Description
Object description
British petty officer served as shipwright aboard HMS Prince of Wales in North Atlantic and Far East, 1940-1941 including sinking off Malaya, 10/12/1941; served aboard HMS Endeavour in Indian Ocean, 1942
Content description
REEL 1 Aspects of enlistment and training as shipwright with Royal Navy in GB, 1939-1940: background to enlistment, 1940; basic training; work of shipwright. Recollections of operations as petty officer aboard HMS Prince of Wales in North Atlantic, 1940-1941: drafting to ship; problems leaving Birkenhead, GB; problems with ship's guns; news of German battleship Bismarck's breakout into North Atlantic, 5/1941; accident with anchor; problems with Supermarine Walrus aircraft; degree of knowledge of Bismarck engagement, 5/1941; duties during Bismarck engagement, 5/1941; discovery of dockyard worker on board; damage to HMS Prince of Wales during action, 5/1941; nature of the Bismarck engagement, 5/1941.
REEL 2 Continues: opinion of the gunnery during the action, 5/1941; refuelling after action; reports of Fleet Air Arm attacks on Bismarck; repairs to ship; attending burial party; participation in a convoy in Mediterranean; impressions of American seamen during signing of Atlantic Charter; presents from President Franklin D Roosevelt; Prime Minister Winston Churchill's voyage back across the North Atlantic. Recollections of operations as petty officer aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Far East, 1941 including sinking of Malaya, 10/12/1941: start of voyage to Far East; Crossing the Line ceremony; ashore in Cape Town, South Africa; arrival in Singapore, Malaya; receiving news of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7/12/1941; voyage northwards along coast of Malaya; results of reconnaissance by the Supermarine Walrus aircraft; Japanese spotting of Force Z.
REEL 3 Continues: question of Admiral Tom Philip's mistakes; nature of Imperal Japanese Navy Air Service torpedo hits on ship; attack on HMS Repulse; lack of Allied air support; ship's anti-aircraft armament; disablement of ship, conditions below decks; listing of ship; escape through porthole; abandoning ship; sight of the sinking of the ship; his period in the sea; rescue of survivors from water.
REEL 4 Continues: his rescue from the sea; reception on board HMS Electra; his physical state on rescue; return to Singapore, Malaya; delay on entering harbour at Singapore, Malaya; character of reception at Singapore, Malaya; benefits of rum ration; accommodation for survivors; lack of cleaning facilities; officer's inappropriate defiant speech; lack of appropriate kit issue; losses amongst shipwright. Aspects of period aboard HMS Endeavour in Indian Ocean, 1942: drafting to depot ship; conditions for stokers; voyage from Singapore, Malaya to Sumatra, Dutch East Indies.
REEL 5 Continues: evasion of Japanese aircraft; camouflaging ship off coast of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies; opinion of United States Navy shore patrol at Colombo, Ceylon. Aspects of the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales in Far East, 10/12/1941: weather conditions; lack of Japanese interference with rescue; nature of fuel oil; demeanour of survivors in the sea; question of apportionment of blame; attitude of crew under attack; question of ship being jinxed; return to GB, 1944.