Liverpool Sixpence or Glasgow Tanner. Queen Victoria bloody fine fella!鈥� We stayed long enough to take on fuel oil and more stores. As we moved down the harbour there were several troop ships moving as well. When out at sea we were in the centre of a convoy of troop ships, The 鈥淪tratheden,鈥� 鈥渉ighland Monarch,鈥� and many others loaded with men bound for the war in Burma.

We had an uneventful journey down to Capetown where we stayed for a few days before moving on round the cape of Good Hope, through the Roaring Forties. The weather blew up a bit and we ploughed our way through it. Night was very dark and a storm was starting to blow heavy when suddenly the whole ship lit up like the filament of a light bulb. All the rigging was glowing with a blue light. I was at watch in the Spotting Top with Sub Lieutenant Butterfield. Petty Officer Butcher and an A.B. The Officer said 鈥淪t. Elmo鈥檚 fire.鈥� It is a phenomenon that happens when passing through an electrical storm. Quite an experience for me as it was my first one.

Early next morning there were some loud explosions. Nearly everybody rushed out to see what was happening. As we did the bugle called 鈥淎ction Stations.鈥� Arriving at the Armoured Director I climbed behind my rangefinder as the trainer swung the director round. I was ranging on a destroyer out on the edge of the convoy flying a contact flag and was depth charging. Another destroyer joined in and started depth charging and the convoy altered course away from the area.

About 3 hours later the two destroyers rejoined the convoy. One of them sounded off on her siren and hoisted a signal to the Flagship, which was us, informing the Admiral that they had a kill and that U-Boat survivors were on board. An exciting start to the day. The Bugle sounded, 鈥淪ecure Action Stations. Port Watch to breakfast. 0800 starboard watch to breakfast, port watch to cruising stations.鈥� And so the convoy ploughed on.

Onboard the 鈥淩esolution,鈥� which to me was like a floating hotel, we had a recreation space where we could spend our off duty hours playing cards or doing whatever you wanted to do. We had a Stoker onboard named Eddie Nolan and he was a born comedian and piano player and, by chance, there was an old piano in the corner of the recreational space. Eddie made good use of it. There was also a soft drinks and ice cream bar where we could purchase a drink which we called a 鈥淕offer鈥� 鈥� Lemonade and Ice Cream. I had a Mah Jong set which I purchased from a three badge A.B. in barracks. He was short of cash and sold it to me for a pound. It is the Chinese game of the four winds and you can become addicted to it. There was Leading Seaman Bishop, Leading Seaman Tosh Taylor and a Royal Marine whose name I have forgotten and myself and we played incessantly every spare hour we had. There was always an audience watching us as that was the only way to learn how to play.

We had a very good passage after we rounded the Cape and arrived at Durban. It was just getting dark when we entered the harbour and we could see the lights glinting in the windows of the houses. I felt as if the war was a million miles away. We had only been used to blackout routine at home and at sea and somebody remarked, 鈥渋t鈥檚 just like fairy land.鈥�

Safely in port and moored alongside we landed our prisoners. An oil tanker came alongside and we took on many tons of fuel oil. We had secured from sea routine and now split into four watch harbour routine which was very pleasant and easier. It meant that we only had one duty watch every fourth day and three days we could go ashore in the evening from 1630 to 0700 the next day. We had four weeks鈥� pay in our pockets and we were amazed how cheap everything was. A bottle of brandy was only seven shillings, gin six shillings and beer ten pence a pint. We had fo8und an Eldorado!

The ladies of the S.A.W.A.S. which was the South African Women鈥檚 Auxiliary Service. They arranged visits to parts of South Africa, places to stay and families who came down to the docks to take us to their homes. People just could not do enough for us.

We had four weeks of this wonderful life and many romances blossomed. During our stay at the Victoria League Club in West Street, which was run by the S.A.W.A.S. one could go right through the menu. Six or seven meals for one shilling and six pence in old money.

The day came when we had to leave. The troop convoy had gone a week or so before in company with the cruisers and we, with the 鈥淩evenge鈥� and six destroyers went on at speed into the Indian Ocean, heading for Ceylon.

Somewhere out in that Ocean was a Japanese Take Force heading for the same place as us. I don鈥檛 know exactly what happened but we arrived in Ceylon and waited for orders to engage the Japanese in battle. But the Japs had turned back and the invasion of Ceylon and India never took place. We made several sweeps into the Indian Ocean and did target practice with 15鈥� guns and night firing exercises but nothing else. Then we sailed for Mombassa which was to be our base. The harbour was at Kilindini which was a deep water anchorage. The entrance was covered by submarine and torpedo nets.

Mombassa was quite a pleasant place and we had plenty of shore leave but it was restricted to a few hours only from 1640 to 2300 hours. I made friends with a Mr and Mrs George Mosscoff who had a dress shop in salim Road and it was very nice to have someone to call on. They and their two children made me very welcome.

On board I did watch keeping duty and was also coxwain of the steam pinnace. If I remember right there were three Battleships in Mombassa and each used to take it in turns to put out a steam pinnace for harbour patrol, which was called 鈥淧ouncer A.B.C.鈥� We were 鈥淧ouncer C鈥�. We patrolled the harbour and every 10 minutes dropped a 9Oz. Charge which made a hell of a bang. This was to deter frogmen from getting in. It was not a very pleasant duty because the fumes from the funnel of the pinnace choked you and we were all covered in a black grime by the time we had finished our watch.

We spent close to six months at Mombassa. The weather was very hot and swimming was allowed on Make and Mend days. This term is still used from the days when sailors made their own clothes and one half day per week was allowed for this.

Time on this station used to drag and only the mail from home, if and when it arrived, was the high spot of the day. We had a visit on one occasion from the Duke of Gloucester and a guard and band paraded on the Quarterdeck. Captain Boyd, Royal Marines, and our contingent of Marines made a splendid sight. Admiral Willis, in company with Captain Durnford and Commander Dwight-Harvey manned the side and the Quartermaster piped the Duke onboard. From age old tradition the Mainbrace was Spliced, much to the enjoyment of all men who drew run as this meant a double tot.

We spent some time at sea shadowing troop convoys. We used to stay over the horizon out of sight of the convoy but always ready to move in if it was attacked by a surface raider. But I think it was known that there was a Battle Fleet in the Indian Ocean and they kept clear.

In 1941 the Battle Cruiser 鈥淩epulse鈥� and Battleship 鈥淧rince of Wales鈥� had been sunk off Singapore and it was then realised that Battleships like us 32,000 tons displacement were very vulnerable to air attack, which made us obsolete. The day of the big ship was over and so we left Mombassa and sailed for England.

Jack's story continues in Chapter 8: Carrier service

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