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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Kristen Helsby of Congleton Library on behalf of Harold Limeburner and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

It was 25 days after my 18th birthday. My first depot (ships) was HMS Duke for my initial training in Malvern Worcestershire. I went through various stages of training and was then off to my main depot which was at Chatham in Kent. From there I went to Liverpool where I boarded the “Capetown Castle” which was a troop ship. We were going to South Africa. I disembarked at Port Said in Egypt where we went to a camp on the great lake — an Indian regiment were building shallow draught ships. We then sailed to Taranto in Italy from where we sailed to most of the ports in the Adriatic — removing all the mines in the various ports (Brindisi, Bari) Venice — we were there for 3 months.

Now that the harbour entrance was cleared of mines, we departed to sail to Trieste, in northern Italy. We carried on doing the mine sweeping there.

After a few months there, my friend Stan Woodcock, (see picture), a wireman — word came through that he was going home in London (demobilisation). I stayed in Italy for quite a few months longer and then I sailed from Italy to Malta on my way back to England. While I was there, I got a draught to a mine sweeping flotilla to North Africa to Viserta — which I didn’t want — because I was on my way back to England! If I had been sent on this draught, which usually took about a month, I may have missed the boat traveling back up to England. I explained my plight to P.O. and he had mercy on me and said that they’d sent enough men and sent me back to my barracks, so I would be able to catch the ship back to England.

Later I boarded a troop ship going to the South of France, where I took a train to Callais. I crossed the English Channel and and stayed the night in Dover Castle. The next day, I traveled to Chatham where I was eventually “de-mobbed” (demobilised).

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