Parham, Charles William Alexander (Oral history)

British seaman served aboard HMS Hostile, 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, Force K in South Atlantic, 9/1939-1/1940; served aboard HMS Hostile, 2nd Destroyer Flotilla in Norway and Mediterranean, 4/1940-8/1940 including sinking off Cape Bon, Tunisia, 23/8/1940; served aboard HMS Defender, 10th Destroyer Flotilla in Mediterranean, 1/1941-7/1941 including sinking off Sidi Barrani, Egypt, 11/7/1941; petty officer served aboard MGB 87, MGB 85 and MTB 458, Coastal Forces in GB coastal waters and North Sea, 1942-1945

REEL 1 Aspects of enlistment and training as boy seaman at HMS Ganges, Shotley, GB, 1934-1935: reasons for enlistment; pattern of training; discipline. Aspects of period as boy seaman and seaman aboard HMS Renown, HMS Resolution and HMS Royal Sovereign in GB coastal waters and Mediterranean, 1935-1939: drafting to HMS Renown; duties in Mediterranean; drafting to HMS Resolution; difference in messing facilities on big and small ships; encounter with gun running vessel whilst aboard HMS Royal Sovereign during Spanish Civil War. Aspects of operations as seaman aboard HMS Hostile, 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, Force K in South Atlantic, 9/1939-1/1940: drafting to destroyer; importance of good relations on mess deck; relations with officers; declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939; move to Freetown, Sierra Leone, 9/1939; chef's mistake with Christmas chicken, 25/12/1939; rivalry between ships. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMS Hostile, 2nd Destroyer Flotilla in Norway, 4/1940-5/1940: voyage to Norway, 4/1940; call to action stations at start of First Battle of Narvik, 10/4/1940. REEL 2 Continues: shell damage to ship during action; cooperativeness of Norwegians in repairing ship; personal morale during action; cod supplies recieved from Norwegians; dealing with insect infestations on board. Aspects of operations as seaman aboard HMS Hostile, 2nd Destroyer Flotilla in Mediterranean, 5/1940-8/1940: move to Mediterranean, 5/1940; high speed destroyer sweeps; wounding when ship struck mine off Cape Bon, Tunisia, 23/8/1940; hospitalisation on Malta. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMS Defender, 10th Destroyer Flotilla in Mediterranean, 1/1941-7/1941: relations with Free French Forces in Alexandria, Egypt; sight of Italian bodies in sea after Battle of Cape Matapan, 29/3/1941; runs into Tobruk, Libya during siege; experiences ashore after capture of Tobruk, Libya, 1/1941; participation in evacuation from Kalamata, Greece, 4/1941. REEL 3 Continues: role of ship during evacuation of Crete, Greece, 5/1941; attacks by Italian motor boats and transporting captured one to Alexandria, Egypt; German Air Force dominance over Crete, Greece, 5/1941; bombing of ship by German Junkers Ju 88 and sinking off Sidi Barrani, Egypt, 11/7/1941; use of ditty box. Voyage from Egypt to GB via South Africa, 1941. Recollections of operations as petty officer aboard MGB 87, MGB 85 and MTB 458, Coastal Forces in GB coastal waters and North Sea, 1942-1945: reasons for volunteering for Coastal Forces, 1942; different types of patrol; comparison between German E-boats and motor gun boats; operations off coast of Netherlands including sinking German destroyer. REEL 4 Continues: pattern of service; comparison between motor gun boats and motor torpedo boats; use of depth charges offensively; nature of operations after D-Day, 6/1944; surrender of German E-boats, 1945; duties marking wrecks in Thames Estuary after end of Second World War. Reflections on service with Royal Navy, 1939-1945: under Axis air attack on Malta, 1941; belief in Allied victory.