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24 April 1943 — Chapter 1 — the voyage south

Two years ago tonight, just as it was growing dark, our troopship slipped down the dirty brown estuary, dotted here and there with the masts and funnels of sunken ships, and we put to sea. Speculation ran high as to our possible destination. Was it Canada, Rhodesia, Middle East, Iceland, even the United States, in front? Was it any of the countries in the world to which there was the slightest possible chance of our going? This was our sole topic of conversation as we slipped out but it was a topic which soon exhausted itself and bowing it ship's discipline we retired to our hammocks in the hold. There were three hundred and fifty of us in this small hold originally constructed to take the light luggage of pleasure cruisers and we found to our dismay that this was to be our dining hall as well as our sleeping and living quarters.

Tables and forms to seat fourteen men were placed all around the sides and up the centre of this smallish space, and above the tables our hammocks were slung from hooks in the beams. Each table was provided with two dixies, two flat dishes, ladles, knifes and other accessories for collecting and serving our food which had to be brought from the ship's galley down a steep, twisted staircase. Above the beams was a small space in which we'd stowed our small kit carrying essential clothing and accessories needed for the trip. Our large kit bags were stowed in the main hold out of our reach for the duration of the voyage. We were situated in the stern of the ship and we could here the thudding and threshing of the screws directly under us now racing as we speeded up now alternately racing and churning as we performed some manoeuvre. All in all we felt rather strange as we wrangled into our hammocks for the first time. Perhaps it was a good thing, for the novelty of the whole thing left our minds off the ever present danger of subs.

Much to our surprise and my great delight we awoke next morning to find ourselves just slipping through the boom into the dock at Dunoon, - there to form convoy. The early morning sun was simply glorious and we almost missed breakfast, drinking in the beauty of the scene spread out before us. Had we thought that we might only have been staying for a few hours, we would gladly have missed all of our meals so that we might not miss a single moment of this wonderful scene; as it was we hurried through them as quickly as possible that we might get back to it. Below us on our starboard lay Dunoon looking extremely beautiful and peaceful in the early sun, on our port bow, rising smoke increasingly indicated that Gourock, hidden from us at the moment, was just beginning to awaken. Behind us was the boom and we were able to exchange good-mornings with the men on the little ships who controlled it. Up stream we could see other ships at anchor and during the day we were able to exchange cat-calls with the lads on the other ships forming our convoy as well as with those passing us on the ferries going backwards and forwards from Dunoon to Gourock.

We stayed in the estuary for three days and our luck held good for the weather was all the time perfect. These are three days which I'll never forget. A warm and friendly sun shone tirelessly from out of a clear blue sky, lighting the greens browns and purples on the hills, reflecting from the little white houses spread along the banks of the river the windows winking at us all day, and striking rosy tints from the surface of the muddy Clyde. As the ship swung with the tide or churned about performing convoy manoeuvres, the scene was constantly changing as we got the sun now shining down the Holy Loch, now shining across it. Once we heard the warning siren as torpedoes were tried out in Loch Long. So as we swung with the tide or churned about and as the sun swung across the sky, the details of the scene we were watching seemed ever changing and we thought we would never tire of it.

I was most sorry for one of our corporals whose home was in Dunoon. Possibly he had taken part in the clock to Dunoon swim, and here we lay almost within hailing distance of his home forced to stand and look at it all day thinking of how lovely it looked, and yet not able to say how do to his parents and friends in it. Probably they were thinking of him as being already far at sea.

In the gloaming of the third day we took our position in the convoy and started to slip down stream. This was the crowning moment of all. The sun was just dipping behind the hills around Glasgow as we started to move out through the boom and as we moved we could see him through gaps in the rugged hills beaming at us as bright as ever though with a softer warmer glow then as he disappeared again behind another hill, stretching out bright fingers as though to hold us back or failing in that to bid us a brave farewell. Never had I seen such a sight nor yet have I looked upon anything to touch it for sheer beauty. My one regret is that as the sun finally set it grew dark and we were unable to see any more of the estuary. So we just put ourselves to bed.

We again woke to find the sun shinning on a smooth sea, indeed except for a few days around the Cape, we had perfect sailing weather more suitable for pleasure cruisers and holiday-maker than battle cruisers and troopships taking a cargo of young men on grim business. For some days our main topic of conversation continued to be our possible destination and it here came out that a few of the lads had arranged a simple fool-proof code with their parents that they might let them know which country they were in. This is not a sound scheme as it is apt to give away the disposition of troops who might be using an "addresse de convenances". We were soon off the subject and paid more attention to the routine of life on board ship. At this time we were of course in dangerous waters, yet the feeling of excitement and the mystery surrounding our destination and route quite wiped all thoughts of danger from our minds and we were more interested in our ship's duties. Each morning two orderlies were detailed by every table to fetch its food from the galley and to serve it, afterwards clearing up the table and dirty dishes. The food at first was pretty good, but naturally it deteriorated as we ran out of fresh foods and more and more we had to rely on salted pork and curried stew. First thing every morning our hammocks had to be taken down and stowed and thoroughly cleaned for inspection by our own and the ship's officer. While there were adequate supplies of fresh water we could wash and shave as we liked, but after a bit we had to use salt water which is extremely sore on the face while shaving so we shaved as little as possible. After we had cleaned up we had a little PT and our daily boat drill which consisted of grabbing our lifebelts when warning was sounded and, tying them on as we ran, dash for the emergency stations allotted us and spread our rafts standing by them for roll-call. Some of the lads were on ship's fatigues and some on guard but for the rest, time was our own and we found it pretty hard to fill and slow in passing.

There was a bit of excitement on two days when our destroyers were seen milling around two of them and finally shooting off at full speed. Later it was reported, when they had rejoined us that on both occasions a sub had been sunk. Early on, there had been a bit of excitement when a rumour spread that aircraft had been sighted but nothing came of it. When we had been out for some days our escort including our capital ship, suddenly left us. Some weeks later we were very interested to learn that this ship had taken an active part in the sinking of the Bismarck and we felt unjustifiably proud that we had been though but in a small way, associated with her.

Soon after losing our escort we came into warmer waters and we changed from blue into khaki drill shorts and shirts. There was some amusement when the lads appeared wearing, for the first time, the rather large but extremely necessary tropics. All over the ship one could hear remarks like "Trader Horn" and "Mr Livingstone I presume". It was in these waters that we began to see schools of dolphin, flying fish and porpoise. The porpoise came leaping alongside the ship making tremendous leaps into the air and diving back steeply into the water, some of them dived right under the ship as if they were having a game. It was in these waters too that we had our first thrill of the journey.

By this time most of us from the holds had taken to sleeping on deck as it was much too warm and stuffy to sleep in the holds, and we had become quite accustomed to the sound of the ship's siren blowing at intervals indicating that the ship was turning to port or starboard as the case might be. So on this particular night we just turned over when our subconscious minds registered the fact the sirens had been blown. Then suddenly there was a terrific crash and the whole ship shuddered and shook from stern to stern. We awoke, forced awake, in a flash our senses jarred by the shock of the impact and the noise of metal grinding upon metal while all sorts of wild thoughts started to flash through our heads. From my position on the deck by the rail, I could see the outline of another big ship alongside us. The ship shook again as she swung round and hit us with her stern and as she began to slip astern lights began to spring up all over her and we began to understand what had happened. One of our own ships, mistaking the signal, had turned the wrong way and rammed us amidships.

The alarm bell started its clamour and we grabbed the life belts, which most of us were using as pillows, and ran to our emergency stations, spread the rafts and stood by for orders. Each raft had sufficient swimmers and non-swimmers according to arrangement. Soon we were told that there was no immediate danger but that we must put on some warm clothing and stand by our rafts while the ship was examined and decision made. After about three hours the engineers decided that there would be no need to abandon ship as the pumps would just cope with the water that was coming in and we went back to our hammocks which we shifted back down stairs.

Only afterwards did it strike me that throughout the alarm there had been no signs of fear or panic; rather was there a feeling of thrill and suppressed excitement. No one seemed to be thinking of how we would fare if we had to jump for it, a convoy cannot stop to pick you up in dangerous waters, but everyone seemed to be thinking who the other ship was and how badly she might be damaged for, so far as we could see in the dark, most of the debris which had fallen on us was not from our own ship so naturally it must be from the other. This impression was corrected in the light of day when we were able to see clearly that some of the debris had indeed been our own and here I sent up a prayer of thanks for a very lucky escape. Directly above where I had been sleeping on the deck, there had been a heavy gun post. Now it was no more. It had been smashed completely and the sandwiches which formed it (of steel plates and concrete) were hanging by more threads over the ships rails which were bent far outwards and even broken in places. If even one of the sandwiches had fallen it would have curtains or at least a few smashed bones. However, everything was under control and we were all ok, so we went on our way quite happily coming in a couple of days into Freetown on the West African coast.

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