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There was a lot of activity and co-operation between some of our Officers and the Norwegian authorities regarding getting us home. One Officer involved was our Torpedo Officer, Lieutenant Hepple. On the second or third day we sensed a lot of activity out at sea and suddenly large warship shells were screaming over the town in the direction of Narvik. We were told to keep out of sight and lie low, later we were to learn that it was a British battleship carrying out an intensive bombardment on Narvik. That evening there was a huge red glow in the sky over the town and we were told that it had been captured by the British. Next day we were all called in to do volunteer work, clearing snow from the road through to the local hospital. Ambulances carying dozens of German casualties were being held up by the thaw and melting snow. Keen to show our appreciation for our kindly treatment by the Norwegians we set to although we were all a bit weak from lack of food. Sudddenly among all this snow clearing activity a young stoker came sauntering along. His mates shouted to him to get cracking with a shovel, but he refused - on what grounds I don't know. It ended up in a punch-up, he got a severe thrashing from his messmates with his face badly bloodied and his eyes black and swollen. Nobody offered to interfere and it was only when Allen Talboys, our Gunner"T" came on the scene that order was restored.

That night back at the school and much more comfortable now with a few extra blankets, we were suddenly rudely awakened and told to collect our personel belongings, if any, and make our way down to the local jetty as a British Naval Destroyer was going to attempt to sneak in and take us all off, including the merchant seaman. Haste and silence was the order of the night, but when we got near the embarkation point all the inhabitants of Ballanger had collected there and were shouting out goodbyes! It emerged that Lieutenant Hepple and one or two others including a Signalman had found an abandoned German power boat, got it started, put to sea, made contact with our own forces and arranged a rescue operation for that night.

A few men had to be left behind in hospital but later were spirited across the fjord by Norwegians to Harstad and then on to the United Kingdom.One I remember was a young signalman called Ralph Brigginshaw.Leaving an excited Norwegian crowd on the jetty, over 200 of us were taken on board and we put to sea. We were badly over-crowded, so in the night we went alongside the Destroyer Ivanhoe and a large number of us were tranferred to her. On board we were told to occupy the same messes we had on Hardy, so our little gang finished up in the torpedoman's mess.

The next day Ivanhoe and other naval vessels steamed right up and around the fjords, passed the Hardy wreck, stood off Narvik, sailed into Rombaks and Herjangs fjords and out again into Ofot fjord, to survey the wrecks of the German Destroyers. It was dead quiet like a grave yard, which of course it was.

We were treated to an excellent meal of fish and chips on the Ivanhoe. When we asked where they had got such beautiful fish, they replied that they had done some bartering with Norwegian fishermen whilst patrolling after laying the minefield a few days earlier!

We were then told we were going home and disembarked on to a base ship en route for the United Kingdom.

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